New Moon, Old Memories
09. Mar, 2010 
4 Comments
Have you noticed how many calendars mark all sorts of trivia on each day? I now know when most international holidays fall—by the way, happy belated (3/8) Canberra Day you Australians—which are the better days to plant or harvest, and each phase of the moon.
When I was checking my calendar for a luncheon date, and saw there was going to be a new moon on March 15th, a song from my favorite 1980s pop group, Duran Duran, came into my head. I wasn’t surprised that I remembered the lyrics to “New Moon on Monday” because when the song was released I was at an age when lyrics came and resided in my teenage self as easily as heartbreak, angst and acne.
I will admit that most of the lyrics eluded me, but the chorus came quickly:
“I light my torch and wave it for the
New moon on Monday
And a firedance through the night
I stayed the cold day with a lonely satellite”
This was a song that I wailed proudly with my then-best-friend, Sabrina (‘singing’ would be too kind to describe what I did to music back then, and now). We loved the passion with which Simon Lebon (lead singer) had given this music to us.
I was stumped for the meaning behind the chorus, so I looked up the lyrics on the Internet, hoping for clarification when put into context.
The song begins with:
“Shake up the picture the lizard mixture
With your dance on the eventide
You got me coming up with answers
All of which I deny”
I know that these words and the rest of the song had significance for me back then. At 14 many things make sense to you (and have a deep, profound meaning, which you remind your parents and teachers they could not possibly understand), which nearly 30 years later become ridiculous. I enjoy watching my 13-year-old god daughter, Rebecca, sing along with Hanna Montana and recite all Hanna’s likes and dislikes, and how she is glued to the T.V. when the Jonas Brothers are on. Rebecca is one of those sweet girls who make you want to be a teenager again (for a few minutes anyway), and have the freedom to listen to goofy music and have a crush on pre-pubescent boys, and passionately sing lyrics that no one but you and your girlfriends understand.
I remember how Sabrina and I had the same exact taste in everything growing up, and how the things we loved—music and animals and swimming—made us closer. Belting out Duran Duran tunes just proved that we were like sisters then, even though our relationship today is non existent.
I started to feel a little disappointed in my younger self’s choice of music, and taste in men (in 1984 I remember telling my girlfriends I wanted to be Nick Rhodes keyboard!). I imagined myself a cooler, rebellious teen. But no girl who swooned over “Save a Prayer” could be all that dangerous.
Today I find myself turning up the Stones or Pink Floyd on the radio, and can even get into Vampire Weekend Kings of Leon; but, I still get excited when Duran Duran’s “Rio” is played, and even get a little teary eyed over Paul Young’s “Every Time You Go Away”. So somewhere between “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” I found this goofy grown up version of me who still wails the lyrics (mostly when alone in the car), teases old high-school friends on Face Book about their crushes on (guitarist) John Taylor, and remembers that dates on a calendar (and most things from the past) have about as much meaning as lyrics from the 1980s.
Wow, all from just looking at your calendar! I can totally relate to your post and being a Duranie myself feeling that same way. Funny how when I hear those songs that I grew up with and hear them now, it just take me back to that particular moment in my teenage life. It is as clear as day. I guess iti s a passage of life we all go through.
There were many times I belted the chorus to “New Moon on Monday” too
Reading this post brought back vivid memories, and it was something I would have written myself, although not as eloquently. As an adult I have read Simon’s lyrics and thought – what the hell was I thinking, these songs make no sense at all. But I loved their good looks, passion and probably fell victim of the sexy videos and lip gloss. I’m not even offended by what you said about our singing, I still belt out the songs with my 5 year old, completely off key.
The beauty of it is, even though our relationship is non existent now, the sisterhood we had then will bond us forever. We were pure then, dreamers, and will always have that connection. We were lucky to have each other at that point in our lives.
Best wishes to you…Sabrina.
PS – I wanted to be Simon LeBon’s microphone!
I remember our shared Duran love too. Though I could not remember which of the guys was your favorite. It is a gift to have the music to bring you back and shows how even though there was so much confusion as a teenager there was so much goofiness too!
Well, so all it took was a random blog post, which I would never have guessed would find you, and here we are: Two Duran fans, old friends who lost touch, and it’s like yesterday we were heading off to Morris Park Ave. to run errands for your mom! Glad to see the Internet has the added value of reconnecting people.