notes on ‘Old Song Played Again’

This poem is a true story for the most part.  I was in Waffle House with my kids and some song from the 1980s came on the jukebox (or whatever digital thing they have now to stand in for the old jukebox).  The song contained that made no sense, back when I was a teenager.  But when heard it again after many years, I understood it entirely.  And it changed my impression of the song, very slightly … for the worse.  For some reason the new knowledge of that old line deflated the song just a bit.  It took some of the fun out of it.

The worst part of the story is that, while I recall the feeling and the place vividly, I honestly don’t remember what song it was, or which line.