Regarding Some Songs

Mighty Wings

It's just a ball of dust underneath my feet
It rolls around the sun, it doesn't mean that much to me
Take a chance on the edge of life just like all the rest
I look inside and dig it out 'cause there's no points for second best

Wait a minute. Did that guy just diss an entire planet? Not just any planet, mind you, but the planet on which he lives? The only planet we know of with air that can be breathed in order to enable the vocalisation of said diss?

Yes. Yes, he did.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but to me dissing your planet is pretty hardcore. It's pretty epic. It's also, quite frankly, pretty dumb.

But that's okay, though. 'Cause we all know what epic + dumb equals, don't we, kids?

Aw yeah, that's right. Epic + dumb = cheese. And we also know how I feel about cheese (if you don't, it's entirely possible you're reading the wrong book).

And just in case there's any doubt about the dairy factor:-

There's a raging fire in my heart tonight
Growin' higher and higher in my soul
There's a raging fire in the sky tonight
I wanna ride on the silver dove far until the night

If riding on silver doves far into the night does not have the lactose intolerant running for the hills, then I don't know what does. Although, to be honest, I have to admit to a little disappointment when I looked up the lyrics for this song. You see, I'd always thought the line was, "I wanna ride on the silver dawn, far into the night." Which I realise doesn't make a whole lot of sense (unlike the entirely plausible dove-riding scenario) but in my humble opinion would have nudged both the epicnicity and cheesfulness a notch higher, while also injecting a charming touch of entirely misplaced poetic pretensions.

'Til I make you take me on your mighty wings
Make you take me on your mighty wings across the sky
Take me on your mighty wings
Take me on your mighty wings tonight

Mighty Wings is of course from that cinematic abundance of cheddar, the 80s classic Top Gun. And with the (allegedly) imminent release of Top Gun: Maverick, a somewhat inexplicable sequel some 35+ years in the making,* it seemed an appropriate time to dust off the old track and give it a little of the limelight, particularly as it's usually cast into the shadows by its flashier, better known and equally cheesy soundtrack sibling, Danger Zone. And while Danger Zone is without question a damn fine example of the mysterious mid-80s Kenny Loggins soundtrack streak, I would argue Mighty Wings is the better song. Or at least the one I like better, which, let's face it, given this is my book pretty much equates to the same thing.

Air keytar for this one, guys. Crank it up.

*Which I will of course be heading off to see.