Why does so much music from the 80s keep rising to the surface of my memory? I suppose those were my formative years –the time when songs didn’t just play, they imprinted.
Come On Eileen always brings me back to my one true crush in Trinidad. She was Asian, sassy, and effortlessly beautiful. She also lived far enough away that visits were rare, which made every one of them feel precious. When she did come by, she was always accompanied by her two younger siblings and my brother was never far either. We were never alone long enough for courage to find its moment.
So I carried the crush quietly. I measured time in visits and held on to small gestures instead of confessions. I remember introducing her to this song, letting the music speak in the way I couldn’t. Maybe she heard it as just another catchy tune.
For me, it held everything I never said. Some songs don’t mark relationships as they were they preserve them as they remained. Unfinished, suspended, and forever young.
