Bryan Adams: Summer of '69 Meaning

Song Released: 1985

Summer of '69 Lyrics

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played 'til my fingers bled
It was summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a Band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I should've known we'd never get...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   Surfer_Coyote

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   Nov 18th 2008 !⃝

   I kinda think this song is open to interpretation a little bit. The obvious use of '69 is for the year 1969, which was quite a year in history. The Summer of Love, Woodstock, the moon landing, it was a memorable summer for most everyone who lived it (I was not alive then). Now in my opinion, '69 could refer to other things. Maybe the storyteller is referring to a car that was a model year 1969 that they cruised around in all summer long, or maybe his guitar was a '69 Fender or something. There is the very real possibility that it does refer to sexual exploration. Either way, it is a reflection on happy times and youth.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   Magnoodle

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   May 20th 2007 !⃝

   This song is is about a young man's summer in the year 1969. It was the year he learned to play the guitar, joined a band and fell in love.
3. anonymous

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   Aug 9th 2017 !⃝

   In order to get a better picture of what is more likely going on with this classic double entender, you hafta go back almost 50 years to a seldom mentioned suburb, on the edge of the city too a deserted strip called Shefford Rd. In 1969 Bryan is in Texas & no where near the Queensway Drive-In Theater, The same very same place that a future Tom Cruse lived just up the road at that time. It wasnt till 1970 where Bryan upgrades from a toy too get his first real guitar & this is also the year he moves to Beacon Hill with the drive-in. The only reason I can figure that nobody figured this out is because its a secret. Back then we were base brats (born raised and transferred somewhere) with violent alcoholic military fathers suing for divorce. Thats why Bryan usta like to hide out at the drive-in. Thats also why Bryan was having trouble with the law. Bryans claim of the songs inspiration being about simultaneous oral sex doesn’t seem to hold much water & the song is generally considered about a lost childhood, a reoccurring theme in his work. So where does the 69 come from if its not about sex? Well that might have a little somthing to do with a Nottingham built 1969 Raleigh Chopper the prince of thieves swiped directly in front of said theater in the tall grass of late summer 70 or 71. Now all the pieces fall into place & you see the reason for all the hidden meanings. From his first album Sweeny Todd (theres a clue) “If Wishes Were Horses”, too his latest work where he describes a 69 Buick, theres no reason to think it would be anything other than a super collectible 69 Chopper that I’m sure got his juices flowing & left a lasting impression on him.
4. anonymous

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   Apr 28th 2017 !⃝

   This song is not about a girl. Substitute "the girl" for 1969 user experience prototype Raleigh Chopper bicycle Brian swiped in front of the Star Top Drive-In Theater in late August 69 Ten year old boys dont have girlfriends waiting for them on the front porch, thats where kids put their bikes The whole song is a metaphor for stealing one of the most collectable & rare bicycles known to have existed. I know all this because I just saw a high resolution 1970 classroom pic of Mr. Adams with the same left profile & I'm the 7 year old kid from Beacon Hill he tricked the 69 Chopper from almost 50 years ago. Simply showed him a pic without any accusations & asked him if he remembered the bike in question & he terminated conversation with me & called BA Facebook admin/office for some strange reason!!? So he does remember the bike lol.
5. anonymous

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   Apr 6th 2016 !⃝

   It's aboot the summer he lost his 69 virginity.
6. anonymous

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   Nov 27th 2012 !⃝

   Some people speculate that Adams may be singing about, um, something else. Here's a hint, complete this sentence ... "Wine me, dine me, __ me." Still not getting it? Fine, some people think he may be singing about oral sex. Just what we like to think about when it comes to Bryan Adams.
   
   And as you'll notice in a few of the songs on this list, the dirty, double meaning that sounds like it was thought up by a horny 12-year-old often turns out to be true. In an online interview, Adams said: "One thing people never got was that the song isn't about the year 1969. It's about making love, a la '69!" A la '69? What a dork. Then there's the interview with the Binghampton Press & Sun Bulletin where Adams confirmed "the title comes from the idea of '69 as a metaphor for sex," confirming he has both a child's sense of humor and understanding of metaphors. Anyway, coming from the source itself, that seems pretty convincing.
   Jim Vallance, the song's co-writer has said, "Bryan Adams is a great writer, a great singer, and a great friend. He's entitled to his recollections as to what inspired the song 'Summer Of '69.' My recollections just happen to be different than his." So who's telling the truth? As a default, we always choose not to believe the guy who claims Bryan Adams is a great writer. We're pretty sure Adams himself wouldn't even say that. There's also the fact that Adams didn't turn 10 until November of 1969, and we refuse to believe Bryan Adams was a cooler 9-year-old than us.
   Unfortunately, pretty much every single sign points to "Summer of '69" being another ill-fated attempt by Bryan Adams to be edgy, like that time he dressed like Kurt Cobain for a year or so back in the '

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. anonymous

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   May 27th 2012 !⃝

   You should be psiesd at the music industry for taking most of the money that artists generate (including your little i-Tunes snafu).The artist owns the music. Not the corporations, no matter what documents have been signed.And, given your little speech, I hope you didn't download the rest from here but went to i-Tunes instead!
8. anonymous

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   Sep 21st 2011 !⃝

   How can it be about doing it? It's about nostalgia. He was only ten in the summer of'69. he singing to a girl he likes about a band they used to be in with some guys from their school

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Jun 24th 2011 !⃝

   sex. at the end... he says ''me and my baby in a 69.'' come on. think.
10. anonymous

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    May 21st 2011 !⃝

    The fact of the matter is this song is about Jim Vallance as he spent time up in Kitimat BC, in his youth.
11. anonymous

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    Feb 18th 2011 !⃝

    He obviously talks bout the invasion of Earth by aliens and it was pretty awesome cause they bought advanced technology and stuff so he misses that year or it could be about the yeti invasion too...true but no one dares to talk bout it these days :)
12. mojofrito

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    Mar 26th 2009 !⃝

    It's about sex: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/earlyshow/leisure/music/main4425534.shtml.
13. danniboi

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    Dec 5th 2008 !⃝

    I think that, as has already been said, this song is open to interpretation, but I think hes just trying to tell a story of how as he grew up he had both good and bad times, but that if he had the chance to relive that period of his life he would change nothing.
14. anonymous

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    Aug 22nd 2008 !⃝

    Haha wellll, I went to a Bryan Adams concert (he was AMAZZINGG) and he told this story there....
    
    "well I saw this woman at walmart for the signing of the cds thing, and she said 'baby, I was a year early, I was summer of 68! a year early!' and I said 'uh..lady, hate to put you down, but the song has nothing to do with the year.' she kinda looked at me funny and blushed,i just had to tell it, so for the record NO, there is nothing special about the summer of 1969, just 69. what a summer that was."
    
    he's really funny, it was a great show :)
15. stardust

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    Sep 10th 2007 !⃝

    This song was written (James Douglas Vallance (born 1952))by a song writer who collaborated with Bryan Adams. This song's title was influenced by Vallance's age... not sex... The last commenter should do 5 minutes of reading on the Internet instead of coming up with an interpretation that anyone can assume out of thin air.
16. anonymous

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    Aug 18th 2007 !⃝

    Actually I don't think it is. If this song was actually about the year 1969 Bryan Adams would have been about 9 or something similare, making his friend Joey a bit young to get married. I think this song, or at least the title, is about sex, the 69 position.

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