Friday, September 25, 2015

Music Friday: You're Shining Like a Brand New Diamond in Bon Jovi's Country Favorite, 'Summertime'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Even though fall officially arrived on Wednesday, we're going to do our best to keep the summer alive with a fun song from Bon Jovi's 2007 chart-topping Lost Highway album.

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It's called "Summertime" and includes this line... "I keep a postcard in the back of my mind / White sand, sunshine / And you shining like a brand new diamond."

Written by lead singer Jon Bon Jovi, lead guitarist Richie Sambora and producer John Shanks, "Summertime" blends the best elements of rock and country music to create a fun, sing-along experience that's sure to have Bon Jovi fans dancing in the aisles.

In the song, Bon Jovi describes how his girlfriend makes him feel like summertime. He reminisces about warm breezes, lazy days, beach blankets, a bottle of wine and his girlfriend shining in the sunshine like a brand new diamond.

"Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss," he concludes, "there ain't nothing, baby, better then this."

Lost Highway was described by Bon Jovi as an "album influenced by Nashville." The group's calculated maneuver into the country genre paid off big time as the album made its debut at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. It was the group's first album to debut at #1 and was so well received that it went on to be nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards and sold more than four million copies worldwide.

John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., was born in New Jersey in 1962. A blood relative of Frank Sinatra, the young Bon Jovi spent much of his youth skipping school to pursue musical activities. By the time he was 16, he was already playing in New Jersey clubs. A year later, while sweeping floors at his cousin Tony Bongiovi's recording studio, Bon Jovi got the opportunity to sing on a Star Wars Christmas album. His first official credit was on a song called "R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas."

By 1983, Bon Jovi had formed the group that bears his name. Over the past 30-plus years, the group has sold more than 100 million records and performed more than 2,700 concerts in 50 countries. Bon Jovi and Sambora were inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.

We hope you enjoy the video of Bon Jovi's live performance of "Summertime." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Summertime"
Written by Richie Sambora, John Shanks and Jon Bon Jovi. Performed by Bon Jovi.

Feels something like summertime
Top down and nothin' but time
Radio's on and your by my side
Feels something like summertime

These days life goes like this
Wake up, check that off of some list
Gotta be a little something more than this
The bottom of my coffee cup

I keep a postcard in the back of my mind
White sand, sunshine
And you shining like a brand new diamond
It's keeping me for giving up
Thinking like I had enough

You make me feel something like summertime
Top down ain't nothing but time
Radio's on and you're by my side
Feels something like summertime

Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss
There ain't nothing, baby, better then this
It's like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine
It feels something like summertime
Summertime

I was a warm breeze with a cool tan
Life mapped out on the back of my hand
When I was laughing I was making plans

But I didn't laugh when I found you
Theres a heaven baby your the proof

You make me feel something like summertime
Top down ain't nothing but time
Radio's on and you're by my side
Feels something like summertime

Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss
There ain't nothing, baby, better then this
It's like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine
It feels something like summertime
(Sum-summer-summertime)

Feel something like summertime Top down ain't nothing but time Radio's on for me and my valentine

It's like that first slow dance and that first long kiss
There ain't nothing baby better then this
It's like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine (Yeah)

Feels something like summertime
Top down ain't nothing but time
Radio's on and you're by my side,
Feels something like summertime
Just like summer time
(Sum-sum-summertime)
Something like summertime

Image: Facebook/BonJovi

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