DAYS I REMEMBER

This is a song that is kind of personal for us. It is dedicated to all our school and college friends — wherever they are now. We especially remember those who never got to live out their full lives and died tragically when they were still very young. Their deaths impacted us all in a profound way and changed us forever.

The first verse in the song references Calcutta. It's a little strange, but both Krishna and I lived in Calcutta before our parents moved to Bangalore (this was many years before we met as teenagers in high school). I was very young when I lived in Calcutta but I still have many vivid memories of the city... even though I haven't visited it since.

The song is about the few brief years in our youth when life is carefree and fun (for most of us)... No responsibilities... no guilt... When friends are the most important people in the world... When anything seems possible... When beautiful girls are unattainable... When puny kids feel invincible... When you're glad to be in the group that youth is wasted on... When the present appears to stretch on indefinitely... When the future seems so far away...

There's no warning but everything changes very quickly... you don't know it then but you'll never experience a time like that again... Adulthood... career... family... children... The tightly-knit group not related by blood but are so much more to each other is broken up and scattered to places far away... USA... England... Africa... the Middle East... some never to be seen again...

Years pass... mid-life crisis... health issues... financial headaches... It's getting harder to meet the old gang often... Social media is a wonderful place... join the alumni reunion... make a quick trip back home...

More years pass... now it's deaths from natural causes... cancer... heart attacks... Social media sucks... Retirements... divorces... suicides... grandchildren... heck we're old enough to be grandfathers... Lifetime achievement awards... you won't achieve anything else buddy... vacation homes... 401K plans... Hair almost gone... blind without glasses... noticeable paunch... discuss your ailments... Why is the guy in the mirror so old.. you are still handsome... verile... strong... desirable...  always 25 years young... heck, maybe even younger... the other chaps are showing their age though...

Still like the same music... Elton John... The Beatles... Cat Stevens... Jackson Browne... Deep Purple... Jimi Hendrix... The Eagles... Dire Straits... Jesus Christ Superstar... Jethro Tull... thank God our generation had good music... The Gospel according to Bob Dylan...  Lie in bed with headphones... volume is low though you like it at max... wife is asleep... the dog is at your feet...

Out of nowhere they suddenly appear... vivid images... apparitions that comfort... favorite places... familiar faces... cherished events... clearer than the breakfast you had yesterday... Everyone and everything still looks the same...

"Hi Clinton, pass me a fag bro... Where have you buggers been?"

Did it really happen... was it a dream... are you jacked into the Matrix... maybe is it just electrical currents in your brain spinning another yarn to lull you to sleep... As the song says, "these are days I remember... these are days that make me laugh and cry..."

— Thomas Itty (January 2021) —

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(Words & Music by Thomas Itty & Krishna Kumar)

 

My first memory when I was small

Was sitting on an old brick wall

And watching people passing by

It may have been in Old Calcutta

Or maybe I was watching a regatta

Dressed in a sailor’s uniform

But like everyone I got older

And the weight grew heavy on my shoulder

As I started on my years in school

Some of my teachers were kind and generous

But others were cruel and dangerous

You just learned to get by somehow

 

Yeah… these are days I remember

These are days that make me laugh and cry

I wanna laugh and cry…

 

I passed high school and I made it to college

This is where I have to acknowledge

All the good friends in my life

We chased girls and smoked cheap cigarettes

Listened to our music on things called cassettes

And lived like our youth would never end

But then our friends died in bad road accidents

Others lost their lives in drowning incidents

With stiff upper lips and feet moving forward

We moved on with our lives but soon discovered

That those were the best years of out lives

And we realized that life was cruel

With stiff upper lips stiff and feet moving forward

We left our past behind and discovered

That those were best days of our lives

 

Yeah… these are days I remember

These are days that make me laugh and cry

I wanna laugh and cry…

 

Yeah… these are days I remember

These are days that make me laugh and cry

I wanna laugh and cry

ALL SONGS ARE PRODUCED BY THOMAS ITTY AT HIS HOME STUDIO IN OSSINING, NEW YORK