Saturday, March 21, 2020

Charlie Brice writes


The Truth About Wind

“Wendy, Wendy what went wrong, oh so wrong?”
The Beach Boys sang of her and, at fifteen,
I wanted to find a girlfriend named Wendy
to go along with the song. And then,

one frosty night in Ole’ Cheyenne, I sat
in the backseat of someone’s car with
my arm around a girl named Wendy.
How did I get so lucky?

I kissed her and though she kissed me back,
there was nothing there, nothing between us.
I had her in a full embrace in that backseat,
but she was totally unimpressed.

Was I a bad kisser? Did she want something
more than kissing? I was way too Catholic for that.
“Wendy, Wendy left me alone” that night
on a gusty prairie outside of Cheyenne where

we teens went to make out and drink beer.
I thought the song’s title was “Windy,” imagined
the wind on a California beach, ocean roar,
sand caressing my toes, the musky smell of

sun tan lotion and summer freedom—I hot-
dog it for my Windy, hang ten on a surfboard.
The song runs through my head even now—
but she really wasn’t interested—not at all. 

1 comment:

  1. The Beach boys were an American rock band led by Brian Jones and consiting (mainly) of his brother Dennis and Carl, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. In 1964 they recorded "Wthe album "All Summer Long," their last surf-music album and featured their 1st #1 single, "I Get Around," as well as a minor hit, "Wendy," by Wilson and Love:

    Wendy, Wendy what went wrong
    Oh so wrong
    We went together for so long
    I never thought a guy could cry
    Until you made it with another guy

    Oh Wendy, Wendy left me alone
    Hurt so bad

    Wendy, Wendy don't lose your head
    Lose your head
    Wendy don't believe a word he says
    I can't picture you with him
    His future looks awful dim

    Wendy I wouldn't hurt you like that
    No no no
    I thought we had our love down pat
    Guess I was wrong
    The farthest thing from my mind
    Was the day that I'd wake up to find
    My Wendy
    Wendy left me alone

    Hod-dogging and hanging ten are California surfing terms; to hot dog is to perform daring, showy, or dangerous stunts in order to impress other people; in a hang ten, a surfer stands with all his toes over the nose of a heavy longboard.

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