Don Henley "Sunset Grill"

This week's posts are written by Scott Lajoie, editor of Cape Cod Magazine. In creating a publication that reflects the look and feel of the region, Scott is particularly attuned to the stories, sights and general nostalgia of summer. So I asked him to write about some of the songs that have touched him personally over the years, particularly the ones that connect to iconic memories or feelings of Cape Cod.

1984. It was an interesting year for a variety of reasons. It was also the year The Eagles’ drummer/sometimes lead singer Don Henley released his second solo album, Building the Perfect Beast.

It was a huge hit. Featured heavy hitting collaborators—Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, Go-Go Belinda Carlisle, and Patty Smyth. Chock full of radio singles, too. You might think I am going to talk about “Boys of Summer,” right? That quintessential end-of-summer ditty paying homage to the summer fling that gave Henley a Grammy the following year.

Actually, no. “Boys of Summer” is a great song, don’t get me wrong. But it has gotten a little too much airplay over the years, and it is flat-out too straightforward lyrically. We get it: Summer’s over and you’re still thinking about that girl, “her brown skin shining in the sun” with her “Wayfarers on, baby.”

The song that has stuck with me over the decades is “Sunset Grill.” Supposedly it is about a hamburger place on Sunset Boulevard, but really anyone can claim that it is about their favorite place to hang out. And since that “Boys of Summer” song is so prevalent on that album, well most of us could probably assume that the subject of this song is our favorite place to frequent while on vacation.

Summer hangouts. Cape Cod is full of ‘em. And we all have our favorites. Since I live on the Upper Cape, I think of the Chart Room in Cataumet or the Raw Bar in Popponesset Village. But for others, it could easily be Baxter’s in Hyannis, Brax Landing in Harwich, Sundancer’s in Dennis, or the Beachcomber in Wellfleet.

Henley’s melody about this mythical watering hole is dreamy one moment and angry the next. Kudos to a young Randy Newman who orchestrated the synthesizer symphony. As they come off that solo, they begin a steady rise with the last verse: “Maybe we’ll leave come springtime/Meanwhile, I’ll have another beer/What’ll we do without these jerks anyway/Besides, all our friends are here.” It’s a statement of loyalty to place, made ten times stronger than any phrase from Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar.” While other songs about hangouts may be more popular—Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” comes to mind—nothing quite accomplishes that feeling when you sit on an easy chair with a beer, “stare out at the auburn sky,” and know that you would never leave if you didn’t have to.

Hear the song at Grooveshark: