Tuesday, December 5, 2017

The Road to Happiness

Lake Shore Drive, we all know and love it, the beautiful stretch of road along Lake Michigan that is part of any Chicagoans (and nearby suburbs) experience of living in (or near) the Windy City. Everyone can picture the lake on one side and the skyscrapers on the other as you speed (or slowly crawl) down the winding path.

The song "Lake Shore Drive" by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah, a Chicago-based band from the early 1970s recounts the experience of driving down this wonderful road. Lake Shore Drive is one of the most famous and well known songs by the group, released in 1971, the album has the same name. The song was never originally supposed to be officially recorded, guitarrist Skip Haynes originally wrote it on the fly, meant only for the other band members.

The origins of this song are well known as Haynes released a statement describing the process that created this song. The song started when Haynes was in his apartment looking over Lake Michigan after driving along Lake Shore during a snowy, empty night. He saw the blue lights of police cars under his windows which led to the lyrics "pretty blue lights" that jumpstarted the rest of the song.

The song describes driving down Lake Shore Drive (LSD) on a Friday night to hit the bars that lined the street, "the rounds" being the several bars that people would go to, double-park each other in then go onto the next bar. It explains the happiness and serenity of driving down the road early in the morning, "just you and your mind". The speaker and audience of this song is the youth (young adults) speaking to people who would not necessarily understand them, the freedom they want, escape from society. The song is upbeat and cheery, reflecting the unbridled happiness and lack of responsibility that young adults are allowed.

"Lake Shore Drive" is about the freedom and almost ignorant bliss of young adulthood, which Haynes clearly shows through his language.  Haynes uses multidimensional language to clarify his point, specifically in the line "slippin' on by on LSD"referencing the literal road and possibly the drug. LSD is a hallucinogen, that is known to create a calming, relaxing effect, similar to the feeling the drive evokes of the driver. The road is everything that is great about being young, the ability to feel like you can do whatever without consequence and the joy that accompanies it. Additionally, Haynes use of imagery creates a clear picture of the drive, which symbolizes freedom. For example the line "water on the driving side / concrete mountains rearing up". On one side of the street is the lake and the other are the skyscrapers which are written to seem like monsters or animals reaching up to grab the driver on Lake Shore Drive. However, the road allows the person to escape the oppressive water and buildings, both of which symbolize the pressures of society, for the freedom of the drive. On the road, the driver has the ability to be themselves, young and free without a care in the world. A few lines later, there are the lines: "Just you and your mind and Lake Shore Drive, tomorrow is another day / And the sunshine's fine in the morning time, tomorrow is another day". The repetition, at the end of successive lines, of "tomorrow is another day" emphasizes the easygoing, living day-to-day lifestyle of young people. The drive down Lake Shore Drive allows for a few minutes of reflection on the day of freedom before moving onto the next adventure. Everything in this song moves towards to try to explain the desire that young adults have to be free and happy and unrestrained in how they lives their lives.

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