Summer of ’69 was written in January 1984 in the basement studio of songwriter Jim Vallance in West Vancouver. It was created for Bryan Adams’ fourth studio album, Reckless, which was released later that year in November. The song underwent more revisions than any other track on the album; Adams described it as the most difficult to write and produce, with numerous demos failing to capture the desired sound before the final version was achieved.
Originally, the song carried the working title “The Best Days of My Life,” a phrase that appeared frequently in early drafts. The specific line “Summer of ’69” was initially included only because it rhymed with “Five and Dime.” Vallance and Adams eventually decided the new title was stronger, flipping the ratio so the iconic phrase replaced the original title in the final chorus. The track was recorded at two studios: Power Station in New York and Little Mountain in Vancouver.
I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the Five and Dime
Played it ’til my fingers bled
Was the summer of ’69
[Verse 2]
Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit, Jody got married
Should’ve known we’d never get far
[Chorus]
Oh, when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life
Hey!
[Verse 3]
Ain’t no use in complainin’
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenings down at the drive-in
And that’s when I met you, yeah
[Chorus]
Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me that you’d wait forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
[Refrain]
Oh, yeah
Back in the summer of ’69, ohh
[Bridge]
Man, we were killin’ time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothing can last forever
Forever, no!
Yeah!
[Verse 4]
And now the times are changin’
Look at everything that’s come and gone
Sometimes, when I play that old six-string
Think about you, wonder what went wrong
[Chorus]
Standin’ on your mama’s porch
You told me that it’d last forever
Oh, and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
[Outro]
Oh, yeah
Back in the summer of ’69, uh-huh
It was the summer of ’69, oh, yeah
Me and my baby in a ’69, ohh, ho!
It was the summer, summer, summer of ’69
Yeah
