O is for One Hour

Many, many years ago, during a late night/early morning, cocktail induced philosophical discussion with my best friend, she asked me this:  

“E, If you could have Jon and the boys all to yourself and have them play one hour’s worth of songs, songs that you picked, what songs would you choose to fill those 60 minutes?”

I’m not sure what I said, for I was under the influence at the time and because that was over 20 years ago.  I’m sure I picked the most commonly known and most popular songs they had released up to that point.  

Back in February, my blogger friend, Erin, posted her Ultimate Bon Jovi Playlist on her blog.  Erin and I share a deep and devoted love for the band that hails from New Jersey.  At the end of her blog, she called me out - I mean, she literally called me out and asked me what my favorite Bon Jovi songs were.  Given that it was in the way too early hours of the morning when I read it and that I had to be at work in less than an hour, there was no way I could possibly list them all in such a short amount of time.  During my drive to work that morning, I recalled that ancient conversation with my best friend and that’s when the inspiration for this post hit me.

If I was given the unimaginable gift of having Jon and the boys (Richie included - he MUST be there) all to myself for one hour…okay, okay,  wouldn’t be stingy - I’d invite some close friends whom I know would enjoy the experience (Erin, I’d invite you, too, since you are a true, long time fan), these are the songs I’d request.  

And, just for the challenge, I've listed the running times of each song in parentheses as they are listed in my iTunes music library, with the exception of one that is denoted with an *.  For that song, I used the running time from the video on YouTube.  I have ONE hour.  One.  Here we go…

Always (5:53)

My favorite of all Bon Jovi’s ballads.

Born to Be My Baby (4:40)
This song always seemed like the continuation of Tommy and Gina's story from Livin' on a Prayer.  I like it because it's about standing together when times get tough.

Edge of a Broken Heart (4:34) 

I’ve heard this song performed live once.  ONCE.  It’s an obscure song that was cut from Slippery When Wet and appeared on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Disorderlies soundtrack (you know, the kooky movie starring The Fat Boys).

*Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover) (6:00)

I had heard k.d. Lang’s version of this song before hearing Bon Jovi’s version.  The first time I heard Bon Jovi’s cover of this Leonard Cohen classic (@ Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, April 2010), I cried.  I know how cliche this sounds, but it is such a beautiful song and Jon sang it with such conviction, that my emotions spilled over in the form of tears.

Into the Echo (5:04)

Unless you have the band’s 2013 album, What About Now (deluxe edition), you probably will not know this song.  I’ve never heard it in concert and it was never released as a single in the U.S.  I love it though.  There's just something haunting and beautiful about the lyrics:

When it hurts just to talk, and it’s too dark to see

When my heart’s just a hole full of want, full of need

Stuck at a stoplight, hands gripping the wheel

Tears fill your eyes and you bleed just to feel

Someone beside you, someone to cry to

Into the echo, we shout our dreams

Into the echo, we throw our hearts

Into the echo, we send our love

Into the echo, to the echo, into the echo

To hear it back

It’s My Life (3:45)

Bon Jovi took a long hiatus in the late 90s, so much so that many of die hard fans like myself were beginning to worry that they had quietly faded into musical history.  Then, in the year 2000, they exploded back on the airwaves with this song.  This song is my personal mantra.

Livin’ On A Prayer (4:10)

Yes, I have heard this song a million times. I’ve heard it on the radio, on cassette tape (back in the 1980s), on CD, on my iPod, on my phone, and live in concert.  It’s my ringtone, for goodness sake!  But, it's still my all-time favorite.  No Bon Jovi performance, no matter how large or small, would be complete without this song.

Love’s The Only Rule (4:38)
Unreleased from The Circle album.  I love these lyrics:

I don't give a damn

How it's supposed to be

That might work for you

It don't work for me

You write your truth

And I'll write mine

One man's ceiling's

Another man's sky high

Flying like an aeroplane

Crying Like the lonely whistle of a long black train

Dance in the pouring rain

Spit in the eye of a hurricane

Who said life has got to be so cruel

Love's the only rule

(You Want To) Make a Memory (4:36)
One word.  Haunting.

Only Lonely (4:59)
What I've always liked about this song is the pain behind the lyrics.  It's about a love that may not the best for those involved, but a love that they just can't seem to live without and or move beyond.

That’s What the Water Made (4:25)

Another unreleased song from the What About Now album, but one of my favorites. 

This is Love, This is Life (3:25)
Remember Tommy and Gina from Livin' on a Prayer?  Well, I've always thought this song could be about them, too.  In Livin' on a Prayer, I picture them as young adults in their 20s.  In this song, I see them as seasoned middle age adults.  

You Give Love A Bad Name (3:44)

As I’ve said before, this song truly changed my life.  You can read more about it in these posts: The Soundtrack of My Life and D is for Defined.

There you have it, my one hour long Bon Jovi private performance setlist.  If my calculations are correct, the running time comes in at 59 minutes and 33 seconds.  That leaves me 27 seconds to spare!  That's just enough time for a hug and a photo op!  LOL!

This is the fifteenth of twenty-six alphabetized blog entries that I am publishing this month as a part of the 2016 Blogging A to Z Challenge.  Many bloggers who participate in this challenge, select a theme.  My theme is - "Whatever I Think Of."  

For more information on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, click here.