"I'm not a present for your friends to open"

[minoanmiss]

This song in particular has been going through my head all week. I even have a story idea based on it.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

When are you gonna come down?
When are you going to land?
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man
You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing, the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough
Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then?
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again
Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough
Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road lyrics © Universal Music Publishing



A young groupie isn't as young as she used to be, and is getting tired of and disillusioned with her life, her drummer boyfrend and how he sees her as a commodity, etc. She has a pivotal scene where she talks to another, maybe younger, girl about wildlife (I had to get the owl and toad in there) and another where she walks out of a wild party, takes a shower, and sets out to go home. Boyfriend tells her her parents won't take her back, and she says, "you're right" -- person she calls is her elder sister, whom she impresses with her sincerity and her plan to go back to school.

I don't want to write a Hedonism is Bad story -- I've had a few delightful tastes of hedonism -- but a story about how different things have their times and sometimes one phase of life ends and another begins.

Maybe I'll keep this note for Jukebox 2020 or Yuletide 2019.

Comments

[mekare]

I like the approach of ‚different things have their times‘ for a fic like this.

[sabotabby]

That sounds like an awesome story. You could flit back between different timelines of her life too, to give the sense that they're both equally legit but different.

[cjsmith]

I love this SO MUCH RIGHT NOW.

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found

Ohhh yes.

[kore]

That sounds PERF for either Yuletide or Jukebox.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

This song and a Rod Steward one (that one's got hustling pool and text books in it) are a natural mash up.

Much as Rocket Man and Major Tom to Groundcontrol.

[acelightning]

You must mean "Maggie Mae", by Rod Stewart. A college-age young man takes up with a sexually predatory older woman (a "cougar"), and is growing tired of being her toy-boy. He knows he should go back to college, or get a job, or do something besides being a kept man. But he still loves the older woman for who she is.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Yes, that's the song I meant.

Of course, Forever Young could be used for Jack Harkness or a MCU video.

[annonynous.livejournal.com]

Stealing your Daddy's cue and making a living out playing pool is an improvement over being a kept man.

I heard "Forever Young" recently, which reaffirmed why I think it is by far and away Stewart's best song.

Ann O.

[ororo]

I always figured Forever Young was written for Maggie Mae.

[sugarandlime]

I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite Elton song, but this is easily top ten, and I love the story idea :)

[acelightning]

Hedonism definitely has its place, but there are times when self-discipline and hard work are called for.

[amaebi]

Cool.

I think that hedonism is not the problem, but that being commodified is.

[gale_storm]

I like the direction it's taking, and I'm more than sure you'll take its rudder well.

'Back to the howling old owl in the woods'

Hm. I'd never before considered that owls howl.

[acelightning]

There's an old joke, in which two Cockney gentlemen are taking a shortcut home from the pub and passing through a forested area. Suddenly, nearby, there's a ghastly noise, and one man says, "What in 'ell was THAT?" And the other one replies, "I think it's an owl." "Well, I know it was a 'owl, but WHAT's 'owling?" (*rimshot*)

[gale_storm]

Okay then! I asked for that one, true enough! :-/ :-\ :-)

[acelightning]

You know I'm seriously sleep-deprived, drunk, high, or othewise impaired when I make terrible puns. But the worst is when I start reciting really ancient dirty limericks ;-)

[gale_storm]

So, you're saving the best for laters then, hm?

:-D

[acelightning]

There once was a fellow named Lou,
Who slept in a dugout canoe...

[darkmarcy]

Ooh great idea! Realising that the life you've lead up till now might not be the one you want anymore is not preachy, just grown-up.