"Romeo's Tune" by Steve Forbert

Happy Sunday, Dialophiles!

After enlightening you all with a month of relatively obscure songs, the Dial now beams a warm, nostalgic signal to your speakers containing a ditty that was all over American Top 40 radio in late ‘79 going into 1980. Tonight, we are pleased to feature Steve Forbert with “Romeo’s Tune”.

Taken from 1979’s Jackrabbit Slim LP, and peaking at #11 in February ’80, Forbert’s upbeat, playful melody is accentuated with poetic lyrics, (“Let me smell the moon in your perfume…”) creating a joyous, romantic vibe that sidesteps the typical overwrought,  schmaltzy clichés found in your average love song.

Forbert was undeservedly a one hit wonder, despite being lauded in critical circles as the “next Dylan”. He continues to release albums on small independent labels every few years, and his lone top 40 track has seen a 2007 revival by country artist Keith Urban.

I remember humming along to “Romeo’s Tune” on the radio (WPGC FM) while getting ready for first grade on chilly Maryland mornings. As Steve never actually sings the title in the song, for years I misidentified the song as “Meet Me in the Middle o’ the Day” after the opening lyrics. A similar issue plagued my early recollection of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” which for a time, I called “Thunder Only Happens”. By the time my high school years begun, I had immersed myself in the history of the pop charts, and learned the proper titles of both songs.

It’s been at least ten, possibly even twenty years since I last heard Forbert’s tune on the radio, so I’m going to give it a spin, sit back and let the nostalgia waft over me. Come join me, won’t you?

“Meet me in the middle of the day, let me hear you say, everything’s okay. Come on out beneath the shining sun. Meet me in the middle of the night, let me hear you say, everything’s alright, sneak on out beneath the stars and run, yeah.”