The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

A few days ago I heard the Don Henley song "The Boys of Summer" on the radio and it's since been a staple of the radio station in my head, and this despite call-in protests by the listener that other music be considered for broadcast. Now, I typically assume The Dude's position on the Eagles, but for some reason I tend to really enjoy Don Henley's solo work. The most famous lyric from this particular song is "Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac." I've been thinking about what it is that Don Henley is trying to express. Of this lyric, the Wikipedia article on the song states, "This image of once-countercultural Deadheads driving establishment status symbol Cadillacs immediately connected with Henley's age group, and neatly encapsulated the song's feelings of loss and aging." I question that the Deadhead statement touches on feelings of loss and aging. Loss, yes, I think so. But, loss due to aging, the passing of time, I'm not so sure.

The car isn't a minivan or a family sedan, it's a Cadillac. A car of luxury (for most Americans). Though plenty of people drive Cadillacs, most people who drive cars don't drive Cadillacs. It remains among an elite group of car buyers. I think every adult is prone to think back on their youth, from time to time, and reflect on teenage years, or perhaps college years, with longing for a time since passed. But I think the notion of a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac is not simply a mediation on the notion of aging, but also of lost ideals.

There where many musicians with whom the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s identified, but the Grateful Dead were unique among their peers. There are a number of stories about people who just gave up their jobs and lives to follow the Grateful Dead around on tour. These people weren't necessarily roadies or anything like that, they were just fans who decided that following around the band, picking up odd jobs here and there, was the best course of life. There were other Deadheads who maintained their homes and jobs, but managed to find ways to catch the band in concert six, seven, eight or more times a year (I remember one of the jurors during the federal trial of Timothy McVeigh was on such person). The Grateful Dead were also unique in that they never broke up or disbanded (at least not until 1994 when Jerry Garcia died, and then they continued on in various capacities, under various monikers, maintaining the atmosphere and music of the Grateful Dead). They remained ambassadors of the counterculture in a world that had moved on to junk bonds and, well, Cadillacs.

I think Don Henley is making a bit of a critique with this line about the Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. If the Deadhead sticker were on a VW van or a Gremiln, it would have made sense. It's just longing for youth. It's just longing for a time no longer present. But, the sticker is on a Cadillac. Whoever is driving the Cadillac isn't simply someone who grew up, he or she (or they) is someone who gave up. The ideals of the counterculture, the life of the counterculture, would never have provided the animities and comforts of the status quo. You reach a point in life--you get old enough--and the ideals and integrity of youth are just too difficult to pursue. Young people can afford to have ideals. Old people have families and 401k and a mortgage--things that suffer because of youthful ideals. Why would you continue to pursue such things when a pleasing, entirely acceptable life is waiting if you just conform?

A few years ago The Ataris covered this song and changed the Deadhead sticker to a Black Flag sticker--an attempt to make the same point to a younger generation.