By the time I heard “Come Again” for the first time via a video on MTV, I was already a fan of Tommy Shaw and the aforementioned Styx as well as Jack Blades and Night Ranger. I didn't care about Ted Nugent at that point nor was I familiar with drummer Michael Cartellone, so the selling point for me with Damn Yankees at the outset of their collaboration was Shaw and Blades. I loved the harmonies in the second single, their hit “High Enough”, but it was the third single that did it for me. That first listen just knocked me out and it still does every time I hear it.
“Come Again” opens with a wonderful acoustic guitar (which threads through the song) and it doesn't take long until those fantastic harmonies, flanked by lovely strings, to come in, and I tell you... The voices of Jack and Tommy together is vocal heaven for me. Seriously. They go so perfectly together they just take me away. *chefs kiss* Lyrically, the song is about the surprise of finding love on the road and the feelings of leaving and coming back to them. Musically this is illustrated perfectly as the song moves from the acoustic to a bluesier electric verse that surges into a straight-on rock chorus in the most perfect way to me. And all the rocking guitar breaks... I can't help but get swept up in it, singing along and rocking out simultaneously. It's just so damn good!
I know a chunk of my music friends aren't really into stuff like this, and that's okay. I just know that “Come Again” is a great encapsulation of what I love about good, classic style rock and roll. The guitars, the powerhouse vocals and drums, the lyrics... I will always have these things as part of me, and nothing can ever change that. I hope this song helps you to appreciate this realm of rock, and this side of me, a little more.
I was a loner cruisin’ with the wind
I wasn't looking when you pulled me in
I had to leave you, like I always did
You knew damn well I'd come again
Now I'm falling, where I've never been
My resistance is wearing thin
Somewhere in the distance
Like a long lost friend
Woah woah, yeah…
Lord here I come again
It's been so long since I've seen you girl
Swear I've been around the world
Every room is an empty space
In the darkness I see your face
Woah woah woah, Ohh woah woah woah
ooh woah woah woah
When I finally get my hands on you
Tell you what I'm gonna do
Lay you down strip you bare
Make love to you 'til the morning comes around
I wasn't looking when you pulled me in
Woah Yeah
Lord here I come again
Come again, come again, I say lord
[Lots and lots of guitar driven instrumental]
I wasn't looking when you pulled me in
Woah, yeah
Lord here I come again
Woah woah woah
Ooh woah woah woah
Ooh Woah woah woah
Ooh woah woah woah
Oh yeah
I wasn't looking when you pulled me in
Woah, yeah
Lord here I come again
Photos, videos, and lyrics used for reference and informational purposes.
