# Help me remember this late '80s song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742 "2006-04-07T16:56:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/21 "2006-04-08T00:43:04Z")
Are you absolutely sure about the year? Because it sounds a lot like “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. but that was from the early 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/22 "2006-04-08T02:26:02Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > In late 1987 and early 1988, there was a song that was frequently played on rock/pop stations in New England (and maybe across the country, but that’s where I was at the time). It was in a minor key, had a male vocalist, and had lyrics which suggested that the vocalist/protagonist had been recently released from an asylum or mental institution. It had a winsome, rather sad feel to it. It _might_ have been sung by George Harrison, but I’m not at all sure of that. > > Does that ring a bell for anyone? If it’s not Take Me Home, then the only other thing I can think of is the entire Alice Cooper album “From the Inside”, which is, literally, about his experiences in a mental institution. I realize that the album was released at least a decade too early for the OP, but I still here some of it getting radio play. I came to appreciate Alice only a few years ago. I think he’s WAY underrated. ---
**Author:** ![arjee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@arjee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arjee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/23 "2006-04-08T02:45:54Z")
\*\*\*Solsbury Hill \*\* \* by Peter Gabriel? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/24 "2006-04-08T03:49:10Z")
> [@Cabbage](#): > > The first song that comes to my mind is _I Don’t Mind at All_ by Bourgeois Tagg (and produced by Todd Rundgren). Here’s a link to the lyrics: > > [Golden Oldies Lyrics, Year Top Charts and much more by LyricsVault](http://www.lyricsvault.net/songs/7365.html) This is the song that sprung to my mind. [Here](http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/bourgeois_tagg/25166/album.jhtml) is a link to a clip of the song (WMP). I remember it being played often back then, on stations in Saint John, NB, and one in Calais, Maine. (K100, C98, and WQDY). Which is pretty _close_ to being in New England. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/25 "2006-04-08T16:39:54Z")
Wow! Some good suggestions. It’s definitely NOT Duran Duran’s “Rio” (please… :dubious: ), Phil Collins’s “Take Me Home,” Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill,” David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes,” or anything from U2’s “The Joshua Tree” album. Having just listened to them, it’s also not Yaz’s “In My Room,” Suicidal Tendencies’ “Institutionalized,” or anything from George Harrison’s “Cloud Nine” album. I haven’t been able to find an easily-accessible online source (iTunes, [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) or [Barnesandnoble.com](http://Barnesandnoble.com)) for The Smiths’ “Last Night I Dreamt…,” but will try to do so. The lyrics to Bourgeois Tagg’s “I Don’t Mind at All” look familiar (esp. the last paragraph); it could very well be that one. I’ll look into it further. Thanks for your help so far, everybody. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/26 "2006-04-08T17:04:47Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > It’s definitely NOT Duran Duran’s “Rio” (please… :dubious: ), That’s a Doper inside joke, along the lines of “Og” and “Hi, Opal!” It started in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296939). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/27 "2006-04-08T17:51:02Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > That’s a Doper inside joke, along the lines of “Og” and “Hi, Opal!” It started in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296939). Thanks - went right over my head. Now that I’ve read it, 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/28 "2006-04-08T21:32:40Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > The lyrics to Bourgeois Tagg’s “I Don’t Mind at All” look familiar (esp. the last paragraph); it could very well be that one. I had (and still have) a pretty strong feeling that was the song you’re thinking of; it fits your description, I heard it often around 1987, and I haven’t heard it on the radio a single time since. If you’re having trouble finding a clip, email me and I can send you one (my email address is in my profile). ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/29 "2006-04-08T22:39:43Z")
Oh, crap, sorry, I didn’t know my link to the clip of the song in post #24 didn’t work. Is there a format you know _would_ work? _hoping I’m not crashing computers left and right_☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/30 "2006-04-08T22:57:30Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Oh, crap, sorry, I didn’t know my link to the clip of the song in post #24 didn’t work. Is there a format you know _would_ work? > > _hoping I’m not crashing computers left and right_☹ Actually, your link does work (for me, anyway). I hadn’t tried it until just now; I just got an impression from **Elendil’s Heir** ’s post that he/she hadn’t found a working link. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/31 "2006-04-08T23:20:49Z")
> [@Talon Karrde](#): > > It looks like George Harrison did release an album in 87, [Cloud Nine](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jtklu325andk)… Yes, how could the SDopers forget? George Harrison released “I Got My Mind Set On You”, but it does not fit the description in the OP. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/32 "2006-04-08T23:27:06Z")
Here’s a forgotten song from that time period, but I make no guarantees. Although you say it is not Phil Collins, Phil had a song only found on the CD of “No Jacket Required” at the end of the album that says: “…turn your head, don’t look back; set your sails for a new horizon, it gets better when you get there…” It’s called “We Said Hello Goodbye” but it may not meet your criteria. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/33 "2006-04-08T23:34:28Z")
Don’t overlook Pink Floyd for such a song. Pink Floyd put out the “Momentary Lapse of Reason” CD around this time of which “Learning to Fly” was the first single cut from this album. (This should not be confused with Tom Petty’s “Learning to Fly”.) There was another song cut from this entitled “On The Turning Away” which seems reminscient of older Pink Floyd songs of which many bordered on the seemingly insane. The third cut from this album “The Dogs of War” is lesser known. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/34 "2006-04-08T23:47:26Z")
I’ve ordered The Smiths’s and Bourgeois Tagg’s appropriate albums through interlibrary loan, and should be able to find out when I get 'em. **Cabbage** , the more I think of it, the more I suspect that it’s the second. Thanks, everybody! ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/35 "2006-04-09T00:05:39Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Was it Billy Joel? Sounds like something he’d do! To clairfy for the pop fans of Billy Joel, his crazy period began with the Glass Houses album and continued into the Nylon Curtain album. But, both albums preceded the time period given in the OP. Still, the Nylon Curtain is an interesting artistic experiment on Billy Joel’s behalf to break away from mainstream pop music mold, IMHO… - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/36 "2006-04-09T00:47:08Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > I haven’t been able to find an easily-accessible online source (iTunes, [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) or [Barnesandnoble.com](http://Barnesandnoble.com)) for The Smiths’ “Last Night I Dreamt…,” but will try to do so. > . Have you tried [www.allofmp3.com](http://www.allofmp3.com)? It’s another site that sells mp3s either singly or as whole albums. [http://music.allofmp3.com/r2/The\_Smiths/Strangeways\_\_Here\_We\_Come/group\_5512/album\_1/mcatalog.shtml?albref=25](http://music.allofmp3.com/r2/The_Smiths/Strangeways__Here_We_Come/group_5512/album_1/mcatalog.shtml?albref=25) You may have to register to get there. That site lets you preview songs, just click the little speaker icon next to the song title (doesn’t show up until you mouse over the title) ---
**Author:** ![bradministrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@bradministrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradministrator)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/37 "2006-04-09T01:05:07Z")
George Harrison was a member of the Travelling Wilburys, who released an album about this time. Maybe someone who remembers that album better than I do would know if they had a song like this? ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/38 "2006-04-09T05:30:25Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > The lyrics to Bourgeois Tagg’s “I Don’t Mind at All” look familiar (esp. the last paragraph); it could very well be that one. I’ll look into it further. Except this one has a quicker tempo than what your description sounded like. I would definitely not call it slow and elegiac. Although it is primarily vocals and guitar (as described in the question). ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/39 "2006-04-09T14:53:33Z")
Do you know any of the lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742/40 "2006-04-09T15:47:46Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > Do you know any of the lyrics? See posts #1 and 5. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-remember-this-late-80s-song/351742.md?page=3)