Nothing says summer like wildfires, blistering heat waves, torrential rains… Er, I mean, nothing says summer in Canada like patio lanterns, a vibe Kim Mitchell captured in his 1986 classic, um, “Patio Lanterns.”
Described by the CBC as “quintessentially Canadian,” the song, while never making it to the top of the charts (or even the top 10), has nevertheless endured as a “timeless summer rock anthem,” which finds itself in radio station rotation across the nation each summer, not least on those cottage country outlets that thankfully remain beacons of nostalgic CanCon.
Even at the time, while the song was capturing the short summer zeitgeist in this country, it touched another button, alluding to an earlier, less complicated time in our lives – one of teen simplicity and innocence, where the biggest concern in life was whether he/she would dance with me, under the glow of those ubiquitous patio lanterns.
It’s a sentiment we surely need, and can certainly relate today – more so than ever.
Lyrics
Our house had the biggest patio
Our house had all the summer shade
We had patio lanterns
I’d spend half the night making lemonade
Which we drank a lot
‘Cause we were all so shy
Shy and nervous
Who was gonna be
Who would be the first to dance
Who was gonna be
Who would be the first to kiss
Under those patio lanterns
Those patio lanterns
They were the stars in the sky
Those patio lanterns
Lighting up our lives
Those patio lanterns
They were the stars in the sky
Those patio lanterns
Lighting up our lives
Oh, those patio lanterns
And I was stuck on Joy, that was her name
We didn’t talk much
She was a nervous girl
I was a nervous boy
We stuck together like glue on glue
Dancing to an old song
Bobby Vinton’s Blue on Blue
Heartache on heartache
Who was gonna be
Who would be the first to dance
Who was gonna be
Who would be the first to kiss
Under those patio lanterns
Those patio lanterns
They were the stars in the sky
Those patio lanterns
Lighting up our lives
Those patio lanterns
They were the stars in the sky
Those patio lanterns
Lighting up our lives
Oh, those patio lanterns
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