Yazoo's "Situation" was huge in the clubs in 1982. But HERC was only sixteen so how the heck would he know? (He read it in a book.) He first remembers hearing the song in 1984 as it was played in the annual dance recital his Senior year. His classmate was a member of the dance group and it was she who had chosen the song. HERC can't tell you much more about the song other than he bought the twelve inch single the first time he found it that Summer and on his Graduation Night in June 1984, that same classmate gave him a dynamite hug, putting her whole body (which was significantly shorter than HERC's) into it. She also slipped a piece of paper in his pocket and told him to call her later. Graduation Night did not go well for your boy HERC. He accidentally locked his keys in his '63 VW Bug. After making his way back to the car after the ceremony, a couple of passers-by showed him how to break into his car. His college girlfriend couldn't attend his ceremony because she had to attend the simultaneous ceremony of her brother across town. She did buy HERC a sweet silver and gold watch for a graduation present though. Her family obligations would prevent her from attending THE party HERC hoped to take her to. HERC went to that party, a few miles from school and saw most of his classmates there and more than one of them told him that a certain girl, a girl he had been interested in for more than two years was looking for him but she had just left. HERC got the address of the next party she had apparently moved on to and took off after her, girlfriend be damned. Arriving at the second party, again HERC got the same story: she's looking for you and she just left for a party in the desert. HERC arrived at party in the desert, west of the city. Since he didn't drink and didn't smoke there wasn't much for him to do but stare at the big bonfire and look for The Girl. He found his best friend stoned there in the desert and he was all like "Dude, you just missed her." He knew of no other parties and neither did the few other people HERC had asked. The quest was over. Piling dejectedly back into his car, he reached for the keys in his pocket and pulled out the paper the hugger/dancer had given him at Graduation. (Just to be clear, the girl he was just missing and the dancer were two different girls.) He found a pay-phone at a local Circle K and dialed the digits. Her twin sister answered and before you get any ideas, they were fraternal twins and she looked nothing like the blue-eyed blond-haired dancer. After giving him a hard time for a few minutes, she relinquished the phone to her sister, who invited HERC over with the classic line "I'm home all alone" (well, technically except for her sister) and gave him directions to their apartment complex so they could go for a midnight swim she said. It took HERC about 15 minutes to find the place so it was just past midnight when he knocked on the door. She answered the door in a white robe, apparently ready to hit the pool which was around corner from their place. HERC could hear her sister talking on the phone as the dancer in a robe closed the door and led him around to the pool, which was dark. She unlocked the gate and pushed it open - to HERC's surprise, it opened quietly. (His car door made more noise.) He watched in the darkness as the dancer walked to the edge of the pool, dropped her robe and stepped down the steps into the water. NAKED! HERC couldn't peel down fast enough but soon he was in the pool, skinny dipping for the first time in his life. They fooled around a little, touching and kissing but nothing really happened. She seemed to be enjoying herself, quietly laughing and giggling and sounding a lot like Alison Moyet laughing in "Sitaution". The water was freezing which was crazy because it was the beginning of June and had been 100 degrees out up until about two hours ago. The dancer ending up walking out of the pool, donning her robe and asked him if he was coming. HERC got out, got dressed, checked his graduation present watch in his pocket and realized he was going to miss his curfew as he had a half-hour to get home but he was at least 45 minutes away from his house across town. He told the Dancer and she smiled and followed him to his car, stopping in the grass just before the parking lot. She gave him another hug like she did at Graduation and told him she'd been wanting to do that all year. HERC, who was sopping wet because they had no towels, wasn't sure if it was the skinny dip or the hugs or both but all he said was something lame like "always follow your instincts" and they kissed and he got in and drove away. HERC never saw her again but she did send a letter late in the Summer thanking him for "that magical night" - that nothing happened, thought HERC. Her name and that of her sister are both on the list of more than 100 of HERC's classmates from 1984 that this year's 30th Reunion organizers have no contact info for.
Thanks for the shout-out link. I still enjoy this song and album.
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