Well now, if you’ve ever found yourself adrift on the hazy, sun-scorched seas of summer, swept up in the intoxicating warmth of a fleeting romance, then you’ll recognize the tune “Summer Girl (Redux)” by The High Plains Drifters as if it were the sound of your own heart thumping against the walls of your ribcage. It’s the kind of song that catches hold of a fella like a fever—one minute you’re whistling along without a care, the next, you’re shaking your head and muttering, “By thunder, how did I get myself into this mess?”
Now, this song ain’t your average serenade of sunshine and smiles. Oh no, it’s as deceptive as the siren call of a shimmering beach at high noon. Led by Larry Studnicky, who sings as if he’s been around the block and stepped in a few puddles along the way, this band knows how to spin a yarn. “Summer Girl (Redux)” lures you in with its tropical rhythms, all tinkling steel drums and breezy beats, like a breeze that blows through your window just when you were about to fall asleep in the heat. But just when you’re nodding along, thinking it’s smooth sailing, the song flips the script on you.
It’s a tale older than Methuselah—love that burns bright and quick like a summer bonfire, only to leave you staring at the cold ashes by morning. Studnicky croons with the kind of wit that cuts sharper than a barber’s razor, as if he’s winking at you through the pain, saying, “Well, friend, you knew this was coming, didn’t you?” The romance here is not all cocktails on the beach and sunsets; no, sir, this is the kind of love that’s wrapped up in the sticky, bittersweet mess of life. The sun might be shining, but the heart is weather-beaten and worn down.
Now, the music—oh, that music! It’s as catchy as a fishhook lodged in your favorite hat. You’ve got steel drums setting the scene, painting palm trees in your mind’s eye and coaxing visions of gentle waves lapping at your feet. But look closer and you’ll see what’s really there—heartache hiding in plain sight, like a snake curled up in the grass just waiting for you to step wrong. That laid-back groove might lull you into thinking all’s well, but underneath it lies a warning: nothing gold can stay, not even summer love.
Then there’s the music video. Picture this: a middle-aged gent, battered by life’s storms, walking through the sun-dappled corridors of his memory. Each woman he recalls is like a chapter in a book he never finished, a story cut short by the realities of love’s fickle nature. It’s a tragic dance, but one done with a wink and a grin, as if to say, “Ain’t life just a riot sometimes?” And just when you think he’s given up, he stands there, ready to love again, like an old sailor heading back out to sea after a storm, knowing full well there’s another tempest on the horizon.
In short, “Summer Girl (Redux)” is like sipping sweet lemonade laced with just enough bitterness to make you pucker. It’s playful, poignant, and packs a punch that’ll leave you mulling over the lyrics long after the music fades.
Heather Savage