Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Cruel Summer" (Bananarama)

Rules of Civility #20 - "The gestures of the body must be suited to the discourse you are upon"

Welcome to Tuesday and the July 25th edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  I'm Randy Cross and for the next few minutes we'll dive into a great tune from the '80s, reminisce about that time and see if the song still has applications and implications for today.  Welcome again, now on with the countdown...


This band is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female band having the most charted singles ever.  By 2002, the band had sold 40 million records world wide.  While moderately successful in the United States during the decade of the '80s, this band has seen international success with their brand of dance music that continues to rock the beat in clubs all over Europe.  They hit #1 internationally with the cover of Shocking Blue's #1 hit from 1971, "Venus". They started as a trio, but officially became a duet as of 1993.  They celebrated 30 years of recording in 2012 and were the featured musical act at the men's final of beach volleyball at the London Olympics.  But it was a #9 hit from the album Deep Sea Skiving featured in the movie The Karate Kid, (but not appearing on the soundtrack) that would propel the band Bananarama to icons in the music industry that was the '80s.  From 1984, here's Bananarama with "Cruel Summer":

Bananarama "Cruel Summer"

The Notes must concur with Bananarama's observation regarding summer. "It's too close for comfort, this heat has got right out of hand..." and the summer just started!  Alas, we have gotten conditioned to the air conditioning.  There was a time when each of us probably couldn't wait for the summer to begin.  We would see the transitions from winter to spring and know that just around the corner would be a time when the school bells would not ring. Outside in the sun was the only place we wanted to be.  We traded school work for a different kind of working activity.  At our house, summer always brought garden work, yard work, and more garden work. This transition of inside work to outside work provided the benefits of a healthy body and incredible food that would last through most of the winter.  In reality, we welcomed the fruits of our labor despite the temporary discomforts of a humid Arkansas summer.  What were the signs that indicated that summer was near for you? 

In the 21st chapter of Luke, Jesus was in Jerusalem with His disciples who began commenting on the splendor of the temple.  At this point, Jesus makes a bold statement regarding a time when "the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." - Luke 21:6.  This disturbed the group enough that their inquiring minds wanted to know more.  So they asked when these events would begin to take place.  Jesus then begins a brief message regarding the watchfulness of His disciples for signs that the things He speaks of will come to pass.  You can read the entire message here:   

Luke 21:5-36 King James Version/New International Version Parallel. 

Let's focus on the summer section of Jesus' message, from verse 29-31:

 "He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near."

Have you read about any of the events that Jesus described occurring in our time?  Could "summer" be near?  Some of the worst floods in Canadian history happened last week.  It seems every other week or so, we hear news of a major earthquake happening.  Here is a link to earthquake activity this year:

2013 Earthquake events United States Geological Survey.

Perhaps you can remember a couple of hurricanes named Rita and Katrina?  A steady diet of global warming propaganda from the news media can distract our vision from the coming of "summer".  Our news headlines are not only filled with natural disasters, but human disasters as well.  The civil war in Syria, the people of Brazil in the streets protesting, the United States constant tensions with Russia and Iran, and the Arab world "compassing" around Israel, are all examples of our "summer" being at hand.  Persecutions of Christians around the world, including in the US, occur on a daily basis.  (For more information about Christian persecution visit Voice Of The Martyrs)

It is very easy to see that Jesus' words are coming true in our lifetime.  Does that mean we need to keep our eye on the Eastern sky?  Sure!!!  Jesus commanded His disciples to be watching for these prophecies to be fulfilled in their lifetime, how much more should we be watchful as we see events of Biblical proportions unfold before our eyes ?  So friend, the question begs...are you ready for "summer"?  Have you looked at any fig trees lately?


"Strange voices are saying, What did they say, Things I can't understand It's too close for comfort This heat has got right out of hand"...



'Til Tuesday,


Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy