Summer Of ‘63 Poem by David Harris

Everyone will have a year
that they will never forget,
for some reason or other.
Mine is 1963
and the summer of that year.

The year started normal,
but before it was over
my life would change.
Something would possess me
and never entirely go away.

I was eighteen at the time,
no steady girlfriend to call mine.
Then one day with my wages, she came.
I smiled and for some reason,
I wanted to go out with her.

A few weeks later, I got the chance.
I bucked up enough courage to ask her out.
So then, it started my first big romance.
Her name was Joyce Knapp,
but she liked to be called Joy, I remember that.

From June to September,
our romance grew strong.
Then one day it was over as sudden as it began,
with her immortal words one night.
I love you, but I don’t want to hurt you
so I’m packing you up.

We parted; a lot of tears filled my eyes.
She said we could see each other,
but I said I’d rather not.
Just one clean break
and tell everyone we were through.

So off I wandered broken hearted,
looking for someone to ease the pain.
It wasn’t a someone that did it for me,
rather a something you see.
A turning point in my life.


In 1963, the Beatles were all the rave;
everyone wanted a link,
to associate themselves with them.
I had my link in my birthday June 18th.
It is the same birthday as Paul McCartney.

The year maybe different, but never mine,
we share the same month and day.
So I said to a friend of mine at the time Ian Freeman,
why don’t we write a song together.
I know a little about music.

A date and a time was made
and we’d meet at my house.
We were going to write, a number one best seller,
but what came out would make glass break.
A much dreaded Shake Little Baby, Shake.

It never got further than the lyric stage,
a right little stinker to ever grace a page.
We went on to write another would you believe,
called Little Wandering Girl.
I think she is wandering still.

Ian had had enough and I didn’t blame him,
but I soldiered on through songs,
short stories, novels and poems,
to where I am now.
So now, you see how it started for me.

A long time ago in the summer of ‘63.
I have only one regret you see.
I never got a chance to thank,
Joy and Ian as I lost contact with them.
I hope they may read this one day, and contact me
so I can thank them properly.

20 July 2007