My Gen X Playlist: Don’t You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds

What’s the hardest decision you ever had to make?

One of the most difficult decisions we had to make was saying goodbye to our six month old puppy. Because of allergy issues, it was best to find her a new home. She joined a friend’s family and now lives near the beach with a lot of room to run. We only had her six months, but we grew to love her.

We visited her a year after she was rehomed. We were nervous she wouldn’t remember us. A friend assured us that dogs have long memories. He was right. It was a sweet reunion. We saw her in her new environment and it was comforting to see her happy and surrounded by a loving family. That made us the happiest of all. We miss her, but her days are full of love and that makes us smile.

The Breakfast Club is probably one of the most classic Gen X movies. Don’t You (Forget About Me) was written specifically for this film. John Hughes wanted Simple Minds to perform this song, but because Simple Minds wrote all of their own music, they weren’t interested singing someone else’s song. After meeting Hughes, screening the movie and some additional coaxing, they eventually agreed. Although not an easy decision for the band, it probably was the best decision of their careers.

This song broke the band in America and got them on MTV, expanding their fanbase considerably. It was very strange for Simple Minds – who had paid their dues writing songs, playing them in clubs, and knocking on doors to solicit a record deal – to find themselves with a huge hit they didn’t write and only worked on for a few hours. They almost felt guilty about it.

“We thought, We didn’t even work for this, we just jumped down there for a couple of hours and now it’s #1 on the Billboard charts,” Jim Kerr told Songfacts. “It was a Calvinistic way of looking at it. We don’t deserve this success. But there’s this other thing that says, ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.’ You know, take the break. Listen to all those people who worked so hard for it in the record company and people who believed in it, and the people at MTV who gave us a break and all that stuff. We owe them a ton.”

– Songfacts

Well, it turns out, they did contribute to some of the lyrics. Some of the ad-libbing made it into the final cut.

The intro was especially inspired, with guitarist Charlie Burchill landing a big riff and Kerr ad-libbing the “hey, hey, hey, hey” part.

The “la-la-la-la” coda was inserted as a placeholder because neither Keith Forsey nor Jim Kerr could think of actual words that made sense. Kerr planned to write a real lyric and record it the next day, but when they played back the song, it was clear the “la-la” section was a winner and had to stay as is.

– Songfacts

Recently I’ve been hearing this song a lot on the radio and it always reminds me of the movie. This prompt made a new connection to our puppy. This is a first for me – attaching a recent memory to an old song. You would think that it would not quite fit right, that it would be somewhat forced – the old with the new. But in this case, it seems to fit quite nicely. Now there are two memories that are connected to this song. Maybe one day a third? Let’s wait and see.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Won't you come see about me?
I'll be alone, dancing you know it, baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out and
Love's strange so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don't you forget about me
Don't don't don't don't
Don't you forget about me

Will you stand above me
Look my way, never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down
Will you recognise me
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down, down

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Don't you try to pretend
It's my feeling we'll win in the end
I won't harm you or touch your defenses
Vanity, insecurity ah

Don't you forget about me
I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby
Going to take you apart
I'll put us back together at heart, baby

Don't you forget about me
Don't don't don't don't
Don't you forget about me

As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
When you walk away
Oh will you walk away?
Will you walk on by?
Come on, call my name
Will you call my name?

I say:
La la la...

When you walk on by
And you call my name...