Rhinofy-It Might Be You
Monica said she just recorded it in Spanish.
What was the name of the track again?
“Maybe It’s You.”
Don’t know it.
But then twenty minutes later it came up again, and this time I heard it correctly, she sang IT MIGHT BE YOU!
It took just that long for the synapses to fire, to remember the Stephen Bishop number. You remember, from “Tootsie”!
That’s what Mitch said. I referenced the suit Bish wore on the Oscars, which looked like paint had been dripped upon it, and Mitch just remembered the red dress Dustin Hoffman wore in the movie. He started reminiscing about a flick from thirty years ago, which we all know so well.
Isn’t it funny how the shoot-em-ups make all the money, but it’s those that touch our hearts that truly live on.
And I know Bish.
Used to see him all the time at Harold’s house. We connected over women. We were both single, me freshly separated, Stephen never married, with great insight and a good sense of humor. You see these people on stage, you hear them on the radio, you’ve got no idea what they’re truly like. Then you meet them and you realize THEY’RE JUST LIKE YOU! Only a lot more successful.
You remember “On and On”. Which I always mixed up in my mind with Rupert Holmes’ “Pina Colada Song” (formally known as “Escape”), even though they’re very different, but they were both AM hits when everybody listened to the FM, everybody hip, but both were about…being away.
Down in Jamaica they got lots of pretty women
Steal your money then they break your heart
“On and On” is one of those tracks you think is too wimpy when it’s a hit and then years later you realize it’s truly magic, especially when you find out the guy who wrote and sang it is anything but wimpy.
But Bishop didn’t write “It Might Be You.” The music was by Dave Grusin, the lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. But it sounds just like him! Most people are stunned to find out he didn’t write it.
Then again, he delivers it.
But the production is key, it sounds like a TV theme, anything but rock and roll. The way it starts quietly, coming over the hill, it makes you think of a sitcom, like “Mary Tyler Moore.” And then there are the accents, which you sing along to, when you hear the track and know they represent “Maybe it’s you,” which is sung over and over again later in the song.
And the verses are meaningful, but sappy.
Then there’s the chorus…
Something’s telling me it might be you
It’s telling me it might be you
MIGHT! You know the feeling, when you’re talking to somebody the first time and you get that feeling, somewhere in your upper chest, THIS COULD BE THE ONE!
And when you leave the engagement you’re walking on air, basking in the euphoria of the connection. The next day is a complete write-off, all you can do is think of them. You’re in your own mind and you love it. You’d almost rather not call or text or e-mail, for fear the spell will be broken.
But it’s the end of the song that truly resonates, the aforementioned “Maybe it’s yous”
Maybe it’s you
Maybe it’s you
I’ve been waiting for all of my life
I’ve been waiting for so long, barking up trees, kissing frogs, but finally…I might have found the one.
Maybe it’s you
Maybe it’s you
I’ve been waiting for all of my life
This is the essence. This is what the song sounds like. Hope. That a better life is coming down the pike. That while you were just minding your own business your whole life became complete.
And every time you listen to the track, you love it more.
Because of the foreshadowing.
The wandering verses.
And the resolution.
Great music is not about genres. It’s about songs, production and performance.
And life isn’t about achievements, but feelings.
And when I listen to “It Might Be You” I feel like life is made to work out. That when you’re down and out it’ll surprise you. Just maybe…
