Graduation (Friends Forever)
| Graduation (Friends Forever) | |
|---|---|
| vitamin C | |
| publication | August 31, 1999 |
| length | 5:40 (LP Version), 4:26 (Edit) |
| Genre (s) | pop |
| Author (s) | Vitamin C, Josh Deutsch |
| Producer (s) | Josh Deutsch, Garry Hughes |
| Label | Elektra Records |
| album | vitamin C |
Graduation (Friends Forever) (in some countries also Friends Forever (Graduation) ) is a song by the US singer Vitamin C from 1999. The third single of her debut album Vitamin C was written by the artist together with Josh Deutsch and by the latter co-produced with Garry Hughes .
Music and lyrics
Graduation (Friends Forever) is a pop song whose sound (including the incorporation of scratching into the beat and the selection of drum kits ) corresponds to that of the turn of the millennium. The song is based on the melody of the classical piece Kanon und Gigue in D major by the German composer Johann Pachelbel , which is played by strings throughout the song. There are three stanzas, each followed by the chorus, repeated three times the last time. Towards the end the singer is supported by a choir . Between the second chorus and the third stanza there is a longer, instrumental segment in which the string instruments play in a more dramatic tone.
In addition to the popular LP version, which lasts 5 minutes and 40 seconds, there is also an edit version of the song shortened by over a minute, which can also be heard in the music video . On this, the intro and the string solo are not fully played out and the chorus only sounds twice at the end. Which version is the main track of the single differs from country to country (the German version only contains the album version). There are also editions of both versions in which instrumental passages are underlaid with student interviews. The LP version can be found as a hidden track on the album.
The text of the song is from the perspective of a high school - student on the day of their statements in the form of a conversation with their friends wrote, and describes the bittersweet mood that prevails at this moment. It is split between the melancholy that the previous phase of life is coming to an end and confidence in the uncertain future. The young woman remembers a multitude of incidents during her youth that she and her friends denied and says that even when she knows that their ways will inevitably part, they will always remain friends. A central theme of the song is realizing your own growing up and the associated fears that the transition brings with it. The protagonist describes how up to this point she never thought that school would one day end, and it seems to her that they have become women and men out of nowhere. Only now does she notice that this epoch of her life will be over for good and that this will be the last day on which one can say unspoken things to each other. She also wonders whether her memories will fade after moving to a new city, whether she and her clique will maintain the same sense of humor and whether they will remember what they learned in school later on. It is also not clear to her whether and how she and her friends will find their way in professional life. Nevertheless, she is ultimately optimistic and describes the situation not as a farewell, but as "time to fly".
Music video
The music video for Graduation (Friends Forever) shows Vitamin C walking down an empty high school corridor while she recites the song. Other shots show them on the stage of an auditorium or on a staircase in front of the building. In between you can see how a large number of students filled the corridors and campus during the school year . Some of them hugging or talking, cheerleader give a free program for the best and in classrooms is with paper planes thrown around. A certain girl can be seen several times. She is in love with a boy, but does not dare to speak to him, whereupon another student begins to flirt with him. Graduation day finally dawns, and after the ceremony the girl decides to reveal her feelings to the boy. However, despite a desperate search, this cannot be found; Little by little the school becomes more and more deserted and the young woman realizes that her chance has been wasted. After leaving the building sadly at first, she suddenly turns around and walks back inside. She is now back in the past, just before the other girl hooks up with the boy. But now she has the courage to confess her love to him, which he seems to reciprocate. The scenes with vitamin C and the storyline with the students overlap several times over the course of the videos.
success
Graduation (Friends Forever) was a huge commercial success , especially in Australia . The song was able to get hold of number 2 in the charts as well as a platinum award and was the thirteenth most successful song of the year 2000. In Canada , it was also a top ten hit with position 7. In the singer's home country, the moderate sales figures were only enough for number 38 in the charts. In the German-speaking area it could not prove itself in the hit parades.
This and that
- Because of its theme and title, Graduation (Friends Forever) is often played at graduation ceremonies in the USA. Rolling Stone named it one of the 20 best graduation songs of the last 20 years (at the time).
- In the successful film comedy Scary Movie 2 from 2001, the song can be heard on the car radio when the protagonist Cindy Campbell drives to the Hell House estate. Vitamin C itself has a guest appearance in the English original when her voice suddenly comes from the radio to interrupt the character, who is singing along crookedly.
- The song was also heard in the 2012 film adaptation of the series, 21 Jump Street , where it is used appropriately during a scene where prom photos are being taken.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Credits and alternate name. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Sample. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ German single. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Mention of the hidden track. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Lyrics. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ music video. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Charts. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Australian Awards 2000. Accessed July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Australian Annual Charts 2000. Accessed July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Canadian Charts. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ US charts. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ^ Rolling Stone's "20 Best Graduation Songs of the Last 20 Years". Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Movie quote "Scary Movie 2". Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Soundtrack list "21 Jump Street" plus a short description of the scene. Retrieved July 17, 2019 .
