Song #155: "Weekend In New England"--Barry Manilow (1976)

As the countdown draws in towards the Top 150, we'll be seeing my favorite songs from dozens of artists over the next five months. Today, it's my favorite Barry Manilow song.

It's one of the best love songs ever that deals with unfulfilled love as a major part of its theme. It's not "waiting for the first kiss, first embrace" kind of unfulfilled love. They've been together before, and Barry wants to return to "long rocky beaches and you by the bay".

Musically, the pacing is breathtaking, from verse to chorus, the building bridge, then the final chorus, almost an anthem to the inevitability that Manilow feels in his vocals knowing that, one day soon, they'll be together, forever, at last.

And the key change is to die for (I'm a sucker for them, aren't I, Rachel Witham?)!

This song had personal meaning for a time, but that wasn't meant to be. And that's cool, nor does it diminish my love for this song. Kudos to Randy Edelman for a love song that's been around for 40 years, and should be around for 400 more.