My musical ode to the Jersey Shore

Note: The following was originally published on my personal blog…

I grew up at the Jersey Shore and—admittedly—I’ve spent a good chunk of my adult life trying to leave it behind. But even though I never really thought of myself as a “shore person,” it was where I was raised…and it will always be a part of me. Seeing the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy last week drove this point home to me—and I regret that it took something so horrible to make me see that.

Anyway, I felt a need to express some appreciation for the REAL Jersey Shore—not the manufactured crap produced by MTV—in song. Yeah, it kind of took on the form of a cliché-filled anthem, but that’s always been my Achilles’ heel as a songwriter…I start out with an interesting idea and immediately turn it into commercialized cheese. But I assure you, my heart was in the right place with this.

Then again, I guess when you are a subpar keyboardist constructing songs entirely in GarageBand on a MacBook, it’s going to sound like cheese regardless…so there’s that.

OK, back on topic…this is for the people who lost their homes…as well as for those like me who may have lost our sense of home. Whether it’s physically or emotionally, the Jersey Shore will be our home again.

(This Will Be Our) Home Again
Words & music by Brian J. Kelley
© 2012 Brian J. Kelley

Growing up in Jersey
just minutes from the shore
Summers on the boardwalk,
a kid couldn’t ask for more
Cruising with my music on,
feeling so alive
From Point Pleasant to Seaside Heights
right down Route 35

These are memories I hold dear,
but the future’s so unclear
We will sweep the sand away
and build up to a brighter day
Lives are shattered, some are lost
and we have paid a heavy cost
To honor them, we will rebuild
We have the strength, we have the will

Chorus
This will be our home again
We’ll rebuild, we will restore
This will be our home again
’cause you can’t beat the Jersey Shore
This will be our home again
Our resolve will never fade
This will be our home again
We’re Jersey born, we’re Jersey made

Our days we spent on beaches
and our nights along the boards
Playing games of chance and
getting lucky afterwards
Our summers rites of passage
for every boy and girl
Before we had to grow up
and get out into the world

Some of us have moved away,
but a part of us still stays
In every dream and memory
of our playground by the sea
We will claim this land again
and give our all until the end
We will restore, we will revive
In Jersey, only the strong survive

Repeat Chorus

This will be our home again
This will be our home again

We will claim this land again
and give our all until the end
We will restore, we will revive
In Jersey, only the strong survive

This will be our home again
We’ll rebuild, we will restore
This will be our home again
’cause you can’t beat the Jersey Shore
This will be our home again
Our resolve will never fade
This will be our home again
We’re Jersey strong, we’re Jersey made

This will be our home again
We’ll rebuild, we will restore
This will be our home again
’cause you can’t beat the Jersey Shore
This will be our home again
Our resolve will never fade
This will be our home again
We’re Jersey born, we’re Jersey made

Hurricane Sandy Information and Relief Links

• State of New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Information Center
• New Jersey Office of Emergency Management
• FEMA Disaster Assistance – Get information and file for federal disaster assistance.
• American Red Cross – Donate to relief efforts!
• Jersey Shore Hurricane News – A Facebook page that has been providing much-needed information, photos, tips and other updates during and after the storm.