As a kid, one of my favorite places to go was Long Point Park on Conesus Lake. It had a handful of rides, an arcade, a roller skating rink, a small mini-golf course, a beer garden, and food. We'd ride the rides, play the games, and so on.
When I was older, we'd sometimes go to the park to hang out and drink beer and eat french fries - they had the best french fries in the known universe. I should point out that my friend Rich lived within walking distance of the park - so drinking and driving was not something we did.
About a year ago, I took my own kids to an amusement park near us, and it was cool... they had a Tilt-a-Whirl, and some of the other old rides. And lots of trees. It was really neat. But six months later the park was sold and the new owners sold off all the rides. That inspired me to write this song.
I couldn't resist mentioning the game Vanguard... Long Point had a Vanguard game, which was somewhat rare, but was my favorite game. The timeline is off... Asteriods and Vanguard were in the arcade when I was older, not when I was a kid. But close enough.
lyrics
Verse 1
Right about June each year
boredom would disappear
'cause school had ended and though
I was too young to drive
Summer had just arrived
So my whole family would go
Down to Conesius Lake
Down the west road we'd make
one turn into Long Point Park
They had an old arcade
French fries and lemonade
We'd stay until it got dark
Chorus 1
We'd ride the Tilt-A-Whirl
We'd ride the Scrambler and
We'd ride the old carousel
Spend my last quarter on
one game of Asteriods and
fall asleep on the way home, and all would be well
Verse 2
In 1983
I received my degree
One summer left to hang out
I'd drive down to the lake
My friends and I would make
great memories, there's no doubt
And sometime after dark
We'd walk down to the park
Carousel songs in the air
We'd watch the girls walk by
We'd laugh and wonder why
They'd act like they didn't care
We were...
Chorus 2
Too old for Tilt-A-Whirls
Too old for Scramblers and
Too old for the carousel
We'd take a 12 pack out
to the pavilion and
hang out until the park closed, and all would be well
Bridge
All old amusement parks
one by one closing down
None of the kids want to go
Thrill rides with Multiple
G force and 200
foot drops is all that they know
Makes me nostalgic for
being a kid with my
lemonaide
and carousel serenade
Chorus 3
We'd ride the Tilt-A-Whirl
We'd ride the Scrambler and
We'd ride the old carousel
Spend my last quarter on
one game of Vanguard and
fall asleep on the way home, and all would be well
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