True.. but the video is funny.. atleast for those not easily scandalized. They made the video super creepy for effect.. even putting a white van in the background which is a stereotype of the vehicle a p e d o would drive.. and a subliminal number 12 in her bedroom.. the director was either a sick bastard or he liked to ruffle people's feathers for kicks.. or publicity perhaps.. either way this video wasn't even widely seen till the past 15 years.. and it is even more creepy today because the idea of a grown man dating a 16 year old is more widely frowned upon than it was at the end of the 1970's when some people weren't as uptight about it.
Exactly. This song came out when I was 14, and I loved it ever since. I never even knew they made a music video until I was in my 50s. This video is the biggest crime against music of all time. It distracts from Benny's vocal talent.
It was the early days of videos. Horribly produced and special effects wore cheesy. A lot of time and thought was put into the song. Video was slapped together for mtv. It made him look like a creep. He should have been shown as the neighborhood hero. He was showing a fathers love to a sixteen year old and her siblings because they wete abandoned by their father.
While the song has stuck like glue to radio playlists, when it first came out, radio stations had some concerns. Benny explains: "When it first was released, R&B stations all over America thought I was black. Then they found out I was white and they dropped the record. White radio was afraid to touch it because they thought it was about me dating a 16-year-old girl at my age. So Polydor Records sent out like 3,000 letters to radio stations across the country explaining what the song was really about. And the song got added and almost instantly started playing all over America."”
I don't understand all the controversy about this song. It's just an honest song about an older man having feeling for a younger person. It doesn't make him "pervert" but just makes him human for loving beautiful things. Even older women can be drawn to younger man. RIP Benny.
Yes. Indeed. Everyone should check out the interview with Benny on Professor of Rock. It was conducted about 2 years before he passed away from complications of Parkinson’s. RIP Benny… Beautiful song..
@@Revenant74 It's wrong. The girl is barely an adult and has barely seen the world. So, an adult who has grown, knows, and seen the world and its people will easily have an advantage in convincing and grooming the girl due to his own desires because she hasn't experienced enough to know better. But a teen having a relationship with another teen is different. They're both on their journey to learn and don't have an advantage over each other.
The 16-year-old girl, her sister, brother and mother were abandoned by their father when he hit it big and ran off with a younger woman. This artist, that cowrote the song, gave each of the kids around $50 a week back to do some small chores for him. When he was up all night with a group writing a song, the 16 year old came into get the dog to take him for a walk. She was in a mini skirt and heels and after she left one of the other guys said wow! Benny mardones said she's just 16 years old, leave her alone.
All that doesn't matter when HE portrayed himself in this video being what looks like a 40ish looking man lusting over a 16 year old girl. He played an adult man making out with a child on a magic carpet of all things. If they didn't want the storyline to be like this they could have come up with a different video. I've always thought of this man being a creepy pedophile.
“Into the Night” is a tune about a “16-years old” girl named Heidi whom Benny Mardones was friends with. In the second verse when he is talking about “watching it all fall apart” and the like, Benny is not speaking in reference to their relationship. Rather he is talking about her unfavorable family situation, where it seems her father deserted the rest of them after he made it big. At some point, Benny actually took care of her and members of her family. Benny had an amazing voice and was very underrated in my opinion. RIP Benny.
People need to watch his interviews. He was getting onto a bandmate about looking at a young girl in his appointment building that walked his dog for him. He helpef her because he wss making money and the girls dad abandoned the family. Anyways he was making the beginning of a new song. The girl came into the apartment while they were rehearsing. The guy told Benny the girl was hot. Benny said "hey pal leave her alone she just 16 years old" that line matched the chords to the song he was writing. It got included and the rest is history. Benny was not a pedophile. He was helping the girls family by giving them little jobs so they wouldn't lose their home or starve. Songs sometimes write themselves from real life. Those are usually the ones that become all time legends. Not onehit wonders. This is a legend that digs into the souls of the ones with real hearts. Thanks Mr. Mardones
One of the greatest songs and vocal performances of all time and the disgust is clearly written on your face. Amazing how different generations view this song.
The way Benny Mardones put it in an interview was that before he had his first hit, he was living in an apartment and he had a pet dog. Since he kept weird hours he hired a neighbor girl to walk his dog. One day Mardones and a friend were working on songs all night, in the morning the girl came to walk the dog before she went to school. Mardones's friend saw her and asked "Who's that, she's cute?" Mardones replied "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone." They thought it was an interesting phrase and it inspired them to write this song.
I wish people accept this was a fantasy of a platonic love, back then all of the rock bands had songs like this, instead of creating apologies for the song, there is many worse than this and there is many musicians that weren't singing about fantasy
There’s a UA-camr on here his page is Professor Of Rock,he interviews bands and their members,he did an interview with Benny Mardones before Benny passed and Benny explains the song,many think that it was him that was trying to get with a 16 year old but in the real,Benny became like a father figure for her cuz hers wasn’t around (or something to that affect) it was a great interview:)
I had completely forgotten this song! Benny in interviews said the 16 year old was a girl named Heidi living in the apartments in Spanish Harlem; their relation was completely platonic as Benny looked after her and her family after her father left. Benny would pay her 50 dollars a week to walk his Basset hound. Song Facts has a whole interview on this writing process. Check it out, it'll make you feel much better about the song.
He apparently even paid for Heidi and her brother's college tuition. Heidi and Benny remained friends, sending Christmas cards back and forth, long after she married and moved to Puerto Rico. She walked in on Benny and his writing buddy, and his buddy had made a comment "Oh my, God,...Benny said she's just 16 years-old, leave her alone. Then, they started writing the song. Benny said he though about her father (who had scored a broadway hit, and ran off with a chorus line girl), that's where he got "separated by fools, who don't know what love is yet". Then the verse "It's like having it all, and letting it show. It's like having a dream where nobody has a heart. It's like having it all, and watching it fall apart". Because the father's success, was not the family's success it was just his. I can't measure my love there's nothin to compare it too - it was all about the abandonment of this family and this 16 year-old girl.
@@dennisjacks7923 Yes, exactly. The video is unfortunate, because it adds a creepy dimension to the song, but I'm familiar with the back story. Even so, Mardones is hardly to be the first one to sing a song about a 16 year old girl, but using himself in the video makes a lot of reactors take this song the wrong way.
If EVER a really crappy video did a great injustice to a really great song its THIS one! Also, I don't think ANYBODY would let him keep the opening line to the song these days. And he probably wouldn't argue about it either. But other than the unfortunate opening, this really is one hell of a great song, with amazing vocals and stellar production. And believe me, 40+ years ago, none of us ever gave a second thought to the 16 years old thing. We just loved the song.
What? It's not just about the opening line, the entire song is weird. "Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet".... basically saying he isn't being allowed to date a 16 yr old. Ask yourself, why did Benny make this music video confirming the exact thing people accused him of? He's making out with the girl on the carpet for goodness sake. The song is exactly what it sounds like. That whole story he made up was a lie to get people to play his record. Then once he got famous, he made this music video as a middle finger that he didn't have to lie anymore.
you guys just don't get it, it is a DREAM, " if I could fly".... in time cuase she is so young and so beautifull, but only "if I could fly"..... @@bio2020
I heard the “whole” story behind the song. It was a great inspiring story. It wasn’t what I expected. Watch Benny Mardones - Story of Into The Night Tribute Professor of Rock on UA-cam
Check out Song Facts… it’s days it’s about a real girl he knew. It’s about how the girls father ran out on them and he helped her by paying her to take care of his dog. There’s more info available online with interviews he did over the years about it.
It's not what you think , he loved his neighbors upstairs like family and felt bad they are struggling while very young. Go watch a interview of him explaining how he wrote that song and how it all turn out for all. Sadly he pass away not too long ago and those thinking this song is about being a pervert makes you wonder about themselves .
Back in 1980 we were a little less observant regarding the lyrics of the song. For all we knew Mardones could’ve been an 18 year old with a mature voice. Listening now it seems a little creepy but the Beatles had “I Saw Her Standing There” (she was just 17 you know what I mean) which for some reason never got them in trouble. Not saying it should’ve.
There's a whole bunch of popular songs about teen girls made in the 50s and 60s sung by older guys. I don't know why people only seem to have a problem with this one.
No it's not. He's a predator and he lied about that story to get his record played on the radio. Then, when the song became a hit, he made this music video about what the song REALLY was about, because he didn't care anymore, he got his money. He used the poor family to excuse him. Listen to the damn lyrics. "Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet" .. it's about romance and being kept apart... because of the age difference. HE LIED to get his record played.
@@imperialstatsExactly what I thought. Why make that a lyric? Why have the music video completely disproving his "true meaning " of the song? Perfect example of actions speaking louder than words.
Loved the song growing up- never paid attention or really watched the video so... and I guess as a teen, I just liked the sound and didn’t pay much attention to the first line and didn’t know how old he was/ looked🤭. 💝✌️✨👍
It's best to just ignore that first line. The rest is an amazing song. I know Benny explained a different intention of the song, but the video sure doesnt help his explanation.
Love the look on your face!! Lol!!! It's a little creepy eh? He looks 48. The look on your face was priceless, considering he looked older than her dad in the doorway.!! Lol
RIP Benny. Most people don’t know that the song is about abandonment and aiding a family that was down on their luck. Once you watch his interview on Professor of Rock, you’ll appreciate the song and Benny’s genius in writing this song. Great song!!
But why is he making out with a 16 year old in the video and no older man has PLATONIC FRIENDSHIPS with men. I am a 48 year old woman myself with an 18 year old daughter and I dont think Id be too happy if she had PLATONIC friendships with 30 year old men
This was such a different time. I had an older man in his 30s that I had the biggest crush on. I was 16. We'd even talk on the phone. He made no secret that he was drawn to me. I even rode in the car with him. Looking back I was not ever a risk taking teen but he was my exception. He never made a move. Not even a kiss but he would sing this song to me. Now as I am older and have my daughters and my grandchildren it's a different story but for many of us at this time this was entirely normal. It cannot be judged by today's standards, thankfully we have evolved but I will personally always love this song.
I was in my late teens when this came out and it made perfect sense to me ... I didn't have Ben's vocals but I could imagine the rest ... besides it's still a good little top-40 rocker.
Yep when I was a young man I was concerned about that first line also even though I like the song. . it was actually a hit two or three times. it was not until years later that I heard the story of exactly what had transpired to bring this song into existence and then it all made some sense to me. Rest in peace Benny
I know it's very creepy but he described the song and the girl in a interview (:. He stated he saw her in a apartment building while he was in his own apartment room with some of his band members and he sees her probably not interested but they saw him looking at her and then the line was born (:. She just sixteen years old leave her alone they say (:. He never really had any intention too persue her in anyway (:. But most of the lines of the song occured very accidently (:. According too him and his band they were sort of stomped or at a musical mind block (:. Until all those events occurred and the song came together (:. Well atleast that's how he described in a interview of how the song happened (:. If there was another story too it he didn't mentioned it (:. Anyway it was hit for him and is still regarded as one greats in love music history (:
It could be from the perspective of an 18 or 19-year-old guy. A lot of girls in the 60s and 70s got married at 13 and 14, it was a different time, now they go off to hedonistic colleges. It's just a fact, a lot of 18-20-year-old guys date 16 and 17-year-old girls, the average girl used to marry guys about 10 years older than them. It is what it is. Everyone tries to tag this song because the writer is older, but writers have an artistic license, they can be writing from an 18-year-old guy's perspective about a 16 ear old girl he is n love with and papa makes him stop seeing the girl. I have heard enough lewd vulgar rap songs that this kind of song is nothing. So, there that is,
❤The song is fantastic! Vocals are out of this world. Please read the background before you judge Benny. He was a compassionate man who saved a family. With the opening line, "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they said," we understand if you think this song sounds a little statutory. Benny Mardones told Songfacts that the 16-year-old girl he's singing about was named Heidi, and she lived in his apartment in Spanish Harlem. Their relationship was purely platonic, however, as Benny looked after Heidi and her family after her father left. Benny would pay her $50 a week to walk his basset hound, Zanky. Mardones wrote this song with Robert Tepper, who would later write the song "No Easy Way Out" for the movie Rocky IV. Benny told Songfacts: "One night Robert Tepper and I were up writing songs. It was about a week before we were leaving for Miami to cut the first big album, which was Never Run, Never Hide. We thought that we already had the hit song, so did Polydor Records. It was a song called 'Might Have Been Love.' But at the last minute we're sitting there one night at my apartment trying to write. Bobby kept playing the chord changes and we tried 18 melodies and 30 kinds of lyrics and all of a sudden the key in the door turned and I said, 'Oh my God, it's daylight.' Because we liked to keep the blinds down. And in she walks, 16 years old, dressed for school in a miniskirt, little stacked heels, adorable, 16-going-on-21. She said, 'You've been up all night?' and of course it was obvious. I said, 'Yeah, we have.' She says, 'Okay, come on, Zanky,' and she walks the dog out. When she leaves and goes out the door, my partner goes, 'Oh, my God.' I said, 'Hey, Bob. She's just 16 years old, leave her alone.' And literally five minutes later I said, 'Play that lick again, Bobby.' So he played the lick and I went (singing), 'she's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they say.' Then I thought about her dad and what he had done, and that's where I got (singing), 'Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet.' The chorus was, 'you're too young for me, but if I could fly, I'd pick you up and take you into the night and show you love like you've never seen.' Then the verse 'It's like having it all and letting it show. It's like having a dream where nobody has a heart. It's like having it all and watching it fall apart.' Because his success was not the family's success; it was just his. 'I can't measure my love there's nothing compared to it' - it was all about the abandonment of this family and this 16-year-old girl."
Those eye rolls are priceless. 😂 Honestly it’s an innocent song. The girl was his neighbour, her father did a runner and left the family . Benny would ask her to run errands and pay her to help out.
Obviously none of you defending this song ever watched the entire video showing a 30+yr old Benny making out with the 16 yr old girl. It’s like you don’t get what “changing the narrative” means. He got backlash and made up a story.
Sadly your letting the lyrics cloud the actual vocals of this man powerful voice . Great song great love store and you have to remember the time this song first came out . People are to quick to judge today . Got to have an open mind to music in all aspects not a narrow mind. Don’t let the first verse ruin this beautiful classic.
Back then there seemed to be less concern about older men with much younger women; it seemed young women were more mature then and definitely before that period too ... benny was 34 when he appeared in that video and the actress was probably at least 18. Had the boy been played by a 20-something actor the visual wd hv likely been less jarring today and even then ... but i would have loved to perform with that gifted man. When i watch interviews particularly as he aged he seemed so humble and kind and grateful for those who supported his career. For what it’s worth, his real life wives were his contemporaries.
Back then i did not pay attention to the lyrics and I had not seen the video. In those days when you were young, you had no desire of staying home, you had to be on the move, so radio was it. All I cared about was the powerhouse voice Benny had. May he RIP.
Your facial expression while you were watching and listening to this had me literally laughing out loud. I know, it's weird but he said it has a totally different meaning. Hard to believe.
The first verse is talking about feelings when we all have felt as a teenager. Nothing illicit to be misinterpreted. Remember this song was made back 8n the early 70's.
It was a girl that he liked, and he was much older, but in an interview, he told someone that it was a friend of his who was in love with a girl that was too young… So Benny would probably get arrested today with this song 😳
You're not wrong. I've always liked the song for the vocals. But the message is creepy. May have been inspired by his dog walker but the song is clearly not about a platonic relationship.
Bread - Baby I'm a want you , Del Shannon - Runnaway, Dion Runaround Sue , Jim Croce I have to say I love you in a song , Simon & Garfunkel -The Boxer , Jim Capaldi I am the morning DJ
Wow...me alegra escuchar esta canción, los primos de Benny en Chile, a todos les gustaba tocar canciones, su Tío Jaime Mardones y su tía Laura eran grandes personas, y escuché muchas canciones de Benny mientras trabajaba en casa de su familia aquí en Chile 😊😊
Benny out of no where with a bomb and then back into obscurity. Great tune, sans the lyrics, which honestly, I never listened to. But that's life in the paranoid 2020s
The short of it is the lyrics are not of innocents being taken but the promise of that innocents being left behind by a dead beat dad who skipped out on the family . Once you come to understand the complete story which really happened it’s gut wrenching . Benny was a true performer , RIP , Roy Orbison had great admiration for his ability to bring such a story, he has an interview on UA-cam which all can enjoy .
Yes you are wrong, he’s referring to a 16 year girl and her little brother that lived in the same apartment as he did and they had nothing, so he would give them odd jobs to make money like walk his dog or something like that so he wanted to take them away from that life
definitely nothing wrong with this video. you have to remember this was made in the '80s and in the '80s this was perfectly normal. just ask all of your mom's how old was she when she had her first kid and you will see that she was 16 years old or younger! ? nothing weird about this video whatsoever
I betcha if R Kelly woulda sang and made music video similar to this, Angela woulda gave props,promoted his music video and if asked to go out with R kelly she woulda said hellyeah.I must say this though, she's over critical about Mr.Mardones music video and race played a big factor of her dislike to this music video
Look at the song and not the video. In the song, there's no mention of how old he is, so, for all we know, it could be a twenty year old. Just enjoy it for the romance of it is how I view it and forget the video.
More than 42 tears ago my precious wife and I were married and we're still together and going strong. She was still 16 at the time and I was 20 and NO, she wasn't pregnant. At 16 she was far more "grown-up" than I was. It's not all about the age of the bride and groom, but how much they love and treasure one another! She's the best thing that ever happened to me. Just saying!
Congratulations on a beautiful love that has stood the test of time... My experience is similar except we broke up and then reunited 37 years later and the love is still the same... 💜
Benny Mardones or ABBA (Dancing Queen), says, "You are the dancing queen Young and sweet Only seventeen Dancing queen," reminiscing songs, a reflection song, Puppy Love One's First Love, a standard ballad. This is not a video, Benny Mardones; it is a promo video pre-MTV done on the cheap, maybe for executives or TV specials. Like the ABBA promo video "Dancing Queen" ua-cam.com/video/xFrGuyw1V8s/v-deo.html
Uh oh. I haven't watched yet, but I think Angela is not going to like this one. I always love Benny's vocal on this, but always wished he was singing "she's just 18 years old" rather than 16. OK I'll watch now. :) [Update: Correct. lol ]
Look at the interview that the professor of rock had with him before he died and he explained the true meaning of the song. Once you heard it, the song takes a completely different meaning.
Pronounce as Mar doe ness. Written by Benny + Robert Tepper. They used to be friends. Good song! 😃 Benny had a voice like Daryl Hall + a promising upswing in his career. But the drinking caused a riff between him + other singers. He could have sang + written more hits. Drinking also shortened his life. He died largely forgotten. Tragic. RIP Benny, last year.
lMAO!!! I love your reaction. I loved this song as a kid but now its really weird....I'm like 'her father said piss off, now you're at her flippin window?!' yeah, that was normal in 1980 somewhat
I listen to the song multiple times after a co-worker played it. Then I really listen to the lyrics. I realize he was singing to a sixteen-year-old girl and I was like wait,what!!! I don't agree with the premise however it's still a gorgeous song.
The song isn't about him dating the girl. The girl had a sister and brother their dad ran off from the family with a 24 year old. The kids showed up at his door crying told him what happened he told them everything would be alright. He didn't know how he would make it better so Benny paid each kid to come by and do chores so they would have money for school and stuff. One night after working all night the 16 year old entered his apartment to walk his dog which was her chore she noticed Benny and his friends had been up all night when she was leaving the apartment his friend said something about her being pretty Benny replied hey man she is only 16 leave her alone.
Yeah, when you first hear this song and even looking at the lyrics it seems a bit off till you hear the story that inspired it. Than you understand everything more. The video made for it is the same way. You initially see a grown man approaching what looks to be a young teenage girl. Than sits and singing to her. The song is basically saying I see u going through this abuse and neglect and would like to be able to help take u out of that and give u a better life that u deserve. He wrote it about a young girl and her young brother who lived in Benny’s apartment building. He saw them crying asked what happened saying that their dad abandoned their mom and the family. He said he’d pay them to do odd jobs for him. Which helped them support the family. They both later went off and ended up living much better lives.
Benny is 33 in the video. The video would never be made today and record execs would have pushed back on 16 years old openining line. Hey she could be 18 or 20! Back in the early days of video, songs tened to be acted out according to the lyrics. The fact that the video only recently resurfaced in it entirety was a sure way of knowing some back peddling needed to be done 😅
Angela, Benny's last name is pronounced, "Mar-doh-ness" (RIP). And Angela, please, don't get caught up in the cancel culture. This goes for ANYBODY who reads this ... this is VERY important, especially in these days of "cancel culture" ... This is a BEAUTIFUL song, so please, don't sully it's meaning with your assumptions and prejudice, and don't let it affect your ability to like it, because it's was never intended the way you are thinking. In fact, if you read up on the REASON Benny wrote the song, you'll see that the video may SEEM misleading, but it has nothing to do with sex. It was about a “16-years old” girl named Heidi whom Benny Mardones was friends with. She lived next door to him, had been very mistreated and lived around a very dysfunctional family life. He never had ANY relationship with her, and she still cried throughout her life, every time she heard it. In the song, when he's talking about “watching it all fall apart”, Benny's not speaking about their relationship. He's singing about her unfavorable family situation. Her father deserted the rest of them after he made it big, and at some point, Benny actually took care of her and members of her family. The song was however, co-written by Benny and another writer who, HAD met Heidi, but obviously didn't have the same type of relationship with her, so some of the words are a bit stronger and steamier than Benny had originally intended. You're big people now, so you should be able to be grown up about it and see past that. Why do we condemn innocent things, yet let pedophiles go free for decades ??? It's because they can deflect your attention to things like this. Still, even if you go with what you think it was about, in those days, it was NOT considered wrong by everyone for a 16 year old to date someone 18, 19, 20, etc. I know of a 32 year old game warden in Pennsylvania who married a 16 year old girl. Her parents, of course, like older brothers, never liked it when their daughters or sisters started to date ANYONE and were usually VERY protective. However, it was NOT considered wrong by most in that time period, so you have to stop judging something depicted back then, with "today's eyes". I mean, the song was 1 of the very few songs that hit #1 ... TWICE (1980 and 1989), which is evidence that people back then, not ONLY didn't see it as wrong, but they liked it so much, they bought enough copies in both years to reach #1. FYI, It is still legal for girls (and boys) to marry young. In fact, here is the breakdown of the MINIMUM age for marriage in the United States: Minimum Age (# of States for each category): No Minimum: 14 14 : 2 15 : 5 16: 21 17: 7 18/older: 1 So, only 1 state in the entire United States requires a person to be 18 or older to get married. I think that means that, if she was in any one of 42 states, 16 would be perfectly fine to be dating an older man. Now, in order to have sex though, in most of these same states, the minor would have to be married first ... but isn't that the way it's supposed to be anyway (married BEFORE sex) ??? One other thing you might think about, back in the 1950's through the 1990's, it was common for older writers to write the songs that younger people listened to, because that's where the money was being made ... younger people. So, they wrote songs they THOUGHT represented things that might be going through the minds of the kids that were listening (and buying the records). Now, it sounds creepy, because we are trying to cancel everything and everybody. But that's just wrong. There's a beautiful song by Lionel Richie called, Hello, and people are freaking out about it because it involves a teacher, in a college/art school type environment, who loves one of his students ... a blind girl, and even though he only professes his love, he never says anything to her. By the end of the video, she approaches him (well, has another student go fetch him) and reveals her love for him. There is nothing wrong with that story either, but people want somebody to sacrifice and burn at the stake. We have got to stop judging history by today's standards/eyes. There's a WHOLE LOT of history we are going to have to cancel if we don't start using our brains for something more important than cancelling each other out. Try this, imagine you never saw the video ... would you still think there was something wrong with it ??? No, you've even admitted you like his voice, the music , his style and even said that the message is beautiful. Let's run with that, okay ??? This IS why some people ignore the video when reacting, because it distracts from the actual thing you are judging ...the music.
I didn’t think anything about the age when I heard the song. Being a foreigner I thought it was natural to fall in love at 16. My sisters married at 15 and 16 to older men for protection and financial support and of course they fell in love. One of them just buried her husband. Their marriage lasted a lifetime.
@@MD-vu2qn That's awesome. Thank you, first for reading that LONG post and second, for telling your story. When I was young, I always dated older women (usually around 10 years or older). I wasn't looking for that, but it's just worked out that way. I always appreciated their maturity and wisdom. If you don't mind, I'd like to know, where are you from ???
This song is so much better than the video, which unfortunately distracts from the amazing vocals and music production.
True.. but the video is funny.. atleast for those not easily scandalized. They made the video super creepy for effect.. even putting a white van in the background which is a stereotype of the vehicle a p e d o would drive.. and a subliminal number 12 in her bedroom.. the director was either a sick bastard or he liked to ruffle people's feathers for kicks.. or publicity perhaps.. either way this video wasn't even widely seen till the past 15 years.. and it is even more creepy today because the idea of a grown man dating a 16 year old is more widely frowned upon than it was at the end of the 1970's when some people weren't as uptight about it.
Exactly. This song came out when I was 14, and I loved it ever since. I never even knew they made a music video until I was in my 50s. This video is the biggest crime against music of all time. It distracts from Benny's vocal talent.
It was the early days of videos. Horribly produced and special effects wore cheesy. A lot of time and thought was put into the song. Video was slapped together for mtv. It made him look like a creep. He should have been shown as the neighborhood hero. He was showing a fathers love to a sixteen year old and her siblings because they wete abandoned by their father.
Exactly. The video didn't do it justice.
There's another video out there that's s much better.
While the song has stuck like glue to radio playlists, when it first came out, radio stations had some concerns. Benny explains: "When it first was released, R&B stations all over America thought I was black. Then they found out I was white and they dropped the record. White radio was afraid to touch it because they thought it was about me dating a 16-year-old girl at my age. So Polydor Records sent out like 3,000 letters to radio stations across the country explaining what the song was really about. And the song got added and almost instantly started playing all over America."”
I don't understand all the controversy about this song. It's just an honest song about an older man having feeling for a younger person. It doesn't make him "pervert" but just makes him human for loving beautiful things. Even older women can be drawn to younger man. RIP Benny.
Yes. Indeed.
Everyone should check out the interview with Benny on Professor of Rock. It was conducted about 2 years before he passed away from complications of Parkinson’s.
RIP Benny…
Beautiful song..
is that why his video shows him kissing a 16 year old girl ? , oh i see yeh right Pedo alert .
It's not about dating a young girl, it's about a neighbor's daughter who he kinda watched over. Something like that.
@@Revenant74 It's wrong. The girl is barely an adult and has barely seen the world. So, an adult who has grown, knows, and seen the world and its people will easily have an advantage in convincing and grooming the girl due to his own desires because she hasn't experienced enough to know better. But a teen having a relationship with another teen is different. They're both on their journey to learn and don't have an advantage over each other.
The story behind this song is beautiful .
The 16-year-old girl, her sister, brother and mother were abandoned by their father when he hit it big and ran off with a younger woman. This artist, that cowrote the song, gave each of the kids around $50 a week back to do some small chores for him. When he was up all night with a group writing a song, the 16 year old came into get the dog to take him for a walk. She was in a mini skirt and heels and after she left one of the other guys said wow! Benny mardones said she's just 16 years old, leave her alone.
@@theadviser123 at least someone knows the true story.
All that doesn't matter when HE portrayed himself in this video being what looks like a 40ish looking man lusting over a 16 year old girl. He played an adult man making out with a child on a magic carpet of all things. If they didn't want the storyline to be like this they could have come up with a different video. I've always thought of this man being a creepy pedophile.
This song is killer.. what a voice
Dude has a wicked set of vocal pipes...
This is a pedo song
He’s gross
@@ryanpeters167 He's not your type??
MMmm idk ryan i like his eyes and that awesome singing voice ...!!!
I love that song so much. I still listen to it about everyday. Benny was an awesome person with a voice that was absolutely beautiful.
“Into the Night” is a tune about a “16-years old” girl named Heidi whom Benny Mardones was friends with.
In the second verse when he is talking about “watching it all fall apart” and the like, Benny is not speaking in reference to their relationship. Rather he is talking about her unfavorable family situation, where it seems her father deserted the rest of them after he made it big. At some point, Benny actually took care of her and members of her family.
Benny had an amazing voice and was very underrated in my opinion. RIP Benny.
She probably thought he was a pedo thank god you cleared the air so she'll know 😂
People need to watch his interviews. He was getting onto a bandmate about looking at a young girl in his appointment building that walked his dog for him. He helpef her because he wss making money and the girls dad abandoned the family. Anyways he was making the beginning of a new song. The girl came into the apartment while they were rehearsing. The guy told Benny the girl was hot. Benny said "hey pal leave her alone she just 16 years old" that line matched the chords to the song he was writing. It got included and the rest is history. Benny was not a pedophile. He was helping the girls family by giving them little jobs so they wouldn't lose their home or starve. Songs sometimes write themselves from real life. Those are usually the ones that become all time legends. Not onehit wonders. This is a legend that digs into the souls of the ones with real hearts. Thanks Mr. Mardones
And why is he kissing a 16yr old 😮
It is supposed to be an imaginary thing. I mean look at it he is on a flying carpet.
It's a music video! @@artsmodelstation9396
One of the greatest songs and vocal performances of all time and the disgust is clearly written on your face. Amazing how different generations view this song.
Are you kidding me it's a beautiful song!
f'ing classic, still love this song, such underrated voice
The way Benny Mardones put it in an interview was that before he had his first hit, he was living in an apartment and he had a pet dog. Since he kept weird hours he hired a neighbor girl to walk his dog. One day Mardones and a friend were working on songs all night, in the morning the girl came to walk the dog before she went to school. Mardones's friend saw her and asked "Who's that, she's cute?" Mardones replied "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone." They thought it was an interesting phrase and it inspired them to write this song.
I wish people accept this was a fantasy of a platonic love, back then all of the rock bands had songs like this, instead of creating apologies for the song, there is many worse than this and there is many musicians that weren't singing about fantasy
The girl and her brother and sister were abandoned by our father. I am the boy. We miss you benny
There’s a UA-camr on here his page is Professor Of Rock,he interviews bands and their members,he did an interview with Benny Mardones before Benny passed and Benny explains the song,many think that it was him that was trying to get with a 16 year old but in the real,Benny became like a father figure for her cuz hers wasn’t around (or something to that affect) it was a great interview:)
That’s Exactly how it happened. Youth is beautiful. She was a pretty girl….
ua-cam.com/video/vLgSNZFD9sQ/v-deo.htmlsi=YFiTtHqgCU0w_nkt
I had completely forgotten this song! Benny in interviews said the 16 year old was a girl named Heidi living in the apartments in Spanish Harlem; their relation was completely platonic as Benny looked after her and her family after her father left. Benny would pay her 50 dollars a week to walk his Basset hound. Song Facts has a whole interview on this writing process. Check it out, it'll make you feel much better about the song.
correct.
He apparently even paid for Heidi and her brother's college tuition. Heidi and Benny remained friends, sending Christmas cards back and forth, long after she married and moved to Puerto Rico. She walked in on Benny and his writing buddy, and his buddy had made a comment "Oh my, God,...Benny said she's just 16 years-old, leave her alone. Then, they started writing the song. Benny said he though about her father (who had scored a broadway hit, and ran off with a chorus line girl), that's where he got "separated by fools, who don't know what love is yet". Then the verse "It's like having it all, and letting it show. It's like having a dream where nobody has a heart. It's like having it all, and watching it fall apart". Because the father's success, was not the family's success it was just his. I can't measure my love there's nothin to compare it too - it was all about the abandonment of this family and this 16 year-old girl.
@@dennisjacks7923 There it is!
Well u wouldn't think so by the way he's talking
@@dennisjacks7923 Yes, exactly. The video is unfortunate, because it adds a creepy dimension to the song, but I'm familiar with the back story. Even so, Mardones is hardly to be the first one to sing a song about a 16 year old girl, but using himself in the video makes a lot of reactors take this song the wrong way.
If EVER a really crappy video did a great injustice to a really great song its THIS one! Also, I don't think ANYBODY would let him keep the opening line to the song these days. And he probably wouldn't argue about it either. But other than the unfortunate opening, this really is one hell of a great song, with amazing vocals and stellar production. And believe me, 40+ years ago, none of us ever gave a second thought to the 16 years old thing. We just loved the song.
What? It's not just about the opening line, the entire song is weird. "Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet".... basically saying he isn't being allowed to date a 16 yr old. Ask yourself, why did Benny make this music video confirming the exact thing people accused him of? He's making out with the girl on the carpet for goodness sake. The song is exactly what it sounds like. That whole story he made up was a lie to get people to play his record. Then once he got famous, he made this music video as a middle finger that he didn't have to lie anymore.
you guys just don't get it, it is a DREAM, " if I could fly".... in time cuase she is so young and so beautifull, but only "if I could fly"..... @@bio2020
I heard the “whole” story behind the song. It was a great inspiring story. It wasn’t what I expected. Watch Benny Mardones - Story of Into The Night Tribute Professor of Rock on UA-cam
why this type of video then?
@@paulft272Probably the music industry.
Lol!! just the look on her face has me cracking up! Can't wait to watch!
This song is a beautifully constructed masterpiece.
Check out Song Facts… it’s days it’s about a real girl he knew. It’s about how the girls father ran out on them and he helped her by paying her to take care of his dog. There’s more info available online with interviews he did over the years about it.
Forget about the creepy elements, he does great vocals in this song.
It's not what you think , he loved his neighbors upstairs like family and felt bad they are struggling while very young. Go watch a interview of him explaining how he wrote that song and how it all turn out for all.
Sadly he pass away not too long ago and those thinking this song is about being a pervert makes you wonder about themselves .
Back in 1980 we were a little less observant regarding the lyrics of the song. For all we knew Mardones could’ve been an 18 year old with a mature voice. Listening now it seems a little creepy but the Beatles had “I Saw Her Standing There” (she was just 17 you know what I mean) which for some reason never got them in trouble. Not saying it should’ve.
There's a whole bunch of popular songs about teen girls made in the 50s and 60s sung by older guys. I don't know why people only seem to have a problem with this one.
if theres grass on the field play ball.
@@SeamHead33 Sounds like something my weirdo step dad would say, or has said, but i can't even repeat it here!
Subliminal messages I guess or breaking the fourth wall
I'm glad you did this song. I always liked it. Good story behind it. Pull up his explanation for it and you won't be bothered so much. :)
Love this song. what a voice, RIP Benny.
Creepiest song of all time
The song is about a father leaving his 16 year old daughter and her siblings. The neighbor helped out the kids. It's a true story...
You believe anything.
No it's not that's damage control in the video why he's hanging out her window and kissing her at the end
and of course thats why hes kissing a 16 year old girl daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
No it's not. He's a predator and he lied about that story to get his record played on the radio. Then, when the song became a hit, he made this music video about what the song REALLY was about, because he didn't care anymore, he got his money. He used the poor family to excuse him. Listen to the damn lyrics. "Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet" .. it's about romance and being kept apart... because of the age difference. HE LIED to get his record played.
@@imperialstatsExactly what I thought. Why make that a lyric? Why have the music video completely disproving his "true meaning " of the song? Perfect example of actions speaking louder than words.
Benny had the Greatest voice !!
Loved the song growing up- never paid attention or really watched the video so... and I guess as a teen, I just liked the sound and didn’t pay much attention to the first line and didn’t know how old he was/ looked🤭. 💝✌️✨👍
😂 I’m spending all night watching reactions to this song. Makes for a great time everyone. Give it a whirl. The facial expressions are supreme!!
Was a big Top 40 hit. One of my favorite undying love songs. He passed away several months ago.
It's best to just ignore that first line. The rest is an amazing song. I know Benny explained a different intention of the song, but the video sure doesnt help his explanation.
I was laughing through the whole song because of your expression on your face. Hahahaha! 😂
Love the look on your face!! Lol!!! It's a little creepy eh? He looks 48. The look on your face was priceless, considering he looked older than her dad in the doorway.!! Lol
Benny Mardones has told so many different stories about this song that it is hard to know what is fact or fiction. The song is a classic though.
A perfectly reasonable reaction. The first line probably cost him some fame.
i dunno. it went over my head the 1000x Ive heard it, until recently :/
I agree. It’s a beautiful song. All he had to do was change it to “She’s just 18 years old…”
So crazy I was searching this song and your reaction cane up!
RIP Benny.
Most people don’t know that the song is about abandonment and aiding a family that was down on their luck.
Once you watch his interview on Professor of Rock, you’ll appreciate the song and Benny’s genius in writing this song.
Great song!!
But why is he making out with a 16 year old in the video and no older man has PLATONIC FRIENDSHIPS with men. I am a 48 year old woman myself with an 18 year old daughter and I dont think Id be too happy if she had PLATONIC friendships with 30 year old men
This was such a different time. I had an older man in his 30s that I had the biggest crush on. I was 16. We'd even talk on the phone. He made no secret that he was drawn to me. I even rode in the car with him. Looking back I was not ever a risk taking teen but he was my exception. He never made a move. Not even a kiss but he would sing this song to me. Now as I am older and have my daughters and my grandchildren it's a different story but for many of us at this time this was entirely normal. It cannot be judged by today's standards, thankfully we have evolved but I will personally always love this song.
I was in my late teens when this came out and it made perfect sense to me ... I didn't have Ben's vocals but I could imagine the rest ... besides it's still a good little top-40 rocker.
Yep when I was a young man I was concerned about that first line also even though I like the song. . it was actually a hit two or three times. it was not until years later that I heard the story of exactly what had transpired to bring this song into existence and then it all made some sense to me. Rest in peace Benny
If I'm not mistaken, in the video I believe Benny Mardones is supposed to be 17 years old... X3 :)
This is definitely a guilty pleasure song R.I.P Benny
I hope you took the time to read the comments on his video. Very funny!
He was telling his friend to leave his neighborhood girl alone because she was only 16 years old. He was a great singer and just recently passed away.
I know it's very creepy but he described the song and the girl in a interview (:. He stated he saw her in a apartment building while he was in his own apartment room with some of his band members and he sees her probably not interested but they saw him looking at her and then the line was born (:. She just sixteen years old leave her alone they say (:. He never really had any intention too persue her in anyway (:. But most of the lines of the song occured very accidently (:. According too him and his band they were sort of stomped or at a musical mind block (:. Until all those events occurred and the song came together (:. Well atleast that's how he described in a interview of how the song happened (:. If there was another story too it he didn't mentioned it (:. Anyway it was hit for him and is still regarded as one greats in love music history (:
It could be from the perspective of an 18 or 19-year-old guy. A lot of girls in the 60s and 70s got married at 13 and 14, it was a different time, now they go off to hedonistic colleges. It's just a fact, a lot of 18-20-year-old guys date 16 and 17-year-old girls, the average girl used to marry guys about 10 years older than them. It is what it is. Everyone tries to tag this song because the writer is older, but writers have an artistic license, they can be writing from an 18-year-old guy's perspective about a 16 ear old girl he is n love with and papa makes him stop seeing the girl. I have heard enough lewd vulgar rap songs that this kind of song is nothing. So, there that is,
❤The song is fantastic! Vocals are out of this world. Please read the background before you judge Benny. He was a compassionate man who saved a family.
With the opening line, "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they said," we understand if you think this song sounds a little statutory. Benny Mardones told Songfacts that the 16-year-old girl he's singing about was named Heidi, and she lived in his apartment in Spanish Harlem. Their relationship was purely platonic, however, as Benny looked after Heidi and her family after her father left. Benny would pay her $50 a week to walk his basset hound, Zanky.
Mardones wrote this song with Robert Tepper, who would later write the song "No Easy Way Out" for the movie Rocky IV. Benny told Songfacts: "One night Robert Tepper and I were up writing songs. It was about a week before we were leaving for Miami to cut the first big album, which was Never Run, Never Hide. We thought that we already had the hit song, so did Polydor Records. It was a song called 'Might Have Been Love.' But at the last minute we're sitting there one night at my apartment trying to write. Bobby kept playing the chord changes and we tried 18 melodies and 30 kinds of lyrics and all of a sudden the key in the door turned and I said, 'Oh my God, it's daylight.' Because we liked to keep the blinds down.
And in she walks, 16 years old, dressed for school in a miniskirt, little stacked heels, adorable, 16-going-on-21. She said, 'You've been up all night?' and of course it was obvious. I said, 'Yeah, we have.' She says, 'Okay, come on, Zanky,' and she walks the dog out. When she leaves and goes out the door, my partner goes, 'Oh, my God.' I said, 'Hey, Bob. She's just 16 years old, leave her alone.' And literally five minutes later I said, 'Play that lick again, Bobby.' So he played the lick and I went (singing), 'she's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they say.' Then I thought about her dad and what he had done, and that's where I got (singing), 'Separated by fools who don't know what love is yet.' The chorus was, 'you're too young for me, but if I could fly, I'd pick you up and take you into the night and show you love like you've never seen.' Then the verse 'It's like having it all and letting it show. It's like having a dream where nobody has a heart. It's like having it all and watching it fall apart.' Because his success was not the family's success; it was just his. 'I can't measure my love there's nothing compared to it' - it was all about the abandonment of this family and this 16-year-old girl."
Those eye rolls are priceless. 😂 Honestly it’s an innocent song. The girl was his neighbour, her father did a runner and left the family . Benny would ask her to run errands and pay her to help out.
and no one noticed him kissing the 16 year old ? did they , your a worry ?????
Obviously none of you defending this song ever watched the entire video showing a 30+yr old Benny making out with the 16 yr old girl. It’s like you don’t get what “changing the narrative” means. He got backlash and made up a story.
I think he’s singing “ she’s just 60 years old “ changes the whole dynamics now doesn’t it..😂
This was released two different times and second time went to number one
Sadly your letting the lyrics cloud the actual vocals of this man powerful voice . Great song great love store and you have to remember the time this song first came out . People are to quick to judge today . Got to have an open mind to music in all aspects not a narrow mind. Don’t let the first verse ruin this beautiful classic.
Sadly, you think aesthetics and beauty make inappropriate actions acceptable
@@poetdreamer62 it's a song don't get bent out of shape
@@petercsigo3314 believe me I am not bent out of shape. The fan of the song is naive is the point I was making.
She said he has a beautiful voice. Anyone not ‘uncomfortable’ with that video without knowing the back-story is a lunatic.
ah yes the "good old days of 34 yr old men sexually harassing 16 yr olds"
This song came out when I was a teenager. Even though it's a great tune, it's still creepy af!
Hahaha
Memories of my teen years!
Yeah. Yours and the 16 year old girl's.
I am 56. Good memories
@@rsccostarica Lol. I love the song.
@@rsccostarica video not good...makes u think he's with the 16 yr old.
Back then there seemed to be less concern about older men with much younger women; it seemed young women were more mature then and definitely before that period too ... benny was 34 when he appeared in that video and the actress was probably at least 18. Had the boy been played by a 20-something actor the visual wd hv likely been less jarring today and even then ... but i would have loved to perform with that gifted man. When i watch interviews particularly as he aged he seemed so humble and kind and grateful for those who supported his career. For what it’s worth, his real life wives were his contemporaries.
This song is about abandonment. Not sick thoughts about the girl.
Lmfao! Been waiting for this.
This song came out in 1980. I still have it.
If he came to my door looking for my minor daughter, he'd be picking his self up instead. LOLOLOL
Back then i did not pay attention to the lyrics and I had not seen the video. In those days when you were young, you had no desire of staying home, you had to be on the move, so radio was it. All I cared about was the powerhouse voice Benny had. May he RIP.
Your facial expression while you were watching and listening to this had me literally laughing out loud. I know, it's weird but he said it has a totally different meaning. Hard to believe.
The first verse is talking about feelings when we all have felt as a teenager. Nothing illicit to be misinterpreted. Remember this song was made back 8n the early 70's.
It was a girl that he liked, and he was much older, but in an interview, he told someone that it was a friend of his who was in love with a girl that was too young… So Benny would probably get arrested today with this song 😳
You're not wrong. I've always liked the song for the vocals. But the message is creepy. May have been inspired by his dog walker but the song is clearly not about a platonic relationship.
The older I get the creepier this video gets.
Bread - Baby I'm a want you , Del Shannon - Runnaway, Dion Runaround Sue , Jim Croce I have to say I love you in a song , Simon & Garfunkel -The Boxer , Jim Capaldi I am the morning DJ
Wow...me alegra escuchar esta canción, los primos de Benny en Chile, a todos les gustaba tocar canciones, su Tío Jaime Mardones y su tía Laura eran grandes personas, y escuché muchas canciones de Benny mientras trabajaba en casa de su familia aquí en Chile 😊😊
man one of my faves!!!
Benny out of no where with a bomb and then back into obscurity. Great tune, sans the lyrics, which honestly, I never listened to. But that's life in the paranoid 2020s
Video creepy. Song great.
These millenials are so literal. They lack the ability to see the lyrics as just a song. So glad I grew up in the 70s & 80s.
Why are us Americans so worried about AGE?
Don't jump to conclusions!
The short of it is the lyrics are not of innocents being taken but the promise of that innocents being left behind by a dead beat dad who skipped out on the family . Once you come to understand the complete story which really happened it’s gut wrenching . Benny was a true performer , RIP , Roy Orbison had great admiration for his ability to bring such a story, he has an interview on UA-cam which all can enjoy .
Yes you are wrong, he’s referring to a 16 year girl and her little brother that lived in the same apartment as he did and they had nothing, so he would give them odd jobs to make money like walk his dog or something like that so he wanted to take them away from that life
definitely nothing wrong with this video. you have to remember this was made in the '80s and in the '80s this was perfectly normal. just ask all of your mom's how old was she when she had her first kid and you will see that she was 16 years old or younger! ? nothing weird about this video whatsoever
I betcha if R Kelly woulda sang and made music video similar to this, Angela woulda gave props,promoted his music video and if asked to go out with R kelly she woulda said hellyeah.I must say this though, she's over critical about Mr.Mardones music video and race played a big factor of her dislike to this music video
So maybe you should listen to songs without the videos if you can't get past nonsense. Very disappointed in that review.
I can remember when I was in high school, all the girls dated guys in their 20's
🤔🤨😐😁Love your reaction to this😂🤣😂
Look at the song and not the video. In the song, there's no mention of how old he is, so, for all we know, it could be a twenty year old. Just enjoy it for the romance of it is how I view it and forget the video.
Lol! Her look when they first show the young girl….! 😂
Love this song what a story behind this song Benny was a Ace
More than 42 tears ago my precious wife and I were married and we're still together and going strong. She was still 16 at the time and I was 20 and NO, she wasn't pregnant. At 16 she was far more "grown-up" than I was. It's not all about the age of the bride and groom, but how much they love and treasure one another! She's the best thing that ever happened to me. Just saying!
16 and 20 are VERY VERY different in all aspects. What would you possibly have in common talk about
Congratulations on a beautiful love that has stood the test of time... My experience is similar except we broke up and then reunited 37 years later and the love is still the same... 💜
@@318greenman Congratulations!
Benny Mardones or ABBA (Dancing Queen), says, "You are the dancing queen Young and sweet Only seventeen Dancing queen," reminiscing songs, a reflection song, Puppy Love One's First Love, a standard ballad. This is not a video, Benny Mardones; it is a promo video pre-MTV done on the cheap, maybe for executives or TV specials. Like the ABBA promo video "Dancing Queen" ua-cam.com/video/xFrGuyw1V8s/v-deo.html
I think the video is misleading and doesn’t do justice to the real story behind the song
Uh oh. I haven't watched yet, but I think Angela is not going to like this one. I always love Benny's vocal on this, but always wished he was singing "she's just 18 years old" rather than 16. OK I'll watch now. :) [Update: Correct. lol ]
Hi look up the meaning for this song and you will understand it.
I feel that Benny, really DID have the **Hots**For Her ‼️March 2024..💌💌💌
Look at the interview that the professor of rock had with him before he died and he explained the true meaning of the song. Once you heard it, the song takes a completely different meaning.
Beautiful song + Creepy af lyrics = a confused Angela. We all feel the same A. Lol
Pronounce as Mar doe ness.
Written by Benny + Robert Tepper. They used to be friends.
Good song! 😃
Benny had a voice like Daryl Hall + a promising upswing in his career. But the drinking caused a riff between him + other singers. He could have sang + written more hits.
Drinking also shortened his life. He died largely forgotten. Tragic.
RIP Benny, last year.
When this song came out,Ii Was14 years old
I loved it, but my Mom hated it
I just wanted to be loved by Benny!
lMAO!!! I love your reaction. I loved this song as a kid but now its really weird....I'm like 'her father said piss off, now you're at her flippin window?!' yeah, that was normal in 1980 somewhat
You are so Right... You could Never Be Wrong 🌹🌹🌹
Love this song. It is magnificent. I was 16 when I met my one and only. He was 26. We had 41 years together. It was not wrong or creepy.
I listen to the song multiple times after a co-worker played it. Then I really listen to the lyrics. I realize he was singing to a sixteen-year-old girl and I was like wait,what!!! I don't agree with the premise however it's still a gorgeous song.
Amazing song
The song isn't about him dating the girl. The girl had a sister and brother their dad ran off from the family with a 24 year old. The kids showed up at his door crying told him what happened he told them everything would be alright. He didn't know how he would make it better so Benny paid each kid to come by and do chores so they would have money for school and stuff. One night after working all night the 16 year old entered his apartment to walk his dog which was her chore she noticed Benny and his friends had been up all night when she was leaving the apartment his friend said something about her being pretty Benny replied hey man she is only 16 leave her alone.
Yeah, when you first hear this song and even looking at the lyrics it seems a bit off till you hear the story that inspired it. Than you understand everything more. The video made for it is the same way. You initially see a grown man approaching what looks to be a young teenage girl. Than sits and singing to her. The song is basically saying I see u going through this abuse and neglect and would like to be able to help take u out of that and give u a better life that u deserve. He wrote it about a young girl and her young brother who lived in Benny’s apartment building. He saw them crying asked what happened saying that their dad abandoned their mom and the family. He said he’d pay them to do odd jobs for him. Which helped them support the family. They both later went off and ended up living much better lives.
Love your hair
Benny is 33 in the video. The video would never be made today and record execs would have pushed back on 16 years old openining line. Hey she could be 18 or 20! Back in the early days of video, songs tened to be acted out according to the lyrics. The fact that the video only recently resurfaced in it entirety was a sure way of knowing some back peddling needed to be done 😅
This song doesn’t mean what you are thinking.
Age is beautiful and has no boundaries.
Angela, Benny's last name is pronounced, "Mar-doh-ness" (RIP). And Angela, please, don't get caught up in the cancel culture. This goes for ANYBODY who reads this ... this is VERY important, especially in these days of "cancel culture" ...
This is a BEAUTIFUL song, so please, don't sully it's meaning with your assumptions and prejudice, and don't let it affect your ability to like it, because it's was never intended the way you are thinking. In fact, if you read up on the REASON Benny wrote the song, you'll see that the video may SEEM misleading, but it has nothing to do with sex. It was about a “16-years old” girl named Heidi whom Benny Mardones was friends with.
She lived next door to him, had been very mistreated and lived around a very dysfunctional family life. He never had ANY relationship with her, and she still cried throughout her life, every time she heard it.
In the song, when he's talking about “watching it all fall apart”, Benny's not speaking about their relationship. He's singing about her unfavorable family situation. Her father deserted the rest of them after he made it big, and at some point, Benny actually took care of her and members of her family. The song was however, co-written by Benny and another writer who, HAD met Heidi, but obviously didn't have the same type of relationship with her, so some of the words are a bit stronger and steamier than Benny had originally intended. You're big people now, so you should be able to be grown up about it and see past that. Why do we condemn innocent things, yet let pedophiles go free for decades ??? It's because they can deflect your attention to things like this.
Still, even if you go with what you think it was about, in those days, it was NOT considered wrong by everyone for a 16 year old to date someone 18, 19, 20, etc. I know of a 32 year old game warden in Pennsylvania who married a 16 year old girl. Her parents, of course, like older brothers, never liked it when their daughters or sisters started to date ANYONE and were usually VERY protective. However, it was NOT considered wrong by most in that time period, so you have to stop judging something depicted back then, with "today's eyes". I mean, the song was 1 of the very few songs that hit #1 ... TWICE (1980 and 1989), which is evidence that people back then, not ONLY didn't see it as wrong, but they liked it so much, they bought enough copies in both years to reach #1.
FYI, It is still legal for girls (and boys) to marry young. In fact, here is the breakdown of the MINIMUM age for marriage in the United States:
Minimum Age (# of States for each category):
No Minimum: 14
14 : 2
15 : 5
16: 21
17: 7
18/older: 1
So, only 1 state in the entire United States requires a person to be 18 or older to get married. I think that means that, if she was in any one of 42 states, 16 would be perfectly fine to be dating an older man. Now, in order to have sex though, in most of these same states, the minor would have to be married first ... but isn't that the way it's supposed to be anyway (married BEFORE sex) ???
One other thing you might think about, back in the 1950's through the 1990's, it was common for older writers to write the songs that younger people listened to, because that's where the money was being made ... younger people. So, they wrote songs they THOUGHT represented things that might be going through the minds of the kids that were listening (and buying the records). Now, it sounds creepy, because we are trying to cancel everything and everybody. But that's just wrong.
There's a beautiful song by Lionel Richie called, Hello, and people are freaking out about it because it involves a teacher, in a college/art school type environment, who loves one of his students ... a blind girl, and even though he only professes his love, he never says anything to her. By the end of the video, she approaches him (well, has another student go fetch him) and reveals her love for him. There is nothing wrong with that story either, but people want somebody to sacrifice and burn at the stake. We have got to stop judging history by today's standards/eyes. There's a WHOLE LOT of history we are going to have to cancel if we don't start using our brains for something more important than cancelling each other out.
Try this, imagine you never saw the video ... would you still think there was something wrong with it ??? No, you've even admitted you like his voice, the music , his style and even said that the message is beautiful. Let's run with that, okay ??? This IS why some people ignore the video when reacting, because it distracts from the actual thing you are judging ...the music.
I didn’t think anything about the age when I heard the song. Being a foreigner I thought it was natural to fall in love at 16. My sisters married at 15 and 16 to older men for protection and financial support and of course they fell in love. One of them just buried her husband. Their marriage lasted a lifetime.
@@MD-vu2qn That's awesome. Thank you, first for reading that LONG post and second, for telling your story. When I was young, I always dated older women (usually around 10 years or older). I wasn't looking for that, but it's just worked out that way. I always appreciated their maturity and wisdom.
If you don't mind, I'd like to know, where are you from ???