Stand by me. This song tells of a time when a summer love that was so sweet that I can taste it even now. It was a time when I anxiously and desperately yearned for a girl's touch knowing that touch would immediately melt me like ice in a heat wave.

The voice of Ben E. King still haunts my mind. When the night came that summer I was poised for romance and passion. I wanted to experience that loving feeling that I had heard so much about from the radio and friends. I wanted to be close to a girl. But, not just any girl. The girl I wanted feels like I had just sipped hot chocolate and relaxed all over. Nut brown with black glittering eyes.

Buntgh. Bungh. Chh. Bungh-Bungh-Bungh.

And the land is dark and the moon is the only light we'll see. Those words made me feel like I was racing towards the girl. There I would sweep her off her feet with sheer adoration and unbridled love. No, I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand by me. That said it all for me. With her by my side, the world would be my toy.

I lived a full life in my mind where she was Queen and I was King. If the sky, that we look upon, should tumble and fall, and the mountains should crumble to the sea. No I won't, I won't cry. No, I won't shed a tear, just as long as you stand, stand by me. I need no other strength than those words.

I would picture myself holding her in my arms, protecting her from the world, planting my love in her heart, but in a reality I knew there was little chance of that ever happening.

I leaned forward and I kissed her. I kissed her long, deep and passionately. I kissed her like a man. When it ended, I looked into her eyes. She knew she had been kissed by me.

And then to my surprise, it happened suddenly. We were standing on her porch looking into the night embraced by the mellow voice of Ben E. King coming from the radio. I touched her arm turning her towards me. I think that in that moment she knew what was going to happen.

But, there was something about that summer than turned a shy boy into a young man. Looking back, I have no idea what it was. Maybe, Ben E. King's voice spurred my maturity. Ben E. King caught the romantic soul of a boy like myself.

She seemed as if she were in shock for a moment. So I kissed her again. This time, I kissed her with all the emotion that had been building in me for two full years. We never kissed liked that again. In fact, we never kissed again.

She moved away that summer. But when I hear that -- Bungh. Bungh. Chh. Bungh-Bungh-Bungh -- I think of her. Sweeter than wine, softer than a summer night.