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Joe Jackson - Nineteen Forever

Music Video
ArtistJoe Jackson
SongNineteen Forever
DirectorAlex Proyas
IntroNo
OutroNo
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

Joe Jackson appears as an aging rock star confined to a dark, theatrical room, surrounded by reminders of his former youth and glamour. As he performs "Nineteen Forever," the video turns the song's meditation on aging into a surreal, comic caricature of a performer refusing to let go of his past. Jackson's exaggerated old-age makeup, wig, padded stomach, and flashy jacket emphasize the contrast between the fantasy of eternal youth and the realities of growing older.

Factoids & Trivia

  • Released in 1989, the video accompanied "Nineteen Forever," the lead single from Jackson's album "Blaze of Glory."
  • Jackson's appearance was deliberately transformed with a wig, heavy makeup, a prosthetic belly, and a lame jacket to parody aging rock stars clinging to their former image.
  • The video was Jackson's first music video since "Steppin' Out" in 1982, marking a return to the format after several years away.
  • The production was described at the time as combining disturbing imagery with humor, matching the song's sardonic view of rock stardom and aging.
  • Jackson continued the visual joke on his 1989 tour, performing the song in the same costume and using the character as part of the live presentation.
  • The song reached No. 4 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 16 on the Album Rock Tracks chart.

Lyrics

Sometimes I feel so alive
Sometimes I see so clear
Just like the way we always were
So young and free from fear

I lose my fear of war and dying
and all the clouds just disappear
Only my mirror sees me crying
Each time I lose another year . . .

Wouldn't be a drag to be like you
Settling down and having kids
and telling them what to do
...
© Joe Jackson - Nineteen Forever. This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
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