When I was 14, I owned the Australian cassette release of today’s featured song (image above), Second Chance by 38 Special. I had completely forgotten both the song and the fact that I even owned it – until yesterday, when I was at a Bogotá shopping mall called El Parque Colina. The song came out over the loudspeakers, and I nearly spat out my coffee – suddenly being reunited with it after so many years. I quickly jotted down some lyrics in my “Quick Memo” app so I could track it down later. The real question was: would my 51-year-old self still find it as captivating as I did at 14? That’s where we are today.
The music video, for starters, couldn’t be more unapologetically ’80s in terms of fashion and hair. To me, Second Chance feels like the male counterpart to Heart’s Alone, which came out just a year earlier in 1987. The guys in 38 Special strutted around almost sporting ‘mullets’ – “business in the front, party in the back.” Meanwhile, in Heart’s video, the women were rocking hair so tall and lacquered…. enough hairspray to kill your ordinary cat. For the guys in 38 Special, their look was quite a departure from their earlier Southern Rock image in the Lynyrd Skynyrd vein. Some even argue they were the bridge between Southern Rock and ’80s rock – but no one really talks about it. May be because Southern Rock purists would rip you a new one if you did.
So, the answer to the $64,000 question of whether this song still holds up for me after 37 years? No, definitely not – but for nostalgia’s sake, it’s well worth the stroll down memory lane to my ’80s dumb-some-teen self and the laughs. Now onto the song (mostly abridged from the Wikipedia article below):
Second Chance was from American rock band 38 Special, and their eighth studio album, 1988’s Rock & Roll Strategy. The rock ballad was released as the album’s second single becoming the band’s highest-charting song in the United States. This song, of which Carl was the lead vocalist, showcases a stylistic departure from their signature Southern rock sound.
38 Special’s original frontman Don Barnes didn’t feel that it was really a 38 Special song.” When Max Carl replaced Don Barnes in 38 Special in 1988, Carlisi played the demo – originally titled “I Never Wanted Anyone Else But You” for Carl who remarked that “the guy in the song sounded like a real jerk“; Carlisi’s reply: “yeah, but a lot of people have been through this and want forgiveness” and Carl’s response: “yeah, maybe the guy needs a second chance” led to the song’s being reworked with a new lyric: “A heart needs a second chance” as its main hook line.
Second Chance entered the U.S. Billboard at No.78 in February 1989. The song was the highest-charting Hot 100 single of the band’s career, as it peaked at No.6 in May 1989 and spent 21 weeks on the chart. It was Billboard magazine’s “Adult Contemporary Song of the Year” for 1989. The single peaked at No.2 in Canada and No.14 in Australia, and was on the chart for 12 weeks.
Although Second Chance remains 38 Special’s top career record, Carlisi said in 2009, “To this day when the name 38 Special comes up nobody says ‘Second Chance’! It was our biggest hit but people always think of ‘Hold On Loosely’ or ‘Caught Up in You’ first.”
[Verse 1]
Since you’ve been gone
I feel my life slipping away
I look to the sky
And everything is turnin’ gray
All I made was one mistake
How much more will I have to pay
Why can’t you think it over
Why can’t you forget about the past
[Chorus]
When love makes a sound, babe
A heart needs a second chance
Don’t put me down, babe
Can’t you see I love you
Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been in a trance
This heart needs a second chance
Don’t say it’s over, I just can’t say goodbye
[Verse 2]
So this is love
Standing in the pouring rain
I fooled on you
But she never meant a thing
And I know I ain’t got no right
To ask you to sympathize
But why can’t you think it over
Why can’t you forget about the past
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
I never loved her
I never needed her
She was willing, and that’s all there is to say
Don’t forsake me
Please don’t leave me now
A heart needs a second chance
Yeah, you’ve been gone, and I’ve been in a trance
This heart needs a second chance
Don’t say it’s over, I just can’t say goodbye
Please forgive me and forget it
I was wrong and I admit it
Why can’t we talk it over
Why can’t we forget about, forget about the past
References:
1. Second Chance (38 Special song) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Not by me…I just happen to open up the browser this morning and see this at work. This is a really good pop song and a different thing for them at the time. I never turn this off when I hear it…I like it better than most of the synth songs that were popular at the time.
My post was a bit flippant and jocular (in one of those moods I guess) and probably didn’t give the song its just deserts. I wouldn’t have included the song unless I thought it worthy to hang onto. Thanks for letting me know how it still resonates strongly with you Max.
I only know a handful of 38 Special songs, and while I prefer «Hold On Loosely» or «Caught Up In You,» I think «Second Chance» is not a bad ballad. 38 Special who turned 50 last year just put out a new album, «Milestone,» their first in 21 years!
Oh wow they are still alive and kicking after 50 years – with a new album no less. That’s impressive!
Yes, as I was telling Max, I wouldn’t have written about ‘Second Chance’ unless I thought the song was pretty good at least. Cheers man.
I actually like .38 Special. I liked them when they first came out. New Wave Southern Rock. The sound worked.
I only knew of them when I reheard this song after decades. I was surprised to read from you and others here how much their music has resonated. Sweet!
memories, like you it’s not holding up these days, …still really love Heart, those girls could really rock…
I’m relieved someone else felt the same about the song.
‘Alone’ by Heart really does it for me too. When my testosterone levels were running at full kilter and Ann Wilson wailed ‘OOOOOooooooooooooh’ just proceeding the Chorus I became an instant fanboy.