vaxjoe said on January 23, 2003 13:46:

i was wondering the same thing...i havent noticed the names in “living on a prayer” though..

u can ask that in the BON JOVI forum @ the official site! :P

vaxjoe said on January 23, 2003 14:11:

what movie is that then?

wendy said on January 23, 2003 21:46:

i’ll ask my sis when i see her,she’s a big fan,and said something about it a long time ago......

roxchurch said on January 24, 2003 07:42:

“Livin’ On A Prayer” / Slippery When Wet

Once upon a time
Not so long ago

Tommy used to work on the docks
Union’s been on strike
He’s down on his luck
It’s tough, so tough
Gina works the dinner all day
Working for her man
She brings home her pay
For love - for love
She says:

-Refrain:-
We’ve got to hold on
To what we’ve got
’Cause it doesn’t make a difference
If we make it or not
We’ve got each other
And that’s a lot
For love
We’ll give it a shot
We’re half way there
Living on a prayer
Take my hand and we’ll make it-
I swear
Living on a prayer

Tommy got his six string in hock
Now, he’s holding in what he used
To make it talk
So tough, it’s tough
Gina dreams of running a way
When she cries in the night
Tommy whispers:
Baby it’s okay, someday

-Refrain 2x-

“99 In The Shade” / New Jersey

I feel I’m burning up with fever
But the fire’s feeling really good tonight
And it’s alright
I’m gonna see Sahara Jack and Suntan Sally
Somebody tells me even Tommy’s coming
Down tonight
If Gina says it’s alright
I’m gonna see those Senoritas
Lying under the sun
They’re greasing it up
With their stereos on
You know I want to be their blanket
Gonna tell every girl
Hey baby. . . You’re the one . . .

Oh, tell the boys I’m on my way
I got the radio blasting
In my old man’s Chevrolet
I got a party in my pocket
Cause you know I just got paid
I’m feeling fine, it’s 99 in the shade
I’m feeling fine, it s 99 in the shade

When the sun goes down
That’s when the street heats up
Senorita Margarita fills your empty cup
Tonight-she make you feel alright
A good time here don’t cost
Much money just a little
Sweet talking and a pretty native
Honey and you’re set for life
Or one hell of a night
I’m gonna see those sons of beaches
Out there living it up in the surf
And the sand, man
That tife ain’t so tough
So get me in the action so I can tell
Every girl she’s the one

Oh, tell the boys I’m on my way
I got the radio blasting in my
Old man’s Chevrolet
I got a party in my pocket
Cause you know I just got paid
And I’m feeling fine, it s 99 in the shade
I’m feeling fine, it’s 99 in the shade

“It’s My Life” / Crush

This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted
No silent prayer for the faith-departed
I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd
You’re gonna hear my voice
When I shout it out loud

Chorus:
It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just wanna live while I’m alive
It’s my life

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow’s getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain’t even lucky
Got to make your own breaks

Chorus:
It’s my life
And it’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I’m alive
’Cause it’s my life

Better stand tall when they’re calling you out
Don’t bend, don’t break, baby, don’t back down

Chorus:
It’s my life
And it’s now or never
’Cause I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I’m alive

Chorus:
It’s my life
And it’s now or never
’Cause I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I’m alive
’Cause it’s my life!

Santi said on January 24, 2003 20:44:

I’ve asked in the Bon Jovi related forum in the site called “Backstage with Bon Jovi” & I got these replies:

phillip Thu Jan 23 2003 09:12 PM

Tommy and Gina are fictional characters created by Jon and Richie, they are supposed to represnt every guy and every girl whos listening, basically its to put the listener in the place of either Tommy and Gina(hope this explains it to you), according to Jon the song “Lie to Me” off These Days was written about Tommy and Gina grown up, correct me anybody if I’m wrong

That sound effect you hear is called a Talk Box, Richie used it on Prayer and brought it back out on Its my Life and again on a few tracks on Bounce(Everyday,Love me Back to Life and Bounce).

Hope this helps you and welcome to the board

—————————-

jedijovi Thu Jan 23 2003 09:31 PM

This article appeared in the Asbury Park Press prior to Giants in 2001

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF TOMMY & GINA
From Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet, New Jersey and Crush
Polygram/Mercury Records

You probably went to high school with Tommy and Gina.
Hell, we all did.
You remember Tommy: good-looking kid, lost the mullet at about the same time his acne started clearing up. Would have made the track team if the coach hadn’t caught him smoking in the parking lot. And Gina, the cute blonde with the big hair? Pretty as a cheerleader, and might have made the squad if the coach hadn’t caught her smoking in the parking lot. They met at the beginning of their junior year and were voted Cutest Couple by the student body.

They loved each other in that raw, doomed, stupid, hellbent-for-leather way that only kids can, and married right out of high school in the early ’80s. And to the surprise of nearly everybody, they’re still together almost 20 years later.

It’s fair to say that Jon Bon Jovi knows Tommy and Gina best, and has kept in touch with them over the years. The fictitious Tommy and Gina in some ways mirror the real-life Mr. and Mrs. Jon Bon Jovi, former Sayreville War Memorial High School sweethearts Jon Bongiovi and Dorothea Hurley.

Bon Jovi first let us know what they were up to on “Livin’ on a Prayer,” the 1986 hit co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child:

Things aren’t going well. Tommy’s been laid off from his job on the docks, Gina’s on her feet all day, waiting tables. Even rock ’n’ roll doesn’t seem to be able to deliver on its promises. Tommy’s guitar is, after all, in the pawnshop. Every night, it seems they drop into bed exhausted and lost, even to one another. Love may not be enough to hold them together:

“Gina dreams of running away, when she cries in the night Tommy whispers: ’Baby, it’s OK... someday’” the singer reports, and the only thing that’s going to carry them into the morning and through to that uncertain “someday” is a kind of existential faith:

“We’re half way there
Livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand and we’ll make it, I swear
Livin’ on a prayer.”

Things tend to look better in the morning, and prayer is sometimes answered. Tommy and Gina must have survived that early rock ’n’ roll Gotterdammerung, because the next time we catch up to them is in “99 in the Shade” from the 1988 album New Jersey.

The singer’s heading home for a summer reunion, apparently. He’s going to hook up with the old crowd and together they’ll raise a little hell, just like in the old days.

“I feel I’m burning up with fever, but the fire’s feeling really good tonight,” he sings. “I’m gonna see Sahara Jack and Suntan Sally. Somebody tells me even Tommy’s coming down tonight, if Gina says it’s all right.”

It’s like a postcard: You’re damned glad to hear the news that Tommy and Gina are still together, but the message leaves too many unanswered questions. For one thing, why isn’t Gina coming to the party? She’d probably want to see Suntan Sally, too. Maybe she’s stuck at home with the kids. And what’s this about Tommy coming, if Gina says it’s all right? Talk about being “whipped.”

Twelve years later, Bon Jovi checks in with them again, on “It’s My Life” from Crush. They’re still together, both a little less starry-eyed and a little less teary-eyed.

“This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted,” the singer tells us before getting down to exactly who the song is for: “This is for the ones who stood their ground, for Tommy and Gina, who never backed down.” And yet, this is no time for complacency: “Tomorrow’s getting harder,” we hear. “Luck ain’t even lucky. Got to make your own breaks.”

Which, of course has always been true. But like Tommy and Gina, we learn those lessons only over time, only with someone by our sides and a three-chord prayer in our hearts.

Press Staff Writer Michael Riley is an ordained Baptist minister.

Published on July 27, 2001
Copyright 1997-1999 IN Jersey.

Val
Bringing over twenty years of nursing experience to the Bon Jovi Nurse Corps
It ain’t karma, it ain’t luck
Me, I just don’t give a FFFF!

————-

xxdebsxx Thu Jan 23 2003 09:35 PM

Tomnmy is my brother’s girlfriend’s stepmom’s uncle (we used to be so close) and Gina is my goldfish,
By that I mean Tommy & Gina are designed to be whoever you want them to be. Be warned, I normally post extraodinary comments but I’ll be nice to you because you’re new

Thanks everyone anyway!!!!! ;)