Artist: Eddie Money
Released: 1978
Lyrical relic: Plane tickets (the paper kind)
I'm gonna take you on a trip so far from here
I've got two tickets in my pocket, baby, we'll disappear
This lyrical relic almost slips under the radar since airlines still of course issue flight tickets, albeit in digital format. But that pair of tickets in Eddie’s pocket, those are the tangible, paper airline tickets that ended up vanishing…just like Eddie promised his baby they would disappear.
The humble paper airline ticket can be traced back to the 1920s. There was no standard format for these tickets in the beginning, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) eventually resolved the problems this presented by standardizing it.
The first electronic ticket was issued in 1994, although widespread adoption was slow going. In 2008, the IATA made the decision to completely stop supplying paper ticket stock to travel agencies around the world. It was reported that eliminating of paper tickets would help reduce airline costs by as much as $3 billion worldwide and cut the cost of issuing a ticket from $10 to $1.
To me, this song is brimming with the anticipation of escape. I can imagine Eddie whipping the tickets out from his pocket to surprise his lady friend, and the two of them savoring the excitement of what these tickets promise to deliver: paradise (of the tropical nature most likely). Sadly, you just don’t get that kind of romanticism from pulling up a ticket on your phone.
Sources:
https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pressroom-archive/2008-releases/2008-31-05-01