Valentine’s Day 2011
Last year I believe I republished the love letters that they were covering on Writer’s Almanac. This year I’ve decided just to quote my favorite line in my favorite love songs by my favorite musicians. The one notable exception being what I always consider to be the greatest love song ever written, Goofy’s Concern by the Butthole Surfers.
“Everything means nothing, if I ain’t got you.”
“’cause I’ve been in love before; And I found that love was more; than just holding hands.”
“I was born when I met you; Now I’m dying to forget you; And that is what I know.”
“Just like an angel off the page; You have appeared to my life; Feel like I’ll never be the same.”
“Ev’ry time that you’re near; All my cares disappear; Darling, you’re all that I’m living for.”
“Lately I’ve been running on faith; What else can a poor boy do? But my world will be right; When love comes over you.”
“He said, ‘Son why you got to sing that tune? Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon? Let an angel swing and make you swoon; Then you will see, you will see.'”
“Breathe out; So I could breathe you in; Hold you in.”
“She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted; She is everything that I want that I never knew I needed.”
“With every breath that I am worth; Here on Earth; I’m sending all my love to you.”
“I can’t direct the universe; I can’t pull off the road and take a rest; I can’t go on for evermore; I can’t refuse the weight of intellect; I can’t avoid the hands of time; I wish her touch was of a softer kind; and if the world decides to melt; there’s nothing I can do to change her mind.”
“We’ve all got our funny moods; I’ve got mine, woman you’ve got yours too; Just trust me like I trust in you.”
“I go out on a party; And look for a little fun; But I find a darkened corner; ‘Cause I still miss someone.”
“Tap on my window; knock on my door; I want to make you feel beautiful; I know I tend to get so insecure; It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“I’ve been a lot of places all around the way; I’ve seen a lot of joy, and I’ve seen a lot of pain; But I don’t want to write a love song for the world; I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl.”
“When I saw the break of day; I wished that I could fly away; Instead of kneeling in the sand; Catching teardrops in my hand.”
“These arms of mine; They are lonely; Lonely and blue; These arms of mine; They are yearning; Yearning from wanting you.”
“I seem to recognize your face; Haunting, familiar, yet I can’t seem to place it; Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name.”
“Though your hurt is gone, mines hanging on, inside; And I know it’s eating me through every night and day; I’m just waiting on your sign.”
“I don’t know how to make lots of money; I don’t know all the right things to do; I can’t say where we’ll go, but the one thing I know; Is how to be a good man to you; Until I die that’s what I’ll do.”
“I hear in my mind all these voices; I hear in my mind all these words; I hear in my mind all this music; And it breaks my heart.”
“And now if I should see you; Or call you on the phone; I wonder who’s that person; I could never call my own; Although I kind of like you; I’ll never understand; Why I got so excited; Each time we held hands.”
“A fish was made to swim in the ocean; A boat was made to sail on the sea; As sure as there are stars above; I know, I know you were made for me.”
“Red letter day and I’m in a blue mood; Wishing that blue would just carry me away; I’ve been talking to God; Don’t know if it’s helping or not; But surely something has got to got to give; Cause I can’t keep waiting to live.”
“Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone, but I never had yours; I followed you back to the end of the path, but I never found the door.”
“People talk and people stare; Tell me I won’t really care; This is the place I should be; And if they think its really strange; For a girl like you to be in love with someone like me; I want to tell them all to go to hell; That we’re doing very well.”
“And if a double-decker bus crashes into us; To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die; And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us; To die by your side; Well, the pleasure – the privilege is mine.”
“I’m scratching at the surface now; And I’m trying hard to work it out; So much has gone misunderstood; This mystery only leads to doubt; And I didn’t understand; When you reached out to take my hand; And if you have something to say; You’d better say it now.”
“I wanna sit you down and talk; I wanna pull back the veils and find out what it is I’ve done wrong; I wanna tear these curtains down; I want you to meet me somewhere; Tonight in this old tourist town.”
“I don’t know you, but I want you; All the more for that; Words fall through me and always fool me; And I can’t react.”
“Hello; I’ve had you on my mind; For hours there’s no doubt; And there’s no use wasting time.”
“You have gone and made me such a fool; I’m so lost in you’re love; And oh, we belong together; Won’t you believe in my song.”
Feel free to leave some of your favorite lyrics in the comments section of this Journal entry.
I still say that Goofy’s Concern is too twisted to be real love. I think I shall forever disagree with you on that song.
Of course, you will probably say something along the lines of my favorite lyrics show how I’m still a closet romantic or something silly like that.
“And I’ve always lived like this; Keeping a comfortable, distance; And up until now I had sworn to myself that I’m content with loneliness; Because none of it was ever worth the risk; Well, You, are, the only exception”
It is a very twisted song.
“Real” love. What does the word real even mean? Especially when put next to the word love?
These lyrics are by Paramore. That word means (when spelled correctly) secret lover.
I don’t need any more evidence that you are a closet romantic than that. Your references betray you.
I’m just happy somebody stepped up and added a comment. I didn’t think anybody actually would.
This is a beautiful idea.
“I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, a word, a signal, a nod, a little breath just to fool myself, to catch myself, to make it real, real.” – Strange Currencies by R.E.M., our wedding song
R.E.M. is a band that I like but own absolutely nothing by them. Perhaps we should make a trade some day. Your R.E.M. library for any Butthole Surfers album you want?
If we are talking in the Biblical sense, the lyrics can’t be “real” love because the lyrics reveal that his feelings toward her are ignorant and rude, irritable, and pssibly even a little resentful (corithians 1). He is certainly not showing kindness towards towards her and an ability to endure all things when he states “I don’t give a fuck about your mom & your dad, I don’t give a fuck about the things you had, I don’t give a fuck about what you do.”
If we are talking in the romantic sense, well, there isn’t anything very chivalrous in the lyrics.
I suppose the lyrics could be considered a display of “passionate” love in a sense. Although to me it still seems more of an obsessive, controlling love above all.
I guess each person’s definition of “real” love is different, however the lyrics in Goofy’s Concern don’t speak the word love to me at all. Simply, the lyrics speak a very strong infatuation that is bordering scary.
Yes, the lyrics are Paramore’s version of a “love song”. And I will agree with you on the French definition of the correctly spelled word. I don’t really consider either evidence though, as proof that I’m a closet romantic. Truth is, I do listen to Paramore quiet a bit. I suppose if I was one of those feeling the need to identify myself with songs they would be that group for me. I like their emo/pop/punk sound and edgy lyrics, most of which could be considered more on the jaded side than romantic. I believe that you have been among the many to imply before that my attitude towards relationships tends to be jaded. You can’t have it both ways, I’m either a romantic or jaded. I myself believe I’m a realist that sees the need and enjoys a good relationship but also holds myself & my significant other to certain standards of how I expect to be treated. I don’t believe my references have betrayed anything of a romantic nature.
Anybody can take stuff out of context to make a point. You must be watching a lot of FoxNews in your closet.