WAG - Jukebox Definitions of “Love”
Note: Written on Saturday, but not posted till Monday due to internet difficulties, short attention span, and sleep deprivation (in that order). Sorry for the delay.
Today I passed up an opportunity to go to a wedding.
(Further Note: That doesn’t have anything to do with the plot or title of this post, I’m just setting the scene)
Two people from our church are getting married (two elderly widowers that have hooked up). Shortly before my parents left, I was asked if I wanted to go. With such little warning, with no chance to shower, shave, or do the other activities to raise my appearance to something higher than the level of “scraggly street urchin,” I opted not to go.
Instead I watched Muppet Treasure Island on TV.
(I’m heading somewhere with this. Be patient with me for about another 3 paragraphs or so).
It’s one of the better Muppet movies and even though I had missed the first 20 minutes the film easily ensnared my attention for several hours.
I’ve downloaded most of the songs from the soundtrack. After the movie finished, I went to my computer to replay my favorite tunes.
With over 3,000 songs downloaded on my computer, I sometimes have to use the File Keyword Search to track down the songs I’m interested in. I typed in “Love” to find the reggae Ziggy Marley “Love Power” song (that plays over the credits).
(Okay, now we’re on topic. For those of you asking yourselves, “Where is this going?” the answer is “Here.” Enjoy)
The search brought up over 170 files with “love” in the title. Now, not all were songs. There were some “cLOVEr” and “baseball gLOVE” clipart pictures, but the majority of files had to do with various “love songs” (or Patty Loveless, but you know how it goes).
I was a bit surprised by the length of the list. I know love, in all its strange and varied forms, would be a popular subject, but I was still amazed by the fact that so many songs had it in the title, let alone the theme (one would wager the songwriter who had “Love” in the title of all his love songs would be pegged as having a limited creative mind, or was one in great need of a thesaurus).
Anyway, I spent quite some time working through musical renditions of love. And now, a sampling of my… samplings.
First off, of course, Ziggy Marley’s aforementioned “Love Power.” This catchy, snappy island number refers more to brotherly, friendly love. The lyrics, “Love power, stronger than the hurricane, softer than the submarine,” are more about the everyday love friends and family share that helps everyone keep going. It’s short, sweet, and features steel drums. What more can you ask for?
That was soon followed with Phil Collin’s “You Can’t Hurry Love,” a remake of the Supremes classic (also taking up hard drive one my computer, but I prefer this cover because I find it easier to match Phil’s pitches than Diana’s). I actually have the music video of the song that stars Phil Collins in 3 roles (as the lead singer and two grooving Collins in the background singing backup. It’s a funny, cheap special effect video that cracks me up – especially the Phil backup singer in shades). It tells the tale of a person between loves and waiting till that day when the next one comes. The optimistic message of I-know-its-coming-and-I-can’t-force-it-but-I-still-hope-it-will-be-soon helped me get through some rougher patches in the past (and playing now helps me appreciate what I do have).
Red Hot Chili Peppers’s “Love Roller Coaster” is a remake of some square white guy’s original that pales in comparison. Granted the guy probably didn’t have access to an electric guitar and was less likely to play with the lyrics, but when you look at the differences… sigh… no contest. I have to go with the version that actually resembles a musical roller coaster (speeding up, slowing down, playing with the lyrics). This song mirrors the ups, downs, and exhilarating ride love can be when things are going great.
Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” has long been a sentimental favorite (in the same manner that “1999”, “Live and Let Die,” and “Memory” from Cats – they were all standards from marching band). The story of a man trying to hold on to a woman’s heartless love is touching because the lyrics are true and tell it like it is (“if she’s playing him for a fool, he’s the last one to know, - loving eyes can never see”).
Weird Al Yankcovich’s “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” is another slow ballad looking at the flip side of love when the flames die down. His straight rendition of a man lamenting that his special one “shaved off" his eyebrows while he was asleep cracks me up because it is the perfect mockery of the “lover’s lament” songs. You know the ones where the singer methodically lists everything that is different, but still remains clueless of what is fundamentally wrong (unlike Percy, I might add). Their love is obviously unrequited but they still continue to questions. “Why did you disconnect the brakes on my car?” he asks. “That kind of thing is hard to ignore.” This song makes me wonder both how clueless can one guy be, and what must a person have done to deserve such behavior.
Moving into the category of love songs I don’t get there’s Billy Idol’s “Rock the Cradle of Love.” I don’t know what that means, other than it’s not easy, but points to Billy for being persistent about it. There’s Hadaway’s “What is Love?” which asks the question repeatedly without getting an answer.
I went through love songs intended for sweethearts (Alan Jackson’s “Three Minute, Positive, Not Too Country Love Song” and Three Dog Night’s “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song”), jealous love (Garth Brook’s “Papa Loved Mama (Mama Loved Men)”), Celebrations of love (“It’s So Easy to Fall in Love” by Buddy Holly or Linda Ronstadt – your choice, Dwight Yoakam’s cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Moxy Fruvous’s “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors”), expressions of Christian love (Chris Rice’s “Sometimes Love (Has to Drive a Nail into His Own Hand)”, Jaci Velasquez’s “Fall into the Arms of Love”), and love for everyone (Annie Lennox and Al Green’s remake of “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” or Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love)”
I’ve been taught that one should always have love; though it will manifest itself in different degrees in different situations.
You don’t need music to achieve that attitude, but it doesn’t hurt either. It’s a bit reassuring to know I have a wide musical selection at my fingertips (and I don’t have to keep plunking coins into a machine).
I hope a referenced song or two put a happy tune in your head (though I hope it won’t outstay its welcome). I wish you all a good day, and want to remind you once more, it’s like Ziggy sings:
“Love power! (What kind of power?) A little love power. (It can lift you up!) Lift you up when you get blue, make your life bright as the rainbow.”
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