A Little Announcement

    Tomorrow morning, my family and I are leaving for a two-week road trip, which will include visits to Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and possibly Nevada and Arizona.

    I have been to the seashore once: my family stayed for a little while on an island near Corpus Christi, Texas. I cannot wait to see it again.

    Not that I post with a great deal of frequency *apologetic smile*, but if you should worry after me, that's where I'll be.

    I'll bring back lots of pictures. :)

Lucky me . . .

A Romantic Miscellany, Part One

    An opening comment: if you think that I'm just writing this as an excuse to post the above picture, you should be ashamed of yourself. I would never do anything like that.

    Well, you can't ruminate long upon Audrey Hepburn (see previous post) without romance being a lot on your mind. And since romance is on my mind a lot anyway, this time I just couldn't bear the strain. 

    I've been thinking about love songs. What a singular way to express one's feelings! I don't know about the rest of you, but when I hear epic love songs I imagine that the words are directed at me. I'm not saying I need my future true love to burst into song whenever he feels particularly charitable; rather, that if his feelings could be put into words, the lyrics of a certain song would be what they said.

    I have long mulled over what makes a great love song. Sometimes it's a beautiful tune; sometimes it's a passionate vocal; sometimes it's particularly well-chosen lyrics; and sometimes . . . it's not any of those. Sometimes you just hear a song and recognize the love behind it, whether the song is in itself remarkable or not. With all that in mind, I give you:

    My Top Ten favorite Love Songs*

    Or,

    A Chance to Babble About Good Music    

    1. Longer, Dan Fogelberg

    I love listening to him croon this song in his peculiar voice. The gentle guitar and orchestra accompaniment are masterful. The lyrics are truly poetry, possibly the finest I've ever heard, and clearly communicate love at its deepest, strongest, and most eternal. My favorite verse is the last:

Through the years, as the fire starts to mellow

Burning lines in the book of our lives

Though the binding cracks, and the pages start to yellow

I'll be in love with you

I am in love with you.

   

     2. Danny's Song, cover by Anne Murray

    This was originally by Kenny Loggins, but Anne Murray had no problem doing it justice. I've always said that if I could switch my singing voice with anyone's, it would be hers. So strong, so winsome, it shines in this song even more than any other I've heard her perform. I've read that Murray is Canadian. Howsoever that may be, her singing, high-quality and inspired, makes me feel truly and gracefully and immortally American.

    There's something so real about Danny's Song; something that makes you truly remember the magic of such things as the coming of children and being in love. It makes you realize how valuable it all really is. It makes you think about the past and the future and the blessings you have and the simplicity of truest love. I regard it as a breath of fresh air.
   

    3. I Cross My Heart, George Strait 

In all the world, you'll never find

A love as true as mine.

    You don't have to like country music to appreciate this song. I sneer at country music in general, but have a special place in my heart for George Strait. The acoustic guitar intro lends a sweet American flavor to the proceedings, and the profound lyrics, consisting of a promise and and a declaration of love, are impossible to forget.

    4. A Thousand Years, Christina Perri

    I had never heard of this song until two or three weeks ago, when Mary Basquez showed it to me on YouTube. That was all it took; it instantly had a place on my list.

   

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I will love you for a thousand more.

    In almost all of the songs on this list, there are at least a few lyrics communicating constancy; the faithfulness of love. Is that why they have been so popular for so long? Deep down, I guess we like to hear songs about love that is not only passionate, but lasts, forever and ever and ever. Though of course there are lots of other lyrics in this song dealing with other thoughts, the concept of love that never ends is what it really means to me.

 

    5. Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley 

    Now, my observations of Elvis-haters (Dad and Ben Franklin) are that any song of his, no matter how good the lyrics or fine the sentiments, is insufferable to experience. If that is the case for any of you, then Norah Jones' remake is also very palatable. In my mind, however, Elvis doesn't need help with this song (or indeed with any of them). He, a master of crooning and a connoisseur of romance, crafted its soul. His rich voice and gentle guitar (again!) leaves you in no doubt of the heart behind it. Timeless is the word. 

    6. To Whom it May Concern, The Civil Wars

    Mary (who else?) introduced The Civil Wars' music to me (and bequeathed upon me their album Barton Hollow). They have a marvelous collection of love songs, but in many ways this one is the most important, because it's about a love story that hasn't happened yet. 

    Those of us who are single can really relate to that. The way it's performed reminds me so much of my own imaginings. So I guess the song is proof that everyone does that; everyone has a special, nameless person living in the back of their heart, waiting to be breathed into life.
    The harmony is, as always, flawless, the guitar gentle and skilled, and there is so much patient love behind the words. I was so surprised to realize that it's all genuine feeling; it's actually possible to love someone you've never met.

  

    

    7. Miss My Love, Lou Rawls

    The main attraction of this song is his voice. It is absolutely the most velvety, chocolaty, suave voice in history. The man could make the Happy Birthday song sound hot.

    His voice, along with the simple, sophisticated background music, remains unflustered throughout, telling you the singer is absolutely certain of the truth of his words. "You'll never find another love like mine . . . "

 
    I don't always prefer the sad love songs, and the lyrics do suggest that the woman to whom they refer was leaving her love. Once, however, when Mother and I had finished listening to this during a 1970s music marathon, I raised the question: "If this was written for a real woman, how could she stand to leave?"
    Mother smiled. "If she did, she came back."
   



Ah, the seventies.



    8. Best of My Love, The Eagles

    This one will make you cry if you listen too hard. It is possibly the saddest love song I've ever heard. It tells about a romance that is ending; about a man with a lost, throbbing heart that still holds an endless tenderness for the woman he is parted from.

   

    I prefer happy love stories and happy endings, and the thought of such a futile attachment leaves a desolation in my bones. I could go on about why I think an ended romance where true love is involved is wrong, but I won't. I will simply say that whatever I think about this song, I will never miss an opportunity to listen to it.

    9. I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston  

    I can't get over this song. I heard it for the first time after Whitney Houston's death, and was immediately converted into a fan of her music.

    It is so magnificent. The lyrics are quite simple - another sad song - but that's not important. I wouldn't care if all the lyrics were "I will always love you" over and over again. The point is the passion with which they are sung. (What a voice!) It may be the best of all.     

    10. You've Got a Friend, James Taylor

    This song presents yet another facet of a true lover: that of a good, dependable, trustworthy friend. Looking carefully at the lyrics, there isn't anything in this song that exactly indicates that it is romantic. They might illustrate anyone's feelings for their best friend. But if you listen to it, there's no mistaking the romance there, simple and abundant. When I find my true love, the words of this sweet, sweet song are exactly what I'll feel for him.   

    Now, I realize that these are the only the best love songs according to my own taste, which is very antiquated. But I believe there's something in each of these songs that touches a space inside everyone, no matter how modernly inclined they are.
  

    In a few weeks (tomorrow I'll tell you why it'll be so long), I'll present to you part two of this extremely educational stuff. In the meantime, may your life be filled with romance.

   

    Note on the title: My brother, Ben Franklin, has a book (which, considering my love for The Lord of the Rings, I really ought to have read by now) called A Tolkien Miscellany. And I thought: why not take a little idea from that charming little title? Tolkien won't mind.

    *I apologize for not posting accompanying YouTube videos. You see, the Household Teenager Computer has no Audio, so I cannot stake out the best ones for the songs. And I would rather die than unwittingly post a cruddy video.
    The Sacred Dad Computer has audio, but the Sacred Dad computer is, by definition, sacred. One of these days he'll probably even post security guards around it to ward off nearby delinquent offspring.