Every couple has a song which means something special to them. Maybe it’s the song that was playing when they first met or when they had their first dance, maybe it was playing the first time they kissed – but every couple has one.
I don’t know what happens in lesbian or gay relationships, so I can’t comment on that, but I do know from years of my own experience and from talking to other straight men that the female in a heterosexual relationship will generally retain a lot more information about the history of the relationship than men will – but for some reason “our song” also seems to stick in even the most forgetful man’s mind. It can be a rock song or a ballad, a pop song or R&B, it doesn’t matter. What matters are the romantic memories that it evokes.
I have been performing and writing music since I was 15, so I tend to listen carefully to lyrics and analyse them. Sometimes there is great poetic merit and deep meaning, sometimes there is little or no poetic merit and a hidden meaning. Sometimes it seems the artist doesn’t care about poetic merit as long as the words rhyme, and sometimes there is no attempt to hide the meaning.
Have a look at the following lyrics and judge their poetic merit and/or meaning for yourself. I hope none of you describe any of these as “your song”!
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Guess which Beatle wrote this: (I’ll give you a clue: it wasn’t John, Paul or George.)
“I’m sorry that I doubted you, I was so unfair, you were in a car crash, and you lost your hair.”
Don’t Pass Me By from the White Album
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Awwww… This is so sweet.
“She was a catch, we were a match, I was the match that would fire up her snatch.”
Mermaids by Australian band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
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I wonder what this guy’s girlfriend gets up to now that we have digital cameras…and what kind of shirts does he wear?
“You got me to hitch my knees up, and pulled my legs apart, you took an instamatic camera, and pulled my sleeves around my heart.”
You’re Gorgeous by the UK’s Babybird
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Looks like an evening in the kitchen for this couple!
“Love me like your favourite sweet, your just desserts and more, cover me in cheesecake mix, swallow me up whole.”
Torture by UK 80s band King
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Guys, dedicate this song to your woman if you want a punch in the face.
“You never want to know how much you weigh, you still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you’re perfect to me.”
Little Things by UK heart-throbs One Direction
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Oh this is clever… I wonder what he means?
“Hike up your skirt a little more and show your world to me.”
Crash Into Me by soppy old sausage Dave Matthews (US)
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I guess these guys took the day off sick.
“Thinking of you’s working up my appetite, looking forward to a little afternoon delight, rubbin’ sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite, and the thought of rubbing you is getting so exciting.”
Afternoon Delight by ever-romantic Starland Vocal band
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I think there would be a major investigation if this song were released today…
“Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind, I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind.”
My Sharona by The Knack (who I hope were over 18 years of age when they wrote it)
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Do you think they got stuck for a fourth word that ends in “ate”?
“You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you, you let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you.”
Closer by the lovey-dovey Nine Inch Nails
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Sing this to your lady and you’re guaranteed a night on the couch.
“Remind me of something James used to say, I like ’em fat, I like ’em proud, ya gotta have a mother for me, now move your big ass ’round this way so I can work on that zipper, baby ‘cause tonight you’re a star and I’m the big dipper.”
Get Off by Prince (Judging by the lyrics I think he’s using the other meaning of “get off”.)
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Happy Valentine’s Day!