I dislike Bryan Adams. The taunt so popular in the 80's of "poser" could not have landed on a more appropriate person. But he is capable of writing a decent tune every now & then. This one was on the soundtrack to Don Juan DeMarco which I thought was a cute film as far as chick flicks go (& don't tell my outward cynic but it appealed to the inner romantic in me). The song has a Spanish vibe to it which I dig because of my tastes in classical music (some of my favorite guitar composers were Spanish - Sor, Giuliani & Tarrega come to mind & how could I not mention Llobet & Segovia?) but it's pop enough to not be unappealing to American ears. Besides, it's fun as hell to play for a guitarist & the guitar work in it is very nice. The premise of the song is simply explaining about loving a woman. Not as a euphemism for sex or merely being infatuated or momentarily in love, but really loving a woman, from the perspective of a guy who is unfortunately infected with that most serious & incurable of maladies.
Here's the video & here are the lyrics.
& speaking of really loving a woman...
We all recall Percy Sledge's account of what lengths will be traversed When A Man Loves A Woman. In the throes of such insanity we are compelled to do things out of character for us & at times even harmful without the slightest regard for our own well being. Performing menial labor without thought of reward aside from the smile on the lady's face, buying presents which are more costly than their price tag would belie, enduring physical discomfort without complaint & even loaning out your only Garand is no longer an unthinkable proposition. & none of this is done to curry favor from the fair dame, but merely to allow an outward expression of the feeling within us in the hopes that it will be accepted. When it works out in the way we wish it's great, but until the results are certain it's scary as hell & (at least in my experience) we can feel indescribably foolish for everything we attempt (& we do second guess damn near everything we attempt even as we're attempting it). That fear is very powerful which should be an indicator of how strong the feeling necessary to overcome it is (though you never really overcome it; you merely act in spite of it).
Well this is the 21rst century so sleeping outside a young lady's doorstep to greet her in the morning with fresh flowers & a salmon for her cat (in my experience there always seems to be a cat involved - YMMV) is kind of out of style (& probably the basis for charges) but there are other means available to woo a fair maid's heart. & some of them are thanks to the internet.
Sebastian of Snowflakes in Hell started blogging to impress a young lass. I never quite went that route but I do admit at times I have come close, though with a different young lady in mind & no tangible results (except for feeling like a fool). Well damned if he didn't actually succeed. The young lady he is so enthralled with is none other than Bitter. She was touched by his efforts (as well as impressed by his writing) & the rest could be the makings of an internet verb (but in a good way). It seems to be going well enough that they're taking a road trip together.
Since Bitter has always been most kind about filling in for me over here I'm finally getting a chance to return the favor (though I think drinks are still owed). So check over at The Bitch Girls over the next week or so (& especially after Bitter returns as she's always worth reading) as I'll try to throw in a nice comment about the NRA while I'm there (hey - it could happen. Besides, I owe her).
& Sebastian - congrats.
Posted by Publicola at March 8, 2007 05:53 PM | TrackBack