I woke up this morning with the Beatles song I’m Looking Through You (1965) in my head, in particular, the line “Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight.” The night before, I dreamed that I was listening to songs by REO Speedwagon.
Yesterday, after my dream, I listened to my REO Speedwagon playlist during my daily walk. I noticed that the songs on my playlist were primarily about relationships. It’s interesting how the REO Speedwagon songs can be juxtaposed to tell a story of the stages of a relationship (similar to what I did a few years ago with Beatles songs in this blog post).
The first song in the story is Can’t Fight This Feeling (1984). It describes the wonderful feeling of newly discovered love.
I can’t fight this feeling any longer
And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow
What started out as friendship has grown stronger
I only wish I had the strength to let it show
I tell myself that I can’t hold out forever
I said there is no reason for my fear
‘Cause I feel so secure when we’re together
You give my life direction, you make everything so clear
The story continues with the song Take It On The Run (1981).
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from another you been messin’ around
They say you got a boy friend
You’re up late every weekend
They’re talkin’ about you and it’s bringin’ me down
Here, the narrator has heard that his partner has been unfaithful to him. He is not sure whether he should believe it (“But I’m telling you, babe, that I don’t think it’s true, babe”) or break up with her (“If that’s the way you want it baby, then I don’t want you around”).
The story continues with Keep On Loving You (1980). Now, the narrator admits that he knows about his partner’s infidelities, but he still loves her and still wants her.
And you know, I know all about those men
Still I don’t remember
‘Cause it was us baby, way before them
And we’re still together
And I meant every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever
And I’m gonna keep on lovin’ you
‘Cause it’s the only thing I wanna do
I don’t wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on lovin’ you
Finally, the story ends with Time For Me To Fly (1978). The narrator realizes that the relationship is not working out, and it’s time to end it.
I’ve had enough of the falseness
Of a worn out relation
Enough of the jealousy
And the intoleration
Oh, I make you laugh
And you make me cry
I believe it’s time for me to fly
The question is why have I been dreaming about and waking up to songs about relationships? For myself, I retired from that endeavor long ago. My last relationship ended almost four years ago.
The answer lies in my Facebook feed. In this fresh new year of 2021, I’ve already seen four engagements announced, and it’s only three weeks into January! And three of those engagements were announced in the last three days! I call this phenomenon “The Covid Engagement”. After a disaster of the year 2020, caused by both the pandemic and increasing incivility between what people perceive as “us versus them”, wouldn’t it be great to start the new year with a fresh new hope of a wonderful life together? Happily ever after.
Statistically, fifty percent of American marriages end in divorce, higher for second marriages. So I guess I subconsciously did the math, and that’s probably why I was thinking and dreaming of those songs. But as I sit here today, wide awake, I have a good feeling about these upcoming marriages! We all need something good to kick off 2021!
Oh, and if it’s not too late to say this, if the statute of limitations has not yet passed (watch S1E1 of Curb Your Enthusiasm for a discussion), Happy New Year!