A week from today (June 1) is my anniversary. This is the song we first danced to at our wedding. Of course it has a story (although not an extremely interesting one). When I first met David (23 in 93) he had just purchased this brandy-new Bob Marley 3 CD set of previously unknown material. On zillion (I think). I’ll bet goneforeign remembers – the albums were called Kinky Reggae, Lively Up Yourself, Rainbow Country. I was glad he liked Bob Marley, cause I did, too, but it was more than that…
I’d never been in love before in my life, and something about lying in David’s small bedroom, listening to these, looking for a sign or portent around every corner – Well, it felt like every song was about US. (The arrogance of youth, eh?) Listening to them since, I realize I was wildly wrong, but – not about this song. This one was definitely about us in the spring of ’93.
So…the question is…what’s your song? If not the song at your wedding, then the song that represents a relationship, or the song you’d like to represent a relationship. Any variation on this theme is accepted.
Congrats on your anniversary and on having a long and happy marriage. I’m not married, but i thought if i ever do get married, i’d want Wild Horses played. The song i seem to hear most at other weddings is Peter, Paul, and Mary’s Wedding Song. Which isn’t a bad one really.
Wild Horses by the Stones? I used to love that. Don’t know the Peter Paul and Mary. Thanks, Amylee.
We had 3 full mixed cassettes (yes, cassettes!) at our wedding. I wonder how they’d be different now. (Other than being CDs, of course.)
you probably know the PPM but don’t know that you do – here it is -
Congrats Steen (and David)! And what a beautiful song – I thought I’d suffered from Bob Marley overkill, but this is lovely.
As an – ahem – confirmed bachelor, I don’t have a ‘relationship song’ (and feel one probably ought not to choose in advance – should be a bit of a mutual, organic decision at the time, innit?), but I’ve always hoped for something like this:
Kitchens of Distinction: Gorgeous Love
‘sweeping the nation’ is their best tune. (according to me anyhow)
(never got round to answering you over on RR – too many posts for me to get in again now)
the other albums I have – are kind of stories as a whole – pop concept albums if you will… good, but not often listened to – and hard to single out individual tracks (although I have tried on various RRs)
although – psycho magnet or what’s wrong with breaking up anyway?
could work as the antithesis of this thread – for those in need!
(watch Dropbox – I will add a couple of tunes)
and ‘Scottish Pop’ has to be in the top two too..
why do I ever make statements?
some tunes in db – that you probably already have – but for anyone interested – i will leave til 2morro night.
ah work – that’s what I’m doing, yep.
Thanks Shane! I have “Sweeping The Nation”, which is not only my fave Spearmint songs but probably one of my all-time fave songs from anyone. Had been thinking of submitting as an earworm actually! (I also have “You are still my brother”, “We’re Going Out” and “Flaming Lips”. I went through a phase of buying their CD singles!) All the others you boxed are new to me. Will check out…
Happy Anniversary!
My wife gave up pretending to take an interest in my musical obsessions some time ago, and we didn’t plan a ‘first dance’ tune for our wedding. But a friend of mine sang “The Book of Love” by the Magnetic Fields during the reception, and the memory of it still brings tears to the back of my eyes. So this is Our Song:
June the First eh.. what a wonderful day for an anniversary, except this year – it’s pants this year!
so in line with the split personality here is track one:
anti-war
having been introduced to Ru by mutual friends, and in my normal dumb way of not taking any notice of what I’m told were obvious ‘signs’ –
seriously, “I’m gagging for a shagging” would be too subtle for me. … she managed to get a text to me at an anti-war demo – I was there standing on Westminster bridge, in a slight panic (I don’t like crowds – or lots of people very much at all really – but this was important) so she found me and kind of shuffled me along to Hyde park throughout the day.. when they were all waiting for their coach home that night.. she shuffled herself into me and gave me a huge snog – at that point I had a lightbulb moment….
(so I told Jens and he helped out with a song… cheers mate)
track 2:
Ruth
obviously I HATE guns (see above) but the quote, ‘all you need is a girl and a gun’ from new wave cinema is so dismissively French cool, it’s un-true.
‘I’ll pump it full of art and sex… it’ll be such fun’
what’s not to get excited about?
(so I told Stephen, and he said he’d write us a tune.. call it Ruth, Roses and Revolvers – nice fella)
and then Z-boy scarily came along and pretty much saved me from myself… I don’t know if Special Brew was meant to be a lullaby – but we bounced to this non – stop.
(when I bumped into Buster – he said, I knew all those years ago when we were chatting in Margate that this song would one day be for you)
Z-Boy
Congratulations!
There would be a couple of contenders for an “our song” in my relationship, many of them deeply inappropriate. Roxette’s Dressed For Success and Falco’s ludicrous Jeanny come to mind. I think it would have to be Untouchable by Girls Aloud though. We’re both huge fans and their London show last year was the first i ever took Claire to. It’s a beautiful song.
“We’ve been doing pain for so long
When I stare in your eyes it’s all gone
Through wind and rain we burn bright
Learn to fly through flames and hold tight
With so many ways to go wrong
But when I look in your eyes they’re all gone
I know that love shouldn’t be so hard
And sometimes we’re standing in the dark
But you light up everywhere I go
And I know a heart shouldn’t beat so hard
And sometimes we’re swimming with the sharks
But you light up and keep me out the cold”
Many congratulations.
My and Mrs Abahachi’s musical tastes are so far apart – partly age, partly temperament – that it’s hard to find anything that we can both happily listen to, let alone claim as ‘our song’; ours wasn’t the sort of wedding that had a first dance, and I have to say that I’m extremely relieved we never had to worry about choosing a song for it.
That’s a beautiful song, and it fits well with the beginning of a love adventure. I also love the fact that SHane had Jens Lekman write an amazing song for him. Actually I don’t love it, I’m jealous! It’s too perfect!
I’m not married but two of my past relationships have had their own songs. One was Aaliyah’s Are You That Somebody?
She had a car, which was a rare thing at our age and we used to bump this before we started going out, before I picked up the signs (like Shane, I need things to be spelt out).
For another relationship there was Phoenix’s If I Ever Feel Better
although it was more hers than mine, since I had loved it long before meeting her. I never told her this but the one song that I would always associate with her is Maxine Nightingale’s Right Back Where We Started From, the memory of her belting it out with joy and carefree-ness. So none that would really be appropriate for a first dance, but songs filled with memories.
Actually if i were to have any sort of wedding these days, Ziggy Marley’s Love is My Religion may have to be the theme song. Really lovely song.
Rather ashamed to admit that the ‘our song’ from a previous and, sadly, ultimately doomed relationship was ‘Every Breath You Take’. I never even liked the Police, so how that happened, I’m not sure. I’m just a bit of a pushover, I guess…
Nowadays, were I ever to find myself on the verge of joining the fully loved-up ranks of the relationship-bound, I would have to offer the following to the (currently theoretical) young lady involved:
Sweet Honey In The Rock – Sometimes
This song made me physically cry when I first heard it. Bit of a softie as well as a pushover, I reckon.
Hope the link works…
And, if I manage to embed correctly, my favourite song about ‘relationship songs’ is…
So beautiful. And I love the idea of a guy thinking ‘Lola’ is a suitable relationship record!
My first love, in high school, invited me over to hers one evening when her parents were out and played this for me.
on you tube maybe
Phew! I was worried after I posted that this was too personal, or insensitive, maybe. But what a lot of wonderful responses!!
We didn’t have a DJ or anything, but we had to have dancing, and it was fun picking music and making mix tapes. (Well, I’m an RRer!)
I was thinking of songs people have played at weddings that were funnily inappropriate, too. I had a friend that played that Ace of Base song that was popular, and everybody had fun dancing to it, but the words weren’t exactly romantically promising. And we knew someone that had Last Caress, by The Misfits. Heh heh.
And for those in need to an antithesis to this thread (thanks, Shane) feel free to post your LOVE STINKS songs, too.
Thanks for answering, a better response later, after more coffee.
SV80, my name is Claire, too!
Nah, wasn’t too personal. I did have a mental picture* of you and David snuggled on an army cot in an attic room listening to reggae and him whispering in your ear ”say something in Swedish now.”
* When I say picture I meant more an abstract conceptual thing rather than anything detailed. a) I don’t know what David looks like, and b) I’m not that weird. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel spooky(ier).
feel free to post your LOVE STINKS songs, too.
Oh good, I didn’t want to be a bummer and post this before, but when my 20-year marriage was breaking up I was having all those disbelief thoughts and feeling like I must be imagining things and etc etc as you do. At the time Nickleback’s This Is How You Remind Me was playing every 5 minutes everywhere you turned, and it helped me keep my focus on us as we were in day to day life, not how we said things were. Actions speak louder than words, etc.
It was a great learning experience for me and lessons learned leave me in good stead today. I love you, I love you, I love you is great to hear, but if you are seeing the opposite, time for a think.
(Dunno what the song is actually about lol. I never listened closely beyond that one line!)
Our song? Dire Straits ‘Wild West End’ for these lines.
I saw you walking out Shaftesbury Avenue
Excuse me talking I wanna marry you
Took us 32 years to actually walk down Shaftesbury Avenue but cheesy fool that I am I still sang it to her.
Our wedding was outdoors on a friends property up in the Sierras. Had to truck everything in including generators for the band. A good friend of mine was the piano player in a R&B jump band, 7 piece with horns & we were their first paying gig (just enough to cover gas & stuff plus all the champagne they could haul off.) They were a great party band but the only slow song they had worked up was a version of ‘House of Blue Lights’ so that was our first song.
Great topic Steen.
Steen, add my congrats to the growing list, when I saw SV 80′s comment my first thought was that Mr. Steen had joined our group! I remember the Bob cd package well, I even remember the moment of my buying it and wish I’d bought more since I recently saw it at ebay for some silly outrageous price. I don’t have a specific ‘our song’ related to marriage but the first one that comes to mind in that context is another by Bob, I was camping in a VW van along the top of some cliffs in Baja California [Mexico], it was dawn, the sun was breaking over the Pacific, there was a school of dolphins playing in the surf not more than 100ft away and we sat there in the morning stillness enjoying a cup of coffee. The tape in the van was playing all Bob and the cut we listened to at that moment was ‘One Love’; whenever I hear it today those images come back to me. Special song, special event.
A couple of weeks ago, May 11th, was the 29th anniversary of Bob’s death.
I thought you’d know it, GF. I was remembering a time when all we knew was Legend, and folks were distributing “brand new” Bob Marley material. But I’ve bought some vinyl since that was older than these CDs… I’m sure it was all stuff you’d already heard.
It felt like quite a find at the time, though.
a ps;
My niece in UK got married last year, a full on church wedding, she sent me the DVD of the event; instead of Wagner’s wedding march as they walked down the aisle they had ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by the Stones, go figure!
awesome.
Most of my ‘love stinks’ songs are self-penned; indeed, they comprise at least 10% of my total oeuvre, thought naturally massively outnumbered by the ‘pathetic unrequited love’ songs. It has to be said that marriage has almost completely wrecked my song-writing career…
You have your own oeuvre? I’m jealous. I always wanted an oeuvre, but I suppose you have to write a few things before you can have one. What’s the minimum on that, just out of curiousity? I’m looking at the ‘oeu’ bit and thinking 8, but my Greek isn’t what it used to be [neither's the euro since they joined, he he]
Sounds like a worthwhile tradeoff!
DO remember abahachi that we have a binding agreement that you may only publish your ‘pathetic unrequited love’ songs if you redact all instances of my name. I don’t want to get all legal on you, but I will if I have to.
Congratulations to you both!
Mrs Maki go back to 1982. At that time our relationship, though intense and perfect in every way!), seemed doomed by circumstance. I was still at Uni and had to go back to the UK in the summer of 83. We both feared time and circumstances would conspire to keep us apart.
At that time I was a massive U2 fan (the sins of youth!) and at the end of ’82 managed to get my hands on a pre-release cassette copy of War (taken from the studio mixing desk, I fear).
The song Drowning Man, with its eerie sadness and the lines
Take my hand
You know I’ll be there
If you can
I’ll cross the sky for your love
For I have promised
Oh, to be with you tonight
And for the time that will come
Take my hand
You know I’ll be there
If you can
I’ll cross the sky for your love
And I understand
These winds and tides
This change of times
Won’t drag you away
Hold on, and hold on tightly
Hold on, and don’t let go
Of my love
The storms will pass…the storm will pass…
It won’t be long now…it won’t be long now…
His love will last
His love will last…forever
Take my hand
You know I’ll be there
If you can
I’ll cross the sky for your love
Give you what I hold dear
Hold on, hold on tightly
Hold on, hold on tightly
Rise up, rise up
With wings like eagles
You run, you run
You run and not grow weary
…Take my hand, take my hand…
Hold on, and hold on tightly
Hold on, hold on tightly
To this love…last forever
To this love…last forever
Take my hand
(No one third rule here)
just seemed so strangely appropriate that it became our song.
The storms did pass and 28 years later we’re still together. Yeah!
We don’t listen to the song much these days but it still means a lot to both of us.
Congrats to you both, hope you get a bit of time alone on the day.
The music I most associate with the start of our relationship would be Kip Hanrahan’s Tenderness- Album of the week a long time ago- or Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and In a silent way.
As mentioned before our Wedding slow-dance song was Scritti Politti – Sweetest Girl. 20 year anniversary coming up (china? aluminum? brick?), so luckily Mrs S still doesn’t understand “the value of defiance”.
Apparently you’re China, and we’re Ivory (14).
Congratulations to you to, Shoey. It’s strange when the number of years starts becoming a larger and larger portion of your life. Especially as one’s memory is shrinking as it goes along.
too
We’re lava this year!
congratulations Steen (really liked the Bob tune too)!
I’ve mentioned it before, but a throwaway comment by me and an original 7″ internet purchase early in the relationship lead to this becoming “our song”. I’ve never understood why co-called “love songs” always sound so serious and dour when surely being in love should be a whoosh of jubilance and unbridled happiness. The song doesn’t quite fit, you don’t get too many Japanese girls with blue eyes…..but her feet are pretty small….
…ahh…those were the days……..happy marriages are not my favourite subject at the moment……..!!
Sorry, Panthersan.
thanks Steen……i’m sure the storms will pass…
hmm…how do you get the Youtube clip in the comments??
On the youtube page, click on the “Embed” button, then copy and past the code they show.
1910 Fruitgum Co, eh? That goes way back, all i remember is 123 Red Light.
thanks Amy let’s give it s try…
….Teenage Fanclub do a cracking cover too if you haven’t heard it
Many congratulations Claire and Man. My eighteenth is just around the corner. We were traditionally married despite my atheism, in a Catholic Church. Ave Maria was sung solo, rather beautifully. We had a choir made up of friends, my dad and his wife, and they sang ‘Morning Has Broken’. As we left the church our friend Maureen belted out ‘Oh Happy Day’. And we continued to embrace the cheese for the remainder of the day – Chopin played at the reception, our first dance was ‘Have I Told You Lately That I Love You’ by Van Morrison and readers, I wept. She held me up and has been doing so ever since.
Later that night we both played in the house band “The Ouse Brothers” (pronounced Ooze Brothers – home town Lewes is on the river Ouse) which was made up of chaps I went to school with including Andrew Ranken from the Pogues (who sang) and Stephen Wood who now write soundtracks for movies, me on the brass section (with Jem Finer) and mrs magic on backing vocals with her sister and Maureen. Andrew insisted on New Orleans R’n'B only, so I remember with fondness Barefootin’, Blue Monday, One Night (Of Sin), I Hear You Knockin’ and Goodnight Irene.
My friend made us a wedding mixtape with heavy instructions to listen to it on the day. I don’t think we did, but most of the tunes on it have bored into my soul, including Wynona’s “She Is His Only Need’ and Elvis Hawaiian Wedding Song.
Last summer I went to a wedding and tune of the day was the Wannadies “You and Me Song”.
I have a gorgeous playlist of wedding songs now, which gets added to every year.
Sorry – just realised I dropped a load of names there, coming round picking them up…
Felt completely normal 18 years ago, fallen out of touch a bit now…
it’s the tunes that count anyway
Congrats to you and David, Claire.
Nicky and I don’t really have a song that is ours.
I have had a couple of significant songs in the past, one of which can still reduce me to tears if I hear it when I am feeling a bit low.
David ! Sorry Claire didn’t know the name – I do now. Great post and thanks for sharing. Have a lovely anniversary xx
Ralph
Definitely siding with the “love stinks” army here. There are zillions of songs that could echo the sentiment. This is not the best of the lot, at any rate, nor the first. It’s not the smartest either, but just nails it somehow, all the same.
Drive By Truckers – Don’t Be In Love Around Me.
And please, don’t get me started on “pathetic unrequited love”…
Joining in unfashionably late with this, but Happy Anniversary Claire, lovely tune ! We had Curtis Mayfield / The Impressions and “I’m So Proud”. The mention of Van the Man, reminds me that, in spite of the (enjoyably for me) low tone of the American Pie films, Jimbo and Michelle’s wedding dance to “Into The Mystic” and is rather lovely.