A Love Life As Written In Song

Have you ever wondered as I have where and when music and song came from. Off to search Madam G and we find the G-Spot - “A Brief History of Music – From Origins to the Present Day By Brian Clark (Last Updated: August 29, 2023). “Music has always been an important cultural and social factor throughout human history. It helped people form tribal bonds and often served religious and spiritual needs. Music has stood the test of time from the prehistoric age till this day”.

Mr Clarke explains the key takeaways of his studies.

Origin of music. The human voice is the first instrument and form of music as prehistoric men and women imitated the sounds of nature. The first physical instrument dates back to more than 35,000 years ago (the Neanderthal flute).

Origin of Musical Notation. The earliest form of musical notation dates back to Babylonia (1400 BCE). The Ancient Greeks had their own system from at least the 6th century BCE. Fast forward to Guido d’Arezzo who invented the modern musical notation system around the year 1000.

European and Asian Ancient Music. The first-ever written piece of music dates back to 3400 years ago which was a cuneiform “alphabet”. By studying ancient cultures, researchers found drawings of musical instruments (the lyre and the flute). The Hebrews also had their musical forms for religious purposes.

The Middle Ages. During this time came music in the form of chants, or the famous Gregorian Chant by Pope Gregory the Great around 540-604 AD. Instruments used during this period were flutes, harps, lutes, drums, and dulcimers.

Renaissance Music - Back, Vivaldi, Mozart & Beethoven

Renaissance to Modern Electronic Music. Composers from the Renaissance and Classical periods such as Bach and Vivaldi paved the way for Opera and Romantic composers like Mozart and Beethoven, all creating works of art. Down the line, Jazz and Blues came into the fold which took music to more modern heights, as the coming of Rock, Pop, and Electronic music became, officially, modern music.

OK so now we understand the origins of music and in particular of song lets have some fun. Allow me to use the lyrics as written by the amazing musical poets of our recent time and to post songs that relate to each step in the romantic process of my life. Yours will be entirely different; I am sure.

First love - I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles

Well, she was just 17
If you know what I mean
And the way she looked was way beyond compare

So, how could I dance with another, oh
When I saw her standin' there?

Oh, we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long, I fell in love with her

Now I'll never dance with another, oh
Since I saw her standin' there

In Love and Lots of Sex – Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
Gonna grab some afternoon delight
My motto's always been "When it's right, it's right"
Why wait until the middle of a cold, dark night
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day
And we know the night is always gonna be here anyway?

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite
Lookin' forward to a little afternoon delight
Rubbin' sticks and stones together make the sparks ignite
And the thought of lovin' you is gettin' so excitin'

Skyrockets in flight
Afternoon delight

Strong Married Love – “How Long will I Love You” - Ellie Goulding

How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I can

How long will I need you?
As long as the seasons need to
Follow their plan

How long will I be with you?
As long as the sea is bound to
Wash upon the sand

How long will I want you?
As long as you want me to
And longer by far
(Songwriter: Mike Scott)

Uh oh -She’s playing up! The Speed of the Sound of Loneliness - John Prine

You come home late and you come home early
You come on big when you're feeling small
You come home straight and you come home curly
Sometimes you don't come home at all

So, what in the world's come over you?
And what in heaven's name have you done?
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

Well, I got a heart that burns with a fever
And I got a worried and a jealous mind
How can a love that'll last forever
Get left so far behind?

What in the world's come over you?
And what in heaven's name have you done?
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

It's a mighty mean and a dreadful sorrow
It's crossed the evil line today
Well, how can you ask about tomorrow
When we ain't got one word to say?

So, what in the world's come over you?
And what in heaven's name have you done?
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run

Songwriters: John E Prine.

The Breakup - A Place to Fall Apart – Merle Haggard

I'll probably never see you eye to eye again
This letter's meant to be my last farewell
But you need to understand I'm nearly crazy
You need to know my life has gone to hell

Write me back and tell me why it ended
Send a letter that I can show my heart
I'll be somewhere between I love you
And what you're feeling now
Lookin' for a place to fall apart

Looking for a place to fall apart
Trying to find a place that I can leave my heart
I need to be somewhere hidin'
When I feel the teardrops start
Lookin' for a place to fall apart

I can't seem to justify your leavin' me
I'm bewildered as to how it all came down
I thought everything was fine until your phone call
The call that turned my world around

Send me word and tell me why it ended
I need some final proof to show my heart
I'll be somewhere between I love you
And what you're feelin' now
Lookin' for a place to fall apart

Songwriters: Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Freddy Powers.

Shit Getting Serious – Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley and Alison Kraus

She put him out
Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart
He spent his whole life trying to forget

We watched him drink his pain away
Little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough
To get her off his mind until the night

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
And the strength he had to get up off his knees

We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

La la la la la la la La la la la la la la

The rumors flew
But nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years
She tried to hide the whiskey on her breathe

She finally drank her pain away little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him of her mind
Until the night

She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees

We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the Angels sang a whiskey lullaby

La la la la la la la La la la la la la la

Or - Shall I Try to Get Back with Her? – I Told You So - Randy Travis

Suppose I called you up tonight and told you that I love you
And suppose I said I want to come back home
And suppose I cried and said I think I've finally learned my lesson
And I'm tired of spendin' all my time alone

If I told you that I realized you're all I ever wanted
And it's killin' me to be so far away
Would you tell me that you love me too and would we cry together?
Or would you simply laugh at me and say

I told you so, oh, I told you so
I told you someday you'd come crawlin' back and askin' me to take you in
I told you so, but you had to go
But now I've found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again

If I got down on my knees and told you I was yours forever
Would you get down on yours too and take my hand?
Would we get that old-time feelin'? Would we laugh and talk for hours?
The way we did when our love first began

Would you tell me that you've missed me too and that you've been so lonely
And you've waited for the day that I returned
And we'd live and love forever, and that I'm your one and only
Or would you say the tables finally turned?

Would you say I told you so, oh, I told you so
I told you someday you'd come crawlin' back and asking me to take you in
I told you so, but you had to go
And now I've found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again

Older Alone and Lonely – Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkle

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

Within the sound of silence

It’s all over and the family gathers at the death bed
Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout The Good Old Days) - The Judds

Grandpa
Tell me 'bout the good old days.
Sometimes it feels like
This world's gone crazy.
Grandpa, take me back to yesterday,
Where the line between right and wrong
Didn't seem so hazy.

Did lovers really fall in love to stay
Stand beside each other come what may
was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say and then forget
Did families really bow their heads to pray
daddies really never go away
Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good old days.

Grandpa
Everything is changing fast.
We call it progress,
But I just don't know.
And Grandpa, let's wonder back into the past,
And paint me a picture of long ago.

Did lovers really fall in love to stay
Stand beside each other come what may
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say and then forget
Did families really bow their heads to pray
daddies really never go away
Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days.

Whoa oh Grandpa,
Tell me 'bout the good ole days.

Conclusion

Well, that was fun revisiting the golden oldies that I enjoyed in the past and enjoy again now. What would your list of significant life moments written in songs include?

Author: Magnum
For: Langtrees.com

7/7/2025 12:14pm
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