“Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs… What’s wrong with that?”
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I happened to run across a Facebook profile for a woman who is friends with a lot of my friends. She also happens to be married to a guy I used to have a big crush on. My crush went unrequited, of course. I looked at her pictures with her husband, a man who both charmed and tormented me when we were little kids and was immediately reminded of a silly love song by Garth Brooks. The song was “Unanswered Prayers”. I’d post it here, but apparently Garth Brooks is very protective of his copyrights and there aren’t any videos of him doing that song on YouTube. I suppose I could find a cover version, but instead I’ll just say the sentiment of that song fit the way I felt yesterday. I had a lot of crushes back in the day, but am actually kind of glad none of them panned out.
As I gave my husband, Bill, a big kiss last night as a thank you for choosing me, another silly love song immediately popped into my head. That song was “The Last Worthless Evening” by Don Henley. I’d post that song here, but again, Don Henley is apparently protective of his copyright and I can’t find any suitable videos on YouTube. The point is, it’s a sweet song and sort of sums up how I feel about Bill. When I found Bill, I found a man who made the pain of all those unrequited crushes go away. I haven’t had a “worthless evening” since.
This morning, as I sat in my office thinking about today’s post, I realized that both “Unanswered Prayers” and “The Last Worthless Evening” were recorded by guys with enormous egos. Shoot, Garth Brooks won’t even let you download his songs unless you visit Walmart’s official Web site. I guess he figures he gets more money if you buy them on CD, since you can’t just buy one song. It’s his right to do that, but I’m not enough of a fan to buy one of his CDs or download from Walmart’s site.
I am a fan of Don Henley’s and actually own several of his studio albums and he does let you download from iTunes or Amazon, though he doesn’t want you using his music on YouTube. But I would buy a CD by Don Henley… or at least I would before he and the rest of the Eagles got into bed with Walmart. Garth Brooks also got into bed with Walmart back in 2005, when he signed a deal making Walmart the only place you can buy his music. Since I loathe Walmart, I refuse to buy anything there, so any artist who only sells music at Walmart will not have a place in my library.
The Eagles have since made their 2007 album Long Road Out of Eden available elsewhere, but the damage is done. I found it very hypocritical that Don Henley was such an outspoken advocate for environmental causes and yet he got involved with a business that is responsible for so many trees losing their lives due to Walmart’s enormous stores. It’s not that I’m such a big environmentalist. I just don’t like hypocrisy and I don’t like not having a choice as to where I buy things.
So then I started thinking about “Silly Love Songs”, a love song by Paul McCartney and Wings. And what do you know? I actually found a video for that song…
And this song, while maybe as schmaltzy as “Unanswered Prayers” and “The Last Worthless Evening”, doesn’t take itself too seriously. God bless Paul McCartney for his lighthearted silly love songs. And thank God for “Unanswered Prayers” and “The Last Worthless Evening” because they make me appreciate “Silly Love Songs” all the more.
Have a great weekend, y’all!
