Let Love Speak Up Itself

Isn't "to the world's greatest Mum" in reference to an old love who is now a Mum? It appears that, and I believe other men have felt this too, that once in a relationship, there is a great amount of distance that we put between ourselves and the other person, sort of as a security blanket. That security blanket shrinks every time we have to say intimacies like "I love you" out loud. So it's best to let them speak for themselves, like when we open the door. Sure, we're just opening the door for you, but in a way, it's us saying we love you at least this much, but don't blow it out of the water, because it's just opening a door too. Of course, after that, everything is about libido. Sure you're unhappy, but how is that our fault? After all, it's you that's insecure, not us. We are who we are, not who you imagines us to be, even if the two are closer than we think. And years later, it dawns on us that perhaps it wouldn't have been so hard to just give a little. Because the reward may have been insurmountable. Isn't that what most Beautiful South songs are really about? A soft regret about something that we could have prevented. Now, we're who we are and so what of it.

This song seems fairly straight forward to me. It's about love and marriage and familiarity and the difference between passionate love, romantic love and what happens when two people have been together for a very long time. World's Greatest Mum is what the female in the couple will become and Oldest Swinger in Town is the male. It's about what happens when youth and beauty start to fade and only love's left over.

"To the World's Greatest Mum" and "The Oldest Swinger in Town" are slogans you used to see on cups and silly little plaques - tacky but earnest little tokens of affection a couple might give each other after years together. This song means don't try to define love all the time and force it to be what you think it ought to be. Love is a living thing that grows and changes, and you need to appreciate it for what it is. It starts off with dreams of wedding bells, but becomes something deeper and more important with time. When you are tired, relax and feel it so it can reinvigorate you. There will be times when you don't feel it any more, when it no longer feels so new and shiny, and what you will have then are the reminders of the years and times you have spent together. It won't always be this frantic urgent new love; over time it will turn into a deeper connection and fondness that only comes with years together, symbolized in the kind of silly little gifts that build up over decades. When times change and you get frustrated because you are no longer the people you started out as, the memory of that initial love can be a weapon you use to hurt each other. It's easy to forget everything that you have built together if you focus on what used to be, rather than what is. So let love speak up, let the souvenirs of your life and love speak up and remind you that it was worth it. Let love speak up itself.

it means alot 2 me

isnt it man? that would make more sense. With watching the video. The line is sung by the best man who looks sad and left out as his friend is gettin married.

it is mum not man, sorry

Been a fan since 1990, this song still nails it every time. near perfection.

being a fan when i was like... 9, (7 yrs ago) i love the song, i cant believe ive lost all my old tapes though, gotta get the cds.

All well and good, but what is "to the world's greatest Mum" all about, in relation to the personification of emotion? Hmmm.

I have to say the above comment was exceptionally well-put and eloquent. Very thought provoking. Thanks! Also: My favourite Beautiful South song