This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Bill
I love you so
I always will
I look at you and see
The passion eyes of May (eyes of May)
Oh, but am I ever gonna see
My wedding day? (Wedding day)
I was on your side, Bill
When you were losin' (when you were losin')
I'd never scheme or lie, Bill
There's been no foolin' (there's been no foolin')
But kisses and love won't carry me
'Til you marry me, Bill
I love you so
I always will
And in your voice I hear
A choir of carousels (carousels)
Oh, but am I ever gonna hear
My wedding bells? (Wedding bells)
I was the one came runnin'
When you were lonely (when you were lonely)
I haven't lived one day
Not loving you only (loving you only)
But kisses and love won't carry me
'Til you marry me, Bill
I love you so
I always will
And though devotion rules my heart
I take no bows (take no bows)
Oh, but Bill, you're never gonna
Take those wedding vows (wedding vows)
Come on, Bill
Oh, come on, Bill
Come on and marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
Please marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
Wedding bell blues
(Blues)
Marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
I love you so
I always will
I look at you and see
The passion eyes of May (eyes of May)
Oh, but am I ever gonna see
My wedding day? (Wedding day)
I was on your side, Bill
When you were losin' (when you were losin')
I'd never scheme or lie, Bill
There's been no foolin' (there's been no foolin')
But kisses and love won't carry me
'Til you marry me, Bill
I love you so
I always will
And in your voice I hear
A choir of carousels (carousels)
Oh, but am I ever gonna hear
My wedding bells? (Wedding bells)
I was the one came runnin'
When you were lonely (when you were lonely)
I haven't lived one day
Not loving you only (loving you only)
But kisses and love won't carry me
'Til you marry me, Bill
I love you so
I always will
And though devotion rules my heart
I take no bows (take no bows)
Oh, but Bill, you're never gonna
Take those wedding vows (wedding vows)
Come on, Bill
Oh, come on, Bill
Come on and marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
Please marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
Wedding bell blues
(Blues)
Marry me, Bill
I got the wedding bell blues
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The Night We Met
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Gentle Hour
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Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
i love this song. my junior year english teachers name was bill..it worked out well..
Haha are you Vada Sultenfuss?
Let's toast to what seemed like a wonderful 7-yr marriage and toast to phone calls today from a good friend telling me his wife (also my good friend) is having an affair. Not sure why people get married unless they want to have children and provide a home for them together. Nothing a margarita isn't curing temporarily.
The lyrics to the final verse are currently incorrect. "You know I wanna take my wedding vows" is the original as written and sung by Laura Nyro. But these are supposed to be the lyrics as sung by the 5th Dimension, which changes that line to "Bill, you're never gonna take those wedding vows. It is a small but important change. The 5th Dimension vision puts the onus on Bill; he is the one not moving forward and stringing her along. In the original, it is more ambiguous. It may simply be that this is a woman who just really wants to get married and Bill is the guy she's focused on. She may be in a hurry and he really hasn't strung her along at all. Remember, at the time this song was written we weren't far removed from the 50's when so many women thought it disastrous to turn 20 unmarried.
To me, there seems to be a perceptible edge of desperation and judging that it was written before Roe v Wade it could well mean that the women in the song is pregnant, hence "Wedding Bell Blues".