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"
As we marched down to Faneri-o
As we marched down to Faneri-o
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove
And they called her name, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, combin' back your yellow hair
You're the prettiest little girl I've ever seen-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, with your true love by your side
As far as any maiden in the are-o
What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, when she finds you've gone away
To places far and strange to Faneri-o?
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, all your cities I will burn
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o
As we marched down to Faneri-o
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove
And they called her name, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, combin' back your yellow hair
You're the prettiest little girl I've ever seen-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, with your true love by your side
As far as any maiden in the are-o
What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother say, when she finds you've gone away
To places far and strange to Faneri-o?
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o
If ever I return, all your cities I will burn
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o
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"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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Amazing
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I remember reading that this song is an adaption of a Scottish poem, wherein a military man (A captain) finds himself in a town and falls in love with a young girl, presumably during wartime. The song starts with the point of view of the captain's comrades, then shifts to the captain's viewpoint from the fifth line onwards. The poem continues in this first stanza to show the love of the captain for this girl.
In the second stanza, there is evidence of the captain's hopeful marriage to the girl, with the reference to her riding in a carriage with her true love. The second half of this stanza brings to light the conflict that is central to the song; the girl’s mother. What will the girl's mother say when she finds her daughter has married a soldier and left the town during wartime? She'll be pretty annoyed. Note the future tense of this second half of the stanza.
There appears to be a lot of information missing between the second and the last stanza, but it can be assumed that the last stanza reflects the feelings of the captain after being denied marriage to the girl by her mother. The extremely violent imagery shows just how enraged the captain is; he'd burn the city to the ground if he ever bothered to return, destroying all the women like a pouting child destroys a rosebush that it has been pricked by.