My arms are just two things in the way until I can wrap them around you
& other favourite sentences about <3
Being in love feels really, really good. And when people try to write about just how GOOD it feels, they often end up sounding a bit silly.
Personally, I love it.
The subject line of this newsletter comes from my favourite sentence in Captain Beefheart’s song 'My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains'.
My arms are just two things in the way
until I can wrap them around you
Fun Fact: My Uncle Simon in Wales claims to have once been a roadie for Captain Beefheart, which immediately makes him cooler than anyone reading this email.
I also love when people try to convey just how BIG their love is. ‘Our Love Will Still Be There’ by The Troggs gives it a good go. I guess it’s a more pop-friendly version of Philip Larkin’s “what will survive of us is love” line?
I believe that in years to come
when the mountains have crumbled to dust
and all the oceans have all run dry
and the cars in the street turn to rust
our love will still be there
Fun Fact: Reg Presley, the lead singer in The Troggs, used the royalties from ‘Love Is All Round’ to fund research into crop circles. Hmmm.
On the other hand, breaking up feels really, really bad. And when people try to convey just how BAD it feels, they often take it out on Mother Nature. Like in the great country music song ‘The End of the World’, written by Sylvia Dee and Arthur Kent.
Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
'Cause you don't love me anymore
I only noticed recently how similar this is to ‘Who Loves the Sun’ by The Velvet Underground.
Who loves the sun?
Who cares that it makes plants grow?
Who cares what it does?
Since you broke my heart
Now, sorry to go on a tangent.
(Actually, scratch that, this is my newsletter. I don’t have to apologise. Fuck you! I’m going on a fucking tangent!)
I noticed another sentence similarity recently that I will share with you because, as established, this is my newsletter and fuck you I won’t do what you tell me.
So I’ve always loved this David Berman line in ‘Blue Arrangements’.
Sometimes I feel like I’m watching the world
and the world’s not watching me back
And the other night I was reading a poem by Chidiock Tichborne …
*holds for applause for having read some ~literary~ thing from the 16th century instead of re-watching Drive to Survive on Netflix, which I will do tonight.*
… and I came across this line:
I saw the world and yet I was not seen
Not an exact match, but pretty darn close.
It’s from 'My prime of youth is but a frost of cares'. I think it’s one of those really famous poems that you’re meant to have read during school, but back then I was less of a Tichborne guy and more of a Tony Hawk guy.
Anyway, apparently Chidiock included it in a letter to his wife. The poem is a little … bleak … but he has a great excuse. He was writing it while waiting to be executed for partaking in a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth.
(I know … how bad does that make you feel about not being productive enough during lockdown?)
Fun Fact: Not only was Chidiock hanged, he was also disemboweled beforehand.
Now, unlike a breakup, that really is The End of the World.
Take care out there friends & bots,
Evan.