"It is so beautifully written, it sings itself"

2 July 2017:

"The song opens with the line 'I may not always love you.'

Forget for a moment the audacity of beginning a love song with that phrase. Consider what it means when hitched to what follows:

I may not always love you,
But long as there are stars above you,
You’ll never need to doubt it.
I’ll make you so sure about it.

We see two people here, together, at this moment and what they have is profound, and as long as the universe exists, whether or not they remain together, she will know the depth and strength of his love.

Why? Because he needs her...


'God Only Knows' is, at the same time, a mature proclamation of love and another desperate plea. And it’s a distillation of what much of Pet Sounds is about: the sense that if we surrender to an all-consuming love, we will never be able to live without it. And, though we’re uncertain that the reward is worth the risk, we yearn to surrender."

Today's entry is a combo listening/reading post, I guess. I was feeling Sunday-afternoon-serious-and-contemplative and stumbled across this perfect close reading of one of my favorite songs. I remember as a kid, the first time I actually thought about that first line and went "huh?" And then I listened more closely and admired the turn it takes, even if (as a kid) I didn't quite get it. I think the piece's writer has got it here: it seems so foolish to hope for/in love, but we kind of can't help ourselves and just want to risk it and beat those odds.