Songwriter U: Lyrically Speaking—What’s in a Love Song?

Ah, love songs. Everyone has a favorite, probably linked to some seminal (perhaps youthful) romantic experience. My favorite comes from my teen years, the iconic recording by The Flamingos of I Only Have Eyes for You. The song still brings back the same old feelings, part nostalgia of course, but there’s some instructive gold to be mined in how Harry Warren put it all together.

It begins with a Tin Pan Alley Introductory Verse, then spins out in the traditional Standards form, AABA:

Introductory Verse:

My love must be a kind of blind love

I can’t see anyone but you

A: Are the stars out tonight?

I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright

I only have eyes for you, dear

A: The moon may be high

But I can’t see a thing in the sky

I only have eyes for you

B: I don’t know if we’re in a garden

Or on a crowded avenue

A: You are here and so am I

Maybe millions of people go by

But they all disappear from view

And I only have eyes for you

So much to love here, like the use of sense-bound language. Even though the I sees nothing but the you, you, the listener, see a bounty of romantic images: stars, clouds, sun, moon and sky, gardens, streets, and crowds. And you, the listener, will supply each of the images from your own sense memories, Kensington Gardens, The Fens in Boston… That’s the power of using sense-bound language: Harry Warren’s words are full of your stuff! So the song will be about your world, about you!

The first two verses are three lines long, the odd number of lines, by itself, creating a feeling – a sense of longing. Because the odd number is unbalanced, despite being set in an even eight bars, it forces forward motion, 

Are the stars out tonight?

I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright

I only have eyes for you, dear

This verse moves into the second eight-bar verse,

The moon may be high

But I can’t see a thing in the sky

I only have eyes for you

This second verse continues the feeling of longing, leaning forward, moving into a two-line bridge, again covering eight bars with more space and longer note values, but with a shorter second line,

I don’t know if we’re in a garden

Or on a crowded avenue

The shorter second line again leans forward, the imbalance moving us into the third and final verse. Note that avenue doesn’t rhyme, that is, not until the first syllable of the final verse, you:

You are here and so am I

This last verse delivers the gold. It has four lines, an even number, but as before, its first three lines cover the eight-bar sequence, 

You are here and so am I

Maybe millions of people go by

But they all disappear from view…

forcing the fourth line into a brand-new eight-bar section. It just happens to be the refrain,

And I only have eyes for you

This addition turns blazing and spotlights the refrain. It also creates an even number of lines and a stable aabb rhyme scheme, balancing the previously unrhymed third line, finally resolving the sequence. It ties a ribbon on the whole intimate experience:

You are here and so am I

Maybe millions of people go by

But they all disappear from view

And I only have eyes for you

Dance close to a slow 12/8, you’ll see and feel it all.

Speaking of 12/8, Ed Sheeran’s Perfect has some pretty instructive missteps. First, the song’s handling of Point of View. Imagine dancing with Ed while he whispers to you:

Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I’ll share her home
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own

Wait, is he talking to you? About her? Is he breaking up with you because he found someone else? Hmmm. And after this 1^st Person Narrative (I, she) opening, the song bounces back and forth between 1^st Person Narrative and Direct Address, pretty bumpy as a conversation:

I found a love for me
Oh darling, just dive right in and follow my lead
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me…

It feels odd, in the intimacy of a love song, to be talking to her and about her at the same time. Because 3rd  Person pronouns create a more factual, more objective world, they pull us away from the warmth and closeness a love song requires. 

A second factor also damages the intimacy of the song: telling you stuff that you already know. 

When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

In real and intimate conversation, the point is to reveal, not to recite what we both already know. (Note also the distance created by using the past tense.)

Love songs need to feel intimate. The most intimacy you can create resides in Direct Address (I, you) and Present Tense (carried by your verbs). Look again at I Only Have Eyes for You. The song continually addresses you in the present moment, even asking questions along the way. And its use of images asks listeners to access their own sense memories, involving them in the song. 

Two useful strategies for love songs: Intimacy and Images.

Photo: Gettyimages.com