OK. I was going to write something serious about the world-changing effects of Up With People. And I will too, but not today. Today is Valentine’s Day.

I started writing original songs down on paper when I was about ten years old – about the same time I started playing guitar. I’ve already written a blog about one of the first of those attempts, a song about a girl I met at summer camp. After I got more mature, probably about 12 or 13, I started writing “message” songs about spirituality, humanity, brotherhood, world peace and justice. But almost as soon as I would start one of those minor musical epics, I would again be scribbling lines about a girl who was making my heart beat funny and my head go weird. Another silly love song would find its way into my collection.

Why do we write and listen to songs which basically say the same thing we’ve heard any number of times – I love you? Paul McCartney attacked that question head on in his own “silly love song,” concluding that what might seem silly to many people is anything but:

You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love longs
But I look around me and I see it isn’t so
Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs
And what’s wrong with that ?
I’d like to know ….

Love doesn’t come in a minute
Sometimes it doesn’t come at all.
I only know that when I’m in it
It isn’t silly…love isn’t silly at all. (from “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney)

Ah, the key – love is never silly to the ones who are in love. Love is never silly to those who cherish love in their own hearts. When I started writing songs, I wrote love songs – without apology because love seemed like the most important and amazing experience possible. Now that I’m older than dirt, I’m still writing love songs, and I do it for the same reason. And Patty allows that experience to not only continue but to grow.

Happy Valentine’s Day! – Bob Tatum

Sound Traveler has added about six events to its calendar, so check those out when you can. You’re bound to hear a few love songs in the mix!

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2 Comments to “SongTravelin’: 02.14.11 – Silly Love Songs”

• February 14, 2011 at 4:33 pm
  Cyberbeat says:

  I’m not crazy about that song, but the idea is right. Love is the beginning and the end — if we’re lucky.
• February 14, 2011 at 9:50 pm
  Patty says:

  I’m honored to be your muse! Keep writing those silly, and not-so-silly, love songs. The world can never get too many of those.
  Happy Valentine’s Day, Bob!