SONGS ABOUT MARRIAGE: Emmy Chang

[For an explanation of this string of posts, click here. --Eve]

Re marriage songs, the first candidate is easy--"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," which is on one of my Dietrich albums. The synchronized pairing-off of the offspring into marriages of their own, complete with two offspring each, at the end, is a bit much (or do I just think that because my own family is insane?!)--but still, I am all over this song's philosophy of love, in particular 1) because it explicitly disavows the "And they happily ever after" conception of a happy marriage ("They had lots of kids, and trouble, and pain...") and 2) because it explicitly links marriage/loyalty, with desire. The love described is obviously not only physical, but it also--and just as obviously--does have something to do with bodies and with the physical world ("...but you can bet your life he'd do it again / Because she had kisses sweeter than wine..."). Even when I first heard this song, five or so years ago, I remember thinking it described much the sort of
marriage I would want myself... I probably reacted so strongly because there
is so much propaganda out there in favor of the notions both that 1) it's not "true love" or "meant to be" if it's not idyllic 24/7 and 2) that love is 100 percent spiritual and disembodied, the reaction of one brain-in-a-vat to another brain-in-a-vat. (For both these things, I'd fault Dante and Beatrice--or fairy and folk tales in general--as much as I would "modernity" or Hollywood.) Here is the song as Dietrich sings it, though there are of course many versions:

There once was a young man who'd never been kissed
He got to thinking it over--how much he had missed
So he found a girl, he kissed her, and then
Well, wouldn't you know? He kissed her again

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine

He asked her to marry and be his good wife
And to make him happy the rest of his life
He begged and he pleaded like a natural man
And, wouldn't you know? She gave him her hand

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine

He worked mighty hard, and so did his wife
Working hand in hand to make a good life
There was corn in the field and wheat in the bin
And, wouldn't you know? He was the father of twins

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine

Their children numbered just about four
And they all had sweethearts knocking at the door
They all got married, didn't hesitate
Before long he was the grandfather of eight

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine

Now he is old and ready to go
He gets to thinking what happened a long time ago
They had lots of kids, and trouble, and pain
But you can bet your life he'd do it again

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine
posted by Eve at 5:52 PM | link

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