BLOG 240: Somebody

"Too much of the time, we are blinded by our own pursuits , people that don't even matter, while all that time we waste means the people who do love us have to stand in line and beg" C Joy Bell

I put Valentines Day into the search in Twiiter this morning. I thougt there would be some sweet romantic messages to be inspired by and add to my favourites. But I was surprised... there was not too much joy to be found on this the international day of lovers. Instead there was heartbreak, loneliness and miscommunication bounding through 140 charecters or less.

It was the loneliness that struck me. These were not the words of people with no one to love. These were the words of one half of a couple over and over again. It seems the biggest issue is not that people cannot find someone to care for... its just that some people make a complete hash of looking after the hearts they are guardians of. They let work, or kids, or parents, or religion or politics or just about anything get in the way of ensuring that the fragile connection that is romantic love remains connected and strong. They leave their partner feeling so incidental, so singular... so lonely. then they send them a hallmark card and aa bunch of flowers or a box of Thornton chocs and think everything will be alright. But it won't. And Twitter this morning was a testiment to that.

When I wrote my novel, I was charged with finding words to put in the valentines card from my heroine to my hero. The card had to give our hero instructions on how to keep safe the heroines heart. I recall spending an age lookng up poetry, and folklaw and a zillion books of psycho babble. I found nothing. I admit... I was struggling. The manuscript had been accepted, but this particular section of the book was flagged by editors for a rewrite.

I usually write with a classic radio station on... so that my mind is soothed and focused on task. But there was this day (with my publisher breathing fire down my neck about my galleys) when I must have tuned into a Gold station playing stuff from way back when. Thank goodness I did...for it was then I heard the perfect words.

The song was from 1984. It was written by a hugely talented Essex boy called Martin Gore. The band who performed it were Depeche Mode ... and the song was simply titled... Somebody.

To this day I genuinely feel it says it all. If you don't understand what your lover wants from you... this song is your instruction.

My father told me... "The point of pop music is to put the words in the mouth of some inarticulate boy so that that he can tell his girl that he loves her".

There is some truth in that... but 'Somebody' goes further.

It tells us what every lover wants - change the she to he if it suits your circumstances. 

Then of course the big plus is the melody -  if you source the song you will find that it is beautifully and simply performed as a prayer of hope.(I'd recommend the live version called Somebody live 101... you have to hear 92,542 people in Pasadena Rose Bowl sing those lyrics... its amazing and heartbreaking and yet so beautiful!)

So ... make this a Happy Valentines Day all you lovers out there.

And if you are in any doubt about how to achive this, ....I'll leave you with the words of Mr Martin Gore... 

Somebody: Depeche Mode.

I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who'll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
She'll get my support
She will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
She'll hear me out
And won't easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact she'll often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand me
...

I want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought
With every breath
Someone who'll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don't want to be tied
To anyone's strings
I'm carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I'm asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
I'll get away with it
And in a place like this
I'll get away with it


 Somebody lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

Somebody lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

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