VEGANGELICA

Hello you,

I've been thinking recently that all songs can be categorized as either songs of pleasure or songs of coping, or some combination of the two.

Several months ago I wrote the following lyrics for a loved one to show my overall perspective on the effect his love and his loss have had on my life. It is both a song of pleasure and a song of coping. Even though I told him almost everything that I say in the song while he was alive, I wish very much that I could tell him again.

After the lyrics I'll explain the references I made in them to literature and music, for those of you who are interested. Thanks to ribbons (aka Liz) and our discussion of the song "Julia" by John Lennon/The Beatles, I have been thinking of the way short songs can expand their meanings by paraphrasing or quoting poetry or other outside sources, which reminded me of the love song that I had written for *my* loved one.

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"True Enchanter" -- for Jack by Erica

You were the sweetest part of my life.
You sang a melody only I could hear.
Touched by every word,
my imagination stirred,
my true enchanter.

You were the sweetest part of my day,
my darling confident confidant.
Your love made it easy
to covet our sincerity,
and you gave me what I want.

Our meeting felt like magic.
You were so playful and romantic.
You were the most magnetic person I ever met.
You had a way of engaging me
with your caring, wit, and honesty.
Oh please, I don’t want us to be over yet.

You were the sweetest part of my nights
when darkness brought you near,
the distance between us spanned.
I covered you with reality
where you were dreaming with me
in silence, hand in hand.

And our loving felt like magic.
You were so deeply romantic.
You were the most magnetic man I ever met.
I loved your way of engaging me
with your daring, wit, and honesty.
Oh please, I don’t want us to be over yet.
I don’t want us to be over yet.

You were the saddest part of my life,
so close to me and then so far.
Oh, how I wish you knew
my love remains with you
everywhere you are.

Our meeting felt like magic.
We were so hopefully romantic.
You were the most magnetic person I ever met.
You had a way of engaging me
with caring, wit, and honesty.
Oh please, I don’t want us to be over yet.

Our loving felt like magic,
so open and romantic.
You were the most magnetic man I ever met.
I loved your way of engaging me
with daring, wit, and honesty.
Oh please, I don’t want us to be over yet.
I don’t want us to be over yet

slowly I’m learning
I’ll always be yearning
for time with you that I will never get,
and though it hurts to remember
how our spring became December,
it hurts less to remember than forget
and I’ll never forget...

you were the sweetest part of my life.
You sang a melody only I could hear.
Touched by every word,
my imagination stirred,
my true enchanter.

Touched by every word,
our imagination stirred,
my true enchanter.

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Now, in case you are wondering, I'll explain the references I made in the song. I based the lyrics on two of my favorite quotes about love (the second of which I shared with my loved one last year) and on two songs (“Everywhere” and “Within You Without You”) that he and I both liked. I also included a reference to the song “Cover Me” by Bruce Springsteen:

Washington Irving: "He is the true enchanter, whose spell operates, not upon the senses, but upon the imagination and the heart."

Oscar Wilde: “You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.”

Fleetwood Mac: "Everywhere”
"I want to be with you everywhere.”

The Beatles: "Within You Without You"
"We were talking about the space between us all
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion,
Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late, when they pass away.
We were talking about the love we all could share,
When we find it, to try our best to hold it there with our love"

Bruce Sprinsteen: “Cover Me”
"The times are tough now, just getting tougher.
This old world is rough, it's just getting rougher.
Cover me, come on baby, cover me.
Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me.”

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