Some people have asked me --- well, they haven’t, but I pretend --- what is the difference between this section and MUSH? After all, they both feature slow ballads and love songs. Why have two sections essentially covering the same ground? Well, although as I mentioned in the opening slot of this feature this will be concentrating on “Easy Listening” music, while it is generally accepted that that genre is defined by slow songs, they are not always love songs. I mean, Manilow’s “I made it through the rain”, Mathis’s “When a child is born”, Williams’ “Moon river” are all examples of slow songs that are not love songs. So whereas MUSH will always concern itself with ballads, there may be occasions here where the song is not a love one.
That said, this
is a love song. You can say what you like about Perry Como (and you probably will) but I like his music. Oh, I would never buy an album or go to a gig --- well, I couldn’t, could I? He’s dead --- but I do like a lot of his music. “And I love you so”. “Catch a falling star”. And this one.
For the good times --- Perry Como --- “And I love you so” ---1973
You can look at this song two ways. One, it’s the tale of a love affair that, for reasons unclear, has come to and end and the two lovers are having one last night together before saying goodbye forever. The two snuggle in bed and listen to the rain outside, knowing this is the last time they will lie together, perhaps the last time they will ever see each other again. The man tries to comfort the woman, telling her it had to end some time and that she’ll find someone new, as will he. We don’t hear the woman’s side in the song so we don’t know whether she is mollified by his words, whether she has turned her back huffily, feeling discarded and used, or whether she has decided to grab the opportunity to spend one last night together with both hands.
That, in and of itself, while trite and cliche, is touching. But you can look at the story another, more basic way. The man, knowing the jig is up, tries to convince the woman to make love to him one more time, just so he can get his end away before he dumps her. It seems clear from the lyric that it is he who is making the move, and is in control, unlike Manilow’s protagonist in “Weekend in New England”, reviewed in the MUSH section a while back. There, the woman seems to hold the reins of power, deciding when and where the couple will have another illicit meeting. Here, the man has decided it’s time to end this, and perhaps wants to “get his money’s worth” before the party is over.
Whichever way you look at it, or choose to interpret it, it’s a lovely song with some great lines. I’ve always found
”Hear the whisper of the raindrops/ Blowing soft across the window” to be very evocative of a quiet night with a warm fire crackling in the grate, and even though here its backdrop is the breakup of a relationship --- maybe even a divorce, but somehow I don’t think so --- it’s still a comforting vision. I’ve always liked the rain, and particularly at night it can be very soothing to hear the soft kiss of the raindrops on the glass while you’re snug in bed.
There’s a sense of philosophical acceptance too ---
”Life goes on/ And this old world/ Will keep on turning” --- though whether that’s just a device to not quite trivialise the relationship but make it seem as if it’s less calamitous an event than it may seem at the moment -- -the quintessential “You’ll get over me” idea --- I don’t know. It is though interesting how Como sings
”Make believe you love me/ One more time” : if they’re still in love it shouldn’t really matter that they’re going to be parted. They should continue to love each other. Hmm. Then he tries to make it better by promising to be around if she needs him. But why? If they’re making a clean break here --- or if he is --- why would be make this promise? Is he just blowing sunshine up her skirt, lying so that she will leave without fuss?
Well, as ever, I overanalyse everything, but that’s half the fun for me. At its heart, “For the good times” is a simple love song of two people splitting up, possibly forever, and having one last night of passion, remembering the things they have shared during the time they were together. But it could just be a little more sinister, a little colder, a little more calculating than that.
Trollheart: making things more complicated since 2008…
”Don’t look so sad, I know its over;
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning.
Let’s just be glad we had some time to spend together
There’s no need to watch the bridges that we’re burning.
Lay your head upon my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine;
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft across the window
And make believe you love me one more time
For the good times.
I’ll get along, you’ll find another;
And I’ll be here if you should find you ever need me.
Don’t say a word about tomorrow or forever:
There’ll be time enough for sadness when you leave me.
Lay your head upon my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine;
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft across the window
And make believe you love me one more time
For the good times.
For the good times.”