Peter Gabriel: The Book of Love

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures
And instructions for dancing but

I...
I love it when you read to me and
You...
You can read me anything

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb but

I...
I love it when you sing to me and
You...
You can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know but

I...
I love it when you give me things and
You...
You ought to give me wedding rings
I...
I love it when you give me things and
You...
You ought to give me wedding rings

References

Uploaded by sakuramiyu777 on Feb 14, 2009

Wikipedia: Scratch My Back
Scratch My Back is the eighth studio album (and fifteenth album overall) by the English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released on 12 February 2010 in Australia and Germany, on 15 February in the UK and on 2 March in the U.S. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, consists of cover versions of twelve songs by various artists, using only orchestra and voice. It is produced by Gabriel himself with Bob Ezrin.

Stephin Merritt, who wrote "The Book of Love", commented on Gabriel's cover of his song:

At first I thought, "How hilarious, he’s got a completely different take on the song." But after a few listens I find it quite sweet. My version of the song focuses on the humour, and his focuses on the pathos. Of course, if I could sing like him I wouldn’t have to be a humourist.

Gabriel's cover of "The Book of Love" appeared earlier in the 2004 film Shall We Dance?, and on the ABC series Scrubs in the season 8 finale entitled My Finale.

my blog: Marriage: Having our lives witnessed
[I talk about the movie Shall We Dance? whose romantic finale has our married couple renewing their love to this song. The following conversation is a telling description of marriage.]

Beverley: All these promises that we make and we break. Why is it, do you think, that people get married?

Detective: Passion.

Beverley: No.

Detective: Interesting because I would have taken you for a romantic. Why then?

Beverley: Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet. I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything: the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things. All of it, all the time, everyday. You're saying your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.

2011-10-30

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