Week 5: for the dancing lovebirds
This week, I was invited to four different weddings/celebrations of love. Seems to be a week for the lovers and lovebirds alike. Or the time most people can take off in the US for the winter holiday season. Regardless, ‘tis the season for creating timeless memories filled with custom, intimate details.
Music plays a very crucial role in celebrations and memories alike in my opinion. Picking a special song to commemorate a very special connection is one of those details that you can take with you from the meet-cute to old age wrinkles. A song can represent the relationship or a memory that you clutch onto a little tighter than the rest. If I were planning a first dance tomorrow, these are the three songs I’ve narrowed it down to.
Lover (Remix) [feat. Shawn Mendes] by Taylor Swift
It took some debating for a potential first dance song (without naming Taylor’s entire discography), but I decided that Lover is a song I can see myself slow dancing to with my person for forever.
It’s slow and dreamy, perfect for elongating a perfect moment for a little longer. The lyrics detail a fairytale kind of love through heart shaped, rose tinted glasses. The lyrics are timeless and everlasting. It’s the sensation Hallmark movies are founded on and the same one Disney love stories swoon over.
I like this remix with Shawn Mendes a teeny bit more because of how the two voices (instead of just one in her original version of the song) merge together. It really signifies the beauty of two people committing themselves to each other in the moment. Their voices also really compliment each other seamlessly.
Since Shawn’s verses are new in this version, I want to highlight those: We could light a bunch of candles/ And dance around the kitchen, baby/ Pictures of when we were young would hang on the wall/ We would sit on the stoop/ I’ll sing love songs to you when we’re eighty/ See, I finally got you now, honey, I won’t let you fall.
These lyrics make my heart happy to put it simply. To be loved like the lyrics say sounds like an intimate, cozy, wholesome scene that you dream about until you find it. You can hear Shawn adding his genuine and almost soulful spirit to his verses. The passion and timelessness is very present all throughout.
18 by One Direction
If you happen to find yourself cuffed to a person you’ve known since 18, this song needs to automatically be the top of your list. No doubt. No questions asked. My little Directioner heart expects nothing less.
Although the lyrics are a little niche because it talks about a story starting when the characters were 18 years old, it’s still a super sweet song. As a love letter, it’s full of infatuations through the lenses of young, unadulterated heart eyes. Slow and strip this track down a touch more, imagine it as the soundscape to a romantic scene.
My favorite part is Liam’s solo portion with: So pour me a drink, oh love / And let's split the night wide open / And we'll see everything we can / Living love in slow motion, motion, motion. The repetition at the end gets me every time. When I hear it, it’s so easy for me to close my eyes and picture myself spinning under the arm of my beloved under a midnight sky of twinkling stars. One more twirl for every time he sings the word “motion”. A cinematic snapshot kind of moment. Letting time be still.
hazel inside by blackbear
I’m drawn to this song is because of the longevity and versatility. With every listen, I feel in my bones that this is a vibe for a best friend in your life whether that be platonic, romantic or familial. This song is about a very close, meaningful relationship in a person’s life. It’s a very pure, strong, undoubtable, unquestionable kind of connection.
Unlike Lover and 18, I 10000% can sing this to my best friend that got me through college, my person, my child and my sister. That’s at least four different people. And that’s because the sentiment is so universal. It’s vague enough yet specific enough to express how meaningful a person can be in a lifetime. It transcends the idea of a song having to be categorized for a single audience type (eg. lovers only, children only…). The audience here is simply someone you cannot live without because of how immense your love is for them, whatever that relationship may look like. Bonus if they have hazel eyes too.
These lyrics leading to the chorus are especially striking: And there's some days the whole world's under water / But somehow we still get a little stronger / Because I got you the way that I do / I'm still black and blue, but you get me through. There’s a lot of trust, love, priority, vulnerability and space for growth you can sense through this song. Even when you feel trapped and are gasping for air, you still have each other through it all. The lyrics cement the idea of being able to count on the speaker no matter the climate. It also highlights how much of a difference the person they’re speaking about has made to them. Those are all the makings of a connection so strong and so solid that not even time can break it. It’s a lifetime kind of relationship regardless of how it may exist as in this lifetime.
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