Songs
Swankette and I (okay, so it was mostly me) have selected a song to dance to. We're going with the Indigo Girls' "Power of Two." The Indigo Girls aren't always precisely the right mood for a wedding, but this song is, in my eyes, ideal. The lyrics are wonderful. Ms. Swank trusted me--but I still wanted to clear the song with her, so I sang it to her the other day. She cried. The good kind of crying. So we'll go with it.
We also need to pick songs for the parents' dances. My bride's parents picked a good one: "True Love." I went and asked my folks if they had a song they'd like. I think 90% of couples could pick one out right away...you know, one where you say "That's our song!", but not my mom and dad. Much to my surprise and chagrin, my parents don't have any song that is "theirs." Now, this doesn't concern me as to the health of their relationship, which is 41 years strong. But while I watched them try to figure out what song is theirs, well, that felt weird. Everyone should have a song.
My sister and her husband picked "Stand By Me." It's a perfect song for any wedding, I think, and particularly for my sister and her husband. An idiot DJ sabotaged them, however, at their first dance. He had said he had a copy of the song...but he didn't. Rather than asking us for help, which would have been quickly forthcoming--this was 1988, the movie Stand By Me was in theaters, and I know I had the soundtrack in my car--he just bagged on them and played Dan Fogelberg's insipid "Longer" instead, while my sister slow danced...and seethed. She's still angry. "Even if we couldn't have had 'Stand By Me,'" she tells me, "there's no way I ever would have let him play Dan Stupid Fogelberg!" And "stupid" is about as close as my sister gets to cussing, so that's saying something.
On that topic, it seems to me a lot easier to pick bad wedding songs than good ones. In fact, early in our relationship, I was telling my baby about my college singing group, which still is responsible for so many of my friends. We wound up listening to one of our albums, and I wanted her to hear the sweet little religious hymn we used to finish off our concerts with. "Hey, you want to hear a song I'll have sung at my wedding?" I asked. She said yes. I fast forwarded the CD...but to the wrong cut. Instead of the sweet hymn, the following lyrics came out of my boom box: "What have I...What have I...What have I done to deserve this?" Yeah, that'd be kind of unfortunate. Another friend says that the death march from The Empire Strikes Back would be bad. Sting says that he gets letters from misguided couples who dance at their wedding to "Every Breath You Take." That's some combination of sick, creepy, and disturbing. Another friend says "We've Got Tonight" is another popular choice. Do people listen to the lyrics? It's about a one-night-stand. "I know your plans/don't include me.../Still, here we are..."
"Power of Two" will work well. I'll slow dance, look my baby in the eye, and sing it. It's our song. Meanwhile, my parents are still thinking.
We also need to pick songs for the parents' dances. My bride's parents picked a good one: "True Love." I went and asked my folks if they had a song they'd like. I think 90% of couples could pick one out right away...you know, one where you say "That's our song!", but not my mom and dad. Much to my surprise and chagrin, my parents don't have any song that is "theirs." Now, this doesn't concern me as to the health of their relationship, which is 41 years strong. But while I watched them try to figure out what song is theirs, well, that felt weird. Everyone should have a song.
My sister and her husband picked "Stand By Me." It's a perfect song for any wedding, I think, and particularly for my sister and her husband. An idiot DJ sabotaged them, however, at their first dance. He had said he had a copy of the song...but he didn't. Rather than asking us for help, which would have been quickly forthcoming--this was 1988, the movie Stand By Me was in theaters, and I know I had the soundtrack in my car--he just bagged on them and played Dan Fogelberg's insipid "Longer" instead, while my sister slow danced...and seethed. She's still angry. "Even if we couldn't have had 'Stand By Me,'" she tells me, "there's no way I ever would have let him play Dan Stupid Fogelberg!" And "stupid" is about as close as my sister gets to cussing, so that's saying something.
On that topic, it seems to me a lot easier to pick bad wedding songs than good ones. In fact, early in our relationship, I was telling my baby about my college singing group, which still is responsible for so many of my friends. We wound up listening to one of our albums, and I wanted her to hear the sweet little religious hymn we used to finish off our concerts with. "Hey, you want to hear a song I'll have sung at my wedding?" I asked. She said yes. I fast forwarded the CD...but to the wrong cut. Instead of the sweet hymn, the following lyrics came out of my boom box: "What have I...What have I...What have I done to deserve this?" Yeah, that'd be kind of unfortunate. Another friend says that the death march from The Empire Strikes Back would be bad. Sting says that he gets letters from misguided couples who dance at their wedding to "Every Breath You Take." That's some combination of sick, creepy, and disturbing. Another friend says "We've Got Tonight" is another popular choice. Do people listen to the lyrics? It's about a one-night-stand. "I know your plans/don't include me.../Still, here we are..."
"Power of Two" will work well. I'll slow dance, look my baby in the eye, and sing it. It's our song. Meanwhile, my parents are still thinking.
posted by TeacherRefPoet at 3:12 PM
4 Comments:
And speaking of songs that will be played at our wedding, the song for the father/daughter dance has been decided for many years. Every wedding I've attended with my dad over the years we have danced. And with the exception of the one time we attempted a cha-cha we've had a ball.
I earned second place in the cha-cha in a Junior High dance competition, so I was looking forward to this. Dad, however, would one-two cha-cha-cha-cha, then one-two-cha, then one-two cha-cha, but could never get down the one-two cha-cha-cha. As we walked off the dance floor my mom turned to me and said, "Oh yeah, your dad can't cha-cha"
Anywhow, if my father and I DID have a particular song to dance to it would probably be "Do ya' think I'm sexy?" by Rod Stewart. Probably not the best pick. There are a lot of songs aimed at the father/daughter dance that are just too sappy for words. Mom always talks fondly of her dance with her dad at her wedding. Grandpa passed long ago, but Dad and I will be dancing to that same song as well, "Stardust." That way grandpa will get to join in on the fun as well.
What, no "Butterfly Kisses"?
I swear, I saw a CD of "songs for your wedding" which included "One For My Baby"... you know, "It's quarter to three, no one in the place except you and me... give me one for my baby and one more for the road."
Granted, I have relatives for whom heartbreak and drunk driving go hand in hand with weddings, but it's still a poor precedent.
In the "I do not think that means what you think it means" column, "One Hand, One Heart" has always bothered me a little. Sure, it's pretty, and innocuous enough in itself, but it seems like you might want to keep the Romeo and Juliet references at your wedding to a minumum. But then, not everyone's an English major...
The lyrics to "Power of Two" were printed on the back cover of our program. Great song, isn't it? We considered it for our first dance, but we opted for "Can't Help Falling in Love With You", since we had a jazz quartet. You can't go wrong with Elvis!
Regards,
tommyspoon
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