‘Cause It’s Love
words & music: L Pass, 2015, January
At a theater in the Bronx, kissing through the show. They happened so deliciously, missing Ivanhoe. They would soothe and inspire, speak gentle fire Kindle sweet desire to be together.
At the sock hop, dancing the Lindy, or Coney Island under the moon, loving Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, giggling through the ol’ tune, Down by the Old Mill Stream.
That wasn’t all she wrote, and they knew why they’d bother. You have to understand the physics of it: It’s for joy, for the fun, cause it’s life, cause it’s love.
On the ranch tooling leather, currying his horse, Or later in the navy an electrical engineering course, Raising baby brothers, learning at school, while typing for a lawyer, cherishing their letters, dreaming together all my love, all my life.
What are you doing the rest of your life? Let’s engage, and be married. You can have 3 children by the time you’re 25, and one more when you’re 34. Parties, camping, cruises, islands, Italy, France and the shore. Bowling, joking, cooking, now and then she’d tell him I’d do it all again.
That wasn’t all she wrote, and they knew why they’d bother. You have to understand the physics of it: It’s for joy, for the fun, cause it’s life, cause it’s love.
A bit of back ground
My Parents were married January 11th, 1958. The thought came to me to write them an anniversary song. I had the desire to write a story song a while back, and months ago I was thinking about writing some up-tempo songs.
My folks & I were watching a movie recently and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that though my Dad had an injured knee and couldn’t put his full weight on it to walk, he & my Mom in sync, were pounding away, feverishly tapping to an up-tempo song coming from the TV for the full length of the song! I was greatly charmed by this. I didn’t say a word. I loved that they were enjoying the thrill of this physical reaction of getting swept away by a dance beat. They loved to dance and were great at it. Their favorite dance they always told me was the Lindy, and their favorite song to dance it to was Glenn Miller’s, In The Mood. Honestly, who can sit still when that awesome song kicks in? I don’t even dance but I feel like flailing around like Jerry Lewis when beats like that happen.
The story they always told me was, they were in a movie theater in Parkchester, NY, he with his friends, and she with her friends. Invited to sit with him, she hopped on his lap and they started kissing. It wasn’t until last week I even thought to ask what the name of the film was.
I had heard stories of how they’d been together since they were 14 & 16 years old. That he had his own horse at a ranch when he was 15 years old where they taught him leather craft. (He was so good at it they asked him back the next year to teach it and attend the ranch for free.) That she worked for a lawyer when she was in high school. That he had adventures on a navy ship and learned electrical engineering. They wrote sweet love letters to each other. My Dad, always signed & still signs his cards to my Mom, “All my love, all my life”. Their friends & my Mom called him, Spock. He knew a ton of things and always solved problems for people. He’d fix everybody’s cars and TVs and if something was difficult for one of us he’d explain, “ You have to understand the physics of it.” And show us how it worked, and how to fix it.
One of my Mom’s sayings is, “Why bother?” I put it on a T-shirt for her when I was in high school. She is an amazing cook, and has a great eye for design. She’s complimented all the time for the way she sets ups her homes and decorates with such class and style. She’s a champion bowler and the best on her team. My Dad’s favorite song is, What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life”. I have a recording of my parents trying to get me, & my brother to talk and sing on a tape recorder, which amounted to only little success. But Dad starts crooning a bit of, Down By The Ol’ Mill Stream. Dad loves photography and film, video. He’d show slide & movies for family and friends. At the end he’d always say, “That’s All She Wrote”.
Last year I saw a card my Mom had given my Dad. And she wrote how much she loved him and that she would do it all again. What a cool thing to say. She has a giant heart and cares so deeply. I love having heard and seen their passion for one another. My audience for this song is my parents. So it’s a gift to them to remember the magic that they have lived. It’s still there.
Writing the song
I filled a few pages with things I remembered, and stories they told me. I looked up dates, and tempos to songs they danced to. I heard the first few chords in my head and got the flavor of what the harmony might be. I wanted it to be something they could relate to, and a sound they enjoyed. It sounds like Tony Bennett, or Frank Sinatra or my Uncle Tony could sing this. The first guitar strumming is like Jimmy Rainy. I was tempted to add a banjo but it wasn’t in the songs I was remembering. A bit of snare drum, and a thumping walking bass played on me hofner, beatle bass, and viola. Often once there’s a first verse I can write the lyrics to make the other versus have the same cadence and shape in the sentences. But with this song, I realized the underlying shape would need to be the chords and measures. The words could float about and melody could change as long as the structure underneath was the same length. I had a lot of fun making it and playing at 198 beats per minute!
ps. It translates to any speakers to listen on, but if you use headphones or a good sound system with bigger speakers you’ll enjoy the bass guitar. ;o)