Things we're all too young to know

Sometimes, when I'm journalling (or just putzing around) in the coffee shop in the morning, I really can't stand the playlist.

Most of the time, it's fine, or at least, ignorable, but when it's just damn irritating, I slip in the earbuds and listen to a few of my 1490 "liked" songs on Spotify.  (Coincidentally, that's about the same number of posts I've submitted so far on this blog.)  I put the playlist on "shuffle" and usually get a pleasant surprise, because when you have nearly 1500 liked songs, that means you won't have heard some of them in a while.

Recently, this one came up.  I stopped scribbling and listened.  

 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 love it when you read to me, and 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 love it when you sing to me, and 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 love it when you give me things, and you ought to give me wedding rings.

Peter Gabriel and Josh Groban have performed lush, romantic versions of this song, but I must say that I prefer Stephin Merritt's dry and spare version.  After all, he wrote the damn thing.