My Gift is My Song

...And this one's for you. 

I don't often write love songs, but even if I do, they're usually written to someone who doesn't know I'm writing them. Punctuated with all the sadness and frustration of unrequited love, which is an unkind and jealous master, they're not the hymns to joy most Top 20 love songs are made of. 

But if I ever did write a love song to a love who loved me back...

I would want it to be like Your Song by Elton John. 

Say what you will about the man, and his penchant for the overwrought ('Daniel' and 'Candle in the Wind' come to mind) Your Song is about as good as it gets. 

It's sweet, honest and simple in an effective way, whereas most songs that try for that just sound like they came from a 13 year old's diary. The song's narrator is an uncomplicated man without a lot to offer or declare. He can't give the object of his love glamour or glitz or even a tangible work of art, all he has is a song. 

And that's what I love most about Your Song. It's a love song about trying to write a perfect love song. Believe me, it's a difficult task. Sometimes you get so caught up in the mechanics of writing a song that you lose all the feeling, or get so caught up in the feeling you lose the mechanics of the song. And on top of that you have to deal with the fact that no matter how perfect you think it is, the person it's meant for may not like it at all. 

I hope the object of Your Song loved it as much as I do. I can't imagine a better love song. I've even joked before that after it, there's really no reason to try writing another. 

And so, if I ever do have the inclination to write a real love song, I want it to be like Your Song. Simple, honest, sweet, a labor of...well, love. 

Because let's face it. I'm not one of those that can easily hide.