Love Songs

I used to hate love songs.

They always seemed so insipid. So saccharine. And that was when I was four.

There's an old Disney song. "Love Goes On." In it is this line:

"Life is brief, but when it's gone;
Love goes on and on."

And I used to think, "But it won't. One day, it will die. Either they'll break up, or one of them will die." Yes, I thought about this as a kid. Maybe not in so many words.

You've got to admit, some of the promises people make in these songs are pretty insane.
"All you need is love?" Tell that to my debt.
"I'd walk a thousand miles?" Pretty sure you'd die first.
"I knew I loved you before I met you?" Uh huh.
"Never let you go?" Until you need your hands free.
"Never gonna say goodbye?" That's not totally up to you.
Or how about:
"I will always love you." Sure, until they put the silverware in the wrong spot or forget to tell you something you think is important or say something in a way you take wrong or...
Well, you get the idea.

Not to mention all the songs that just make love sound disgusting.


What compounded this was that I never really felt these things that the songs were saying. I had crushes as a kid, but they were terrible, painful, and terrifying. I always knew the other person didn't like me (I was always right), and I just wanted the feelings to go away. They all ended badly. Where were the songs about that? (The Postal Service, basically.)

Then something changed: I actually started feeling the things that the songs were talking about. But it wasn't about another regular person. It was about God.
I really felt I only needed God's love.
I knew God would walk a thousand miles for me, and I wanted to walk them for him.
I did love God before I met him. (Not that I know that song very well.)
I never want to let God go, and I know he'll never let me go.
We'll never have to say goodbye.
God will always love me.

The Disney songs especially reflect this to me. 
"So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of... So this is love."
"I wonder... if my heart keeps singing, will my song go winging? To someone... who'll find me- and bring back a love song to me."
"One song. I have but one song... My heart keeps singing. Of one love. Only for you."

Plus, as a bonus:
"I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always."
Always.