A heart full of love

I’ve been a hopeless romantic since birth. Let me curl up with a good romantic novel and I’m happy (hello, Pride and Prejudice!).  I love romantic comedies: I know every word of When Harry Met Sally. And naturally, I love love songs; a good one will reduce me to tears. (I dare you to listen to Harve Presnell sing “I’ll never say no” from Unsinkable Molly Brown and not swoon.) But my reading, watching and listening habits were the only places where I found romance for a good chunk of my life. When singing love songs, which I did quite often, since, let’s face it, there are very few songs that aren’t about love in some iteration, all I had to go on was my imagination. Thankfully, at least in the service of my art, my overactive and vivid imagination has served me well.

I wistfully sang some of my favorite Musical Theatre love songs in an attempt to cheer myself up when I was feeling particularly sorry for my single self. My regular repertoire  for these occasions speaks volumes about my musical personality and preferences: “Somebody to Watch Over Me” and “Soon “ by the Gershwins, “My White Knight” from Music Man,  “Bill” from Showboat, “Glad to Be Unhappy” from On Your Toes, and “Warm all over” from The Most Happy Fella.

When I finally, at long last, truly fell in love with the man I eventually married, two things musically related happened: first, all those love songs I had sung and listened to all my life took on deeper meanings, and second, two songs in particular were on a continuous loop in my head: “Warm all over” and “You were meant for me” from Singin’ in the Rain. (I didn’t hear bells, but I did hear Musical Theater songs!) I sang them in the shower, while doing dishes, hummed them on the subway, and eventually, my fabulous student, Amy Swift, sang “Warm All Over” as the featured song at our wedding!

I’m so thankful for all the glorious love songs in the world- they are a balm for the lovelorn soul and an outlet for celebrating love in all its forms.