Gray's Anatomy of a Love Song

The love song has gotten a bad rap among purists for far too long. It often seems that love can be chanelled through art only once it is lost. Only then does it make for emotive music, twisted drama and evocative visuals. Your mother will testify to this, as she often does, in response to those who would think that I serenade her to sleep every night. It is true that I am rarely inspired by happiness. The happy cruise, the melancholic dwell. There's something about wallowing that gets the creative juices flowing. But there is no doubt that I am most envious when I hear a truly glorious and uplifting love song.
These days, I cannot shake The Lumineers' Ho Hey from my head. A simple, joyous repetition of "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart". But few can craft a love song that is as emotionally driven as those of David Gray. His albums are rollercoasters of emotions so distinct that you finish listening wondering how he got so deep into your heart. From the opening haunt of Alibi, you wish that Life would move in slow motion, as the album title would hope, so that every mesmerizing element could be preciously taken in. Maybe then, happiness could be fully appreciated as a subject of art. Then we could see in the major chords the minor elements that make them so rich, so enviable. Today, the soundtrack of our life was Gray's Life in slow motion. Nothing of note needed to be done. No mundane duties knocking at the door. Just time to reflect on the broader picture and dwell. Time to at once consume and be consumed. Like Gray repeats over and over on the title track, "While I was watching you did a slow dissolve". And I guess that's what he's telling us; whether we pay attention or not, every aspect of our lives is dissolving around us. The lesson is to take the time to appreciate it. Would it be so wrong to take a positive spin on watching water boil or watching paint dry? Maybe if we dwelled on the positive and glossed over the negative, the happy would inspire us. Would inspire me. And then, that love song would come.