The Song “My Love Is Real”: Is it really Ska’s Antichrist?

After publishing the blog entry on the song “Perfect” I visited an online forum called songwriterforums.com and posted the lyrics to “Perfect” there. First of all I was interested to hear praise on the lyrics. Secondly I planned to create awareness for joescholes.com. At the moment I have two feedback mails with “constructive” criticism. One says that the topic as such is a bit ordinary, the second says that I should make clear what is perfect about my lover. Just as I was going to write back to say: “Guys, get offline and write some songs on your own!” I remembered my good upbringing and thanked them for their comments. Anyway, I had asked for advice, now I got it.

With the next song presented here we move quite far away from a party-rocking Ska track. More than that. “My Love Is Real” is the antithesis to pretty much everything the Ska world stands for. I still wrote it. Why? What’s the point? It just wanted out I could sheepishly say. And now its existence is so miserable that you should rather show a bit compassion. Even at my solo acoustic shows the song seems out of place and forlorn. I can’t let go of it for reasons that are similar to why you still have a shirt in your wardrobe that you bought a few years back. You never wore it, you don’t plan to do so in the near future, and you probably will never look at it again. But you are not sure and since you have been keeping it for such a long time, you might as well keep it a little longer. You don’t have such a shirt? Forget it.

Anyway, the tension I wanted to create between anaemic, fragile verses and powerful simple chorus didn’t really come off. Before painfully admitting to myself that it is just not strong enough I still argue for some of the lines. For example

“… He’s nominated for the Booker Prize
By the name same people who often write
My poetic licence should expire … “

Right! The idea was again nicked from William Shakespeare (as “Perfect”, but not many more) and his “rival poet” sonnets (I am such an ex-student). I can’t rememember which one. This specific sonnet is about how another poet may be superior in his craft but lacked passion in real life. Feel free to look it up.

Here is a snippet of “My Love Is Real”:
[audio:http://www.joescholes.com/wp-content/uploads/audio/Perfect Versions/My Love Is Real 2.mp3]

But even if my text as a whole offers an enormously clever twist to the rather straightforward chorus there seems no way to justify repetition of the words

My love is real
Can’t you see how I feel

I tried to explain to well-meaning friends at private listening sessions in detail and many times the ironic undertones of the chorus. But they are simply not strong enough to overpower the daft words. In the end the friends are right to say that “My love is real / Can’t you see how I feel” sounds exactly like “Ich lieb Dich, ganz egal wie das klingt” “I love you no matter how that sounds” from undisputable German Pop band Pur.

And this should be something for the Alphaboys? Not without a complete re-working. Or I could use some of the more inspired lines in another song? Interlude? Whatever .. We will see.

If you are interested in the complete lyrics to “My Love Is Real” there you go.