Songs to write Loving Wives stories to

[Actingup]

(edit) Suggested approach to this thread if you join - try to share something about a song and why it's meaningful for the theme, don't just post a link. For bonus points, listen to something that somebody else has posted first and comment on that too.

I mentioned this performance in another thread, but thought it deserved a bit more. Supertramp were on top of the world in 1979, and 'Another Man's Woman' captures them at their musical best, particularly with the outro and Rick and Roger's duelling piano and guitar. The lyrics, to me, reflect a lot of the chaos and confusion of relationships that feature in a lot of LW stories - they're all about hurt and uncertainty and the churn of emotions around that.

There's a hell of a lot of hair on stage, too.

 

[Erozetta]

I did use this as inspiration for the tone of my Loving Wives story by the same name. I thought it really suited the story of a woman torn between desire and obligation.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Just a song? That's beginner level. I'll do you a full album.

The only thing wrong with it is the title - it should just have been called 'We all hate each other'

 

[TheRedChamber]

Crowded House were never the coolest band on the planet, but this is probably flat out the best song about infidelity ever written.

While it is not based on any kind of true story, apparently Neil Finn's wife was "not happy" the first time she heard it.

 

[TheRedChamber]

And if we're doing LW songs, there has to be a BTB one.

Of course, the Beatles were such nice chaps.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Rick Springfield ~ Alyson

The narrative has the whole story already there. You won't have to plot anything. He's acting in a play, having an affair with the female lead, and her husband is watching the play.

 

[Actingup]

Crowded House were never the coolest band on the planet, but this is probably flat out the best song about infidelity ever written.

While it is not based on any kind of true story, apparently Neil Finn's wife was "not happy" the first time she heard it.

I agree - as a long time Crowded House fan, i think this one is sublime. And the only reason they're not the coolest is that Split Enz were cooler.

 

[StillStunned]

"Endless thoughts and questions keep me awake..."

 

[StillStunned]

There are no lies on your body, so take off your dress
I just want to get at the truth
I know that you love me, there's no need to talk
I see the look in your eyes and I got the proof
There are no lies on your body, so take off your dress
I just want to get at the truth

And there are so many things that I just got to know
You'll tell me who! You'll tell me where! You'll tell me when!
But don't tell me now, I don't need any answers tonight
I just need some love, so turn out the lights
And I'll be left in the dark again

 

[BobbyBrandt]

This song speaks to all the LW stories where the wife justifies her infidelity by being neglected and unappreciated.

 

[Actingup]

Just a reminder of the request at the top: "try to share something about a song and why it's meaningful for the theme, don't just post a link. For bonus points, listen to something that somebody else has posted first"

 

[BobbyBrandt]

This is an oldie, but it recently inspired me to write a story about the sacrifices a father will make to remain in his child's life.

 

[Lifestyle66]

"She Wolf" by Shakira.

The song describes the bored housewife and her thoughts of going out at night to cuckold her husband!
#####################
I've been devoting myself to you,
Monday to Monday and Friday to Friday.
Not getting enough attention,
Or decent incentives to keep me at it.
I'm starting to feel just a little abused,
Like a coffee machine in an office (Uh).
So I'm gonna go somewhere close to get me a lover
And tell you all about it.
######################

 

[StillStunned]

A couple have a fight about the woman's infidelity. Told from the POV of the man she cheated with.

"She was right next door and I'm such a strong persuader..."

 

[jaF0]

I see a bunch of blank spaces.


Two songs that ARE LW stories and need no further information;

Eagles, Lyin' Eyes

Kenny Rogers, Lucille

And no blanks spaces.

 

[Fatdog25]

A couple have a fight about the woman's infidelity. Told from the POV of the man she cheated with.

"She was right next door and I'm such a strong persuader..."

See also Smoking Gun, from the same album.

Jealousy + Anger = Temporary Insanity Plea.

Mr. Cray can play himself some serious guitar.

 

[lc69hunter]

The basis for a lot of the starts of LW stories

 

[WCSGarland]

It takes a fast fast car, to lead a double life...

 

[PennyThompson]

Just a song? That's beginner level. I'll do you a full album.

The only thing wrong with it is the title - it should just have been called 'We all hate each other'

You could write a whole story just about the last two minutes of the live recording of Silver Springs

 

[VallesMarineris]

Some of the songs abov are a bit too "on the nose" for me.

This song, "The Sinner", by Death Loves Veronica, doesn't specifically talk about cheating, but it is about the temptation of forbidden desire, the struggle to resist it, and the ultimate surrender to it:

I don't care about the lettter
I wrote to make you go away
I still want to fuck you
Anyway

And Veronica's over-the-top delivery should inspire multiple LW backstories.

 

[NoTalentHack]

One heartfelt confession inspires another? That's a classic LW trope there.

Also? Same band, with the back and forth about a relationship falling apart and the questions of how much either of them ever actually loved each other versus whether they were using each other to get what each wanted. Hell, I can think of a dozen different spins on that.

 

[RetroFan]

The Cheater - Bob Kuban & the In-Men
Little Town Flirt - Del Shannon
Bread & Butter - The Newbeats
I Saw Her Again Last Night - The Mamas & the Papas
I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
You Oughta Know - Alanis Morrissette
It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
Unfaithful - Rihanna

 

[Actingup]

Some of the songs abov are a bit too "on the nose" for me.

This song, "The Sinner", by Death Loves Veronica, doesn't specifically talk about cheating, but it is about the temptation of forbidden desire, the struggle to resist it, and the ultimate surrender to it:

I don't care about the lettter
I wrote to make you go away
I still want to fuck you
Anyway

And Veronica's over-the-top delivery should inspire multiple LW backstories.

Do you mean 'on the nose' in the sense of 'the songs stink', or in the sense of 'too accurate and too painful'?

 

[VallesMarineris]

Do you mean 'on the nose' in the sense of 'the songs stink', or in the sense of 'too accurate and too painful'?

Neither. It's a Hollywood term for dialogue that's too obvious, or where the characters are explaining the situation for the audience. A similar term in written fiction would be "reader feeder". I expect songs to be more lyrical.

 

[WordsIntheWyld]

I find myself writing to movie soundtracks.