cherish may not be the word

(feel free to skip, as I am revisiting this in an attempt at refinement, not necessarily rehashing as much developing. consider it 1.5, though 1.0 was probably okay, but I think this fits a broader audience.)

It is probably evident from my blog entries that I think about things. All sorts of things. And so, recently I found myself not thinking and simply singing along with a song in my head, a song I have probably sung a million times before: "Cherish is the Word" by the Association, 1966. It's a reasonably good tune. The fact that I can sing the lyrics without referencing them reveals at minimum a passing interest. I imagine, if you're reasonably close to my age, you will also know this song. You might even be humming along with it as you read, calling it from the recesses of your mind. Maybe you even heard it recently on the radio on the way to work. I can't recall having seen it in a movie, but I suspect it would make a great song for a movie montage. Now, it is my intent to cause you to question everything you know about the song. Did you know that this was a stalker song? No way, John. How could you say that? What are you drinking? Oh, I am so glad you asked, but if you want to keep the purity of this song pure because you love it, spoiler alert, you may not be able to sing this song again without thinking, thanks a lot John. (You're welcome.) You might not even need my help. Yeah, maybe it's not as obvious as say "I got a brand new pair of roller skates" and the fact that it isn't really about roller skating. I don't need to explain that one, right. Or afternoon delight?

 

           Cherish seems on the surface to be about unrequited love. He laments that he won't be the one to share her schemes, dreams, or the life he 'seems' would be ideal, which he imagines would be with her, but just the lamenting is realization that it won't happen, that she is obviously out of his league. The singer goes on to discuss how he worships, 'cherishes,' his love interest from a far. But he also says, he isn't really interested in a relationship. To be precise, the words go "That I want you like a thousand other guys when all they wanted was to touch your face your hands, and gaze into your eyes," which is really all he wants to do but he just can't come out and say that. You may say I am reaching, but here it is, in bold black and white lyrics: "you don't know how many times that I wish that I could mold you into someone who could cherish me as much as I do you..." I am sorry, but did he say 'mold' or 'groom?!'

 

          'Oh, John, John, John. You're so reaching.' Am I? I wanted to believe so. But then I google the song on youtube and found a melody sung by Barry Manilow "Cheish is the word/Windy" by the Association. Now, the girl that's being stalked has a name! Did you know, Windy is a stalker song, too? No, really! Listen to the opening words "Who's peekin' out from under a stairway, Calling a name that's lighter than air, Who's bending down to give me a rainbow Everyone knows it's Windy..." It's the singer peeking out from under the stair whispering her name, because why would she be whispering her own name?! And what the heck is the rainbow he is referring to? That part is driving me crazy. But he stalks her at the bus stop! He is watching all the guys she smiles at, and clearly he's counting! (Previous song, like a thousands other guys...) And he's getting bolder, because clearly Windy can detect lies which cause her eyes to flash like storms, but also he is taking pictures of her!: 'Who's reachin' out to capture a moment" that's got to be the singer with the camera because they weren't taking selfies with cell phones in 1966. And who does a better closet stalker than my man Barry?! I am not disparaging Barry. I like him. But no one can be that squeaky clean and not be a stalker. Well, except perhaps David Cassidy. Wait, he is also singing "Cherish is the Word!"  And I don't know what Windy is 'tripping' on as she goes down the street? How can this not be a trap? Is she an undercover cop? Did our stalker guy slip something in her drink but it's not going his way? You can't say they weren't doing that. As I pointed out in an earlier blog, even before Cosby, "Baby it's cold outside" begs the question, "Hey what's in this drink?!" And that's a Christmas song!

 

                 Speaking of which, did you know that song, "Baby it's cold outside," was used in the move "Neptune's Daughter" 1949? One of the stars is Ricardo Montalba. "KAHHHHN!" oh, wait, that's a tangent. (One of you might even understand that.) Ricardo plays Jack O'Roarke, playboy. Another interesting tangent, Ricardo "KAHHHHN!" plays Roarke on Fantasy Island. Coincidence? I say not! But back to the plot of Neptune's Daughter, which has nothing to do with Neptune's actual daughter. But we could go there, too, where you know the gods and goddess of old use to mix it up with humans, and it begs the question, given the power differential, can a human ever give consent to a relationship with a god or a goddess? And in Neptune's Daughter, since both male characters are actually lying to get dates, one directly and one indirectly though in-admission, and in the end, they are found out and forgiven because it was just good old fashion fun and games that turned into love, which results in 80's movies where a guy can stand outside your window with a boombox and play love songs until you give in. And, really, how can you not see Romeo and Juliet ending badly? He was a stalker, too. And do you suppose if I used any of this as evidence to get out of a hypothetical restraining order it would work? No!

 

                    So, what does that leave me? Well, I suppose I could always change my name to the Association. There is no metaphor in that, is there? And though it may sound like all of that was random, it's really come full circle. The kind of closed circle where Vader tells Kenobi, "When we last me, I was but the learner..." And does Lucas realize just how bad the prequels make Kenobi look? "From a certain point of view?!" If we accept the prequels as absolutes, that's just flat lying and I have to wonder if Anakin-becomes-Vader didn't have a point. And no, this is not an example of Flight of Ideas, because if is actually coherent, if not extremely obscure, like a Family Guy flash back scene that no one gets.