Day 12 -- A Love Song
"You Light Up My Life" -- Debby Boone, You Light Up My Life (1977)
I first heard this song, like so many songs, in an episode of The Simpsons. The episode is "I Married Marge", the second flashback episode of the series. This one, as you may be able to guess, shows Homer and Marge as a young couple, their brief engagement, their wedding and the birth of Bart. But before all that, they are just a pair of young lovers who drive around Springfield singing along to their song, "You Light Up My Life".
It's only a clip, but I really liked it. I think I used to listen to the MIDI file and read the lyrics because YouTube didn't exist yet. Eventually I illegally downloaded it on LimeWire (I'm really showing my age here...) and learned to sing it. I mean, it is the biggest selling song of the whole of the 1970s and a love song to boot. Right up my alley.
The song tells of a woman who has long desired to have a strong romantic relationship. She eventually finds it and she is happy. It is very simple song, no bells and whistles. Allow me a diversion, but you can understand every word Debby Boone is singing because she isn't showing off. (Whether or not she is capable of showing off is a moot point.) The song is a pure expression of love. Its delivery is pure. And it can apply to nearly everyone who is lucky enough to have found love (myself included) which I'm sure added to its massive success. There were rumors that Debby Boone, the daughter of the proto-Christian pop king Pat Boone, was singing about God. This was even mentioned in The Simpsons episode. Whatever.
This is why people love music (except my mom who just has a nice businesslike relationship with music.) With whatever song, you can make it mean whatever you want. Say if you want to believe "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is about suicidal lovers, you will. When I sing/listen to "You Light Up My Life", it's about Tyler. That's why it's such a great love song to me; I live it.
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