Valentine’s Day and Rascal Flatts · 14 February 2011
I must take exception to some of the lyrics in the Rascal Flatts song, Why Wait. Okay. Maybe “take exception to” is a little bit strong, but I must say that I cannot agree with the words, “Baby I don’t see how I could love you anymore than I do today. So why wait.” So naturally, I had to write about it.
My wife, The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi, gave me the new Rascal Flatts CD for Christmas. When I was listening to it in the car last week, I actually laughed out loud when the song, Why Wait, came on. Hearing about finding a preacher and getting married because it is something that should have been done yesterday brought strange images into my head. I recalled my own whirlwind romance with The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi (who was obviously not Mrs. Miyoshi back then, but was certainly still Mindboggling). We met, fell in love, and got married in less than a year. We really did not wait. Which is part of why, I laughed out loud when I heard the song again.
The other reason that I laughed out loud was because I disagreed with the words about loving somebody as much as possible at one moment in time. After all, I love my wife more today than I did when we first met fifteen years ago. And I know my dad loves my mom more today than he did 48 years ago. (Happy Anniversary, you two.) So I had to take exception with the lyrics or at least laugh a little bit at their naivety.
After thinking about the song a bit, I realized that there are many songs out there with lyrics about young love and puppy love and true love. But there are not many songs about mature love. I cannot name one song that talks about people loving each other more each day for years and years. I am sure one exists or at least I hope so, because this Valentine’s Day, I know I love my wife more than I did last year. I just do not know that I could write a song about it. Or at least not one that would sell.
So much of music focuses on either the romantic or the tragic. Nobody really wants to hear that after the magic of infatuation fades, you need to work on your relationship. Nobody wants to hear that one day you could wake up next to somebody you do not really recognize anymore, if you do not keep growing closer to each other. Or if you just keep trying to find some magic you think you lost. Nobody wants to hear that infatuation and physical attraction are just a tiny part of the equation of why people stick together until death parts them. Well, some people might like a song like that, but they are not the majority of those buying music these days.
Still, if I was going to write a song about staying together and love growing each day, it might be construed as a religious song. The chorus would sing of how our love grows for each other the more our love grows for our Lord. The song would then go from the spiritual to the mundane. For spending time together and with our family strengthens our bonds of love. Then the song would tell about how my wife and I give each other space and time to be ourselves. I can even see the video. It would be a time lapse of two people getting married, having kids, going to church on Sundays, having dinner together each night, and just living a “normal” life together. It would not be the popular notion of love and romance, but it would be the story of those couples who vow to stay together until death parts them and then stay together. Personally, I have written songs before, but I do not know that I could write the one I just described except in my heart every day.
When I set out to write this piece, I wanted to give a lighthearted Valentine’s Day wish to my wife. I wanted to say how mindboggling it is that our love grows each day. I wanted to poke a little fun at the lyrics of a song. But when it comes right down to it, I guess I am just a bit sappy. Or maybe a lot sappy. You see, I love The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi more each day. And to her, I need to say, “Baby I don’t see how I could love you anymore than I do today,” and Happy Valentine’s Day.
So I guess that I really do not take exception to the song, Why Wait. After all, as I look back on my own marriage and those of my parents and others who have been together forever, I realize that the line I already quoted twice is true. I really do not know how I can love my wife any more than I do today. But tomorrow, I will love her more. And the day after, I will love her still more.
Thank you, Rascal Flatts for your song, Why Wait, and the laughs it has given me. Happy Valentine’s Day faithful readers (both real and imaginary). Happy Valentine’s Day especially to you, The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi.
© 2011 Michael T. Miyoshi
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Love the romantic in you. Happy V-day to you both!
— Lauren Stevens · 14 February 2011, 22:14 ·
That was a very touching and sweet post.
— Shelly · 15 February 2011, 07:15 ·
Sappy guys rock. We don’t want to see the sap all the time, but knowing it’s there is awesome!
— Lauren Stevens · 17 February 2011, 21:32 ·
You are so right. great valentines message—it is not always about the romantic warm and fuzzys, but the long haul commitment to knowing and growing together.
— Jill · 1 March 2011, 12:31 ·