69 Love Songs Review – Disc Two, Part Two

(I am not going to take the time to link every individual song throughout this. I thought about it, but come on who do I think I am.)

If you want to follow along, the album is linked here: 69 Love Songs

36. World Love – All we need to fix the world is love, wine, and revolution. This song screams of those songs that that attempt to hit international charts, such as Shakira’s Waka Waka. It nails the instrumentations and rhythms in that aspect. Half of the songs in this album, if I haven’t said this already (which like at this point I don’t even remember half of the things I’ve said) feel like Merritt wrote a list of types of love songs for him to mock, and this is his international charts love song. While countries around the world can’t agree on anything, Merritt says they can agree on a few thing, which are dancing, alcoholism, love, and overthrowing the government. I will admit, I don’t know how much I agree or disagree with that statement. I will say that revolution is necessary to break down oppression, and love is necessary to build in better systems. I’m sure that’s not quite how Merritt intended this song to be taken, but that’s how I’m taking it. Wine and dancing are nice additions.
37. Washington, D.C. – Person A loves Washington D.C so so much. It’s the best place ever. Why? Because their lover lives there, why else? One thing that I really have to give credit to Merritt for is setting the scene for the stories in his songs, without having to explicitly say “here is person A who is eighteen and wishing for their first shot at something different”. In this song, for example, all it takes is a snare drum and a chant to set the high school scene for you, giving context for the rest of the story. I will say that he could’ve done better than the “dumb cheerleader” trope, but the lyrics that tell of a teenager who is completely unaware yet madly in love are pretty spot on. You have someone who doesn’t really know or care about Washington D.C.’s history, all they care about is that the person they love is there, and nothing else matters, including but not limited to: the US’ history, the culture of people making real change, the beautiful nature in a concrete jungle. Why should that matter when you’re madly in love?
38. Long-Forgotten Fairytale – Person B is back, remembering a fairytale that is over. Why is Person A letting them stay? CW: Domestic violence. This song, like many others in Merritt’s album, sounds endearing and sweet until you listen more closely. How could a song with the word fairytale not be ridden with love? Well, the person singing this song cannot understand how their ex-lover was able to get back into their life. They haven’t changed, they are still rude and in bad habits, but Person A is entranced once again. The lines “My voice trembles, my knees are weak //and you beat me once again // And I know what happens then, you raise the ante” show the true meaning behind this song. This abuse is beyond them, because Person B knows exactly what to say to fix the situation after. They are writing this fairytale. They know how to keep the fairytale going. Person A knows that it is wrong, but is unable to get out of it. It’s a sad story, and tells of a lot of experiences in such a real way. (if this is you, visit https://www.thehotline.org/ for help with domestic abuse. Getting out of a dangerous situation is incredibly hard but one of the bravest things a person can do. You are strong.)
39. Kiss Me Like You Mean It – He is my lord and savior, and calls me baby when he kisses me. Honestly, I was waiting for this one. I listened to so much gospel music in my earlier years, and there have been far too many times where I was unsure if I was listening to a country song or a gospel song because they both sound the same, have the same singers, and speak out love in the same way (except the latter ends up saying Jesus halfway through the song). The lyrics are what you would expect of Merritt, and pairing gospel with this story about role play is also what you would expect of Merritt. But don’t call someone your lord and savior, that’s just icky. I mean you do you, but icky is icky.
40. Papa Was a Rodeo – Person A is warning Mike that they are not the right person to fall in love with. But Mike is thinking the same thing. Coming right after country-adjacent song, I am starting to think Merritt is only pretending to hate country. This song, different from the ones before, is actually a really good one. Person A is telling Mike, which we assume is a man, that they are not a good lover, because their Papa was a rodeo, and Momma was a rock band. Person A, then, is going to turn out just like his parents and become wild and unavailable. He also tells of living on the road, and getting love from “truckers hands”, showing just how messed up he thinks his life was. He then agrees to go on a date, but continues warning Mike. Fast forward fifty-five years later, and they are still together, because Mike told A that she (yes, she) went through the same thing as a child. And the slow and somber solo becomes a dynamic duet as these hearts come together sharing the same story and the same love. It’s a cliche love song, for sure, but tells another interesting story in this world that Merritt is creating. A nice break.
41. Epitaph for My Heart – Person A’s heart is dead, so this is his mourn. I know from previous knowledge about this song that the first few lines were not written by Merritt, but are actually just the back of some electronic that he wanted to put in a song just “because he can”. Come on, how do you see the words “refer servicing to qualified service personnel” and think “oh yeah, that should be in a song”? Luckily, this is the best song to fit these random lines, but not much else to be said about this song. It tells a “woe is me” of someone who thinks their life is over because they had heartbreak, and now they are committing to never love again. This song really leaves something more to be desired. Like, if you’re going to make a bit of using emergency warnings as a song, at least commit to making that the whole song. Come on, you wrote about buying stocks in roses.
42. Asleep and Dreaming – Person A thinks that Person B is kindaaa ugly, but they look okay when they are asleep so it’s okay. Part of me thinks that the lyrics in this song are attempting to be sweet. When you are asleep and dreaming, you can genuinely smile and be happy, compared to the real sadness and fake happiness that people carry in their daily lives. Person A could be saying that they know that person B is amazing and has a good heart, but is being weighed down by the world. On the other hand, this song could be referencing someone who is only in love with the idea of being in love. Person A doesn’t really like Person B, but they are in love with them because they are in love with love. Because of that, it’s best when B is asleep and A doesn’t need to talk to them or hear them or see them, and can just dream about the perfect love they have, which is not as sweet as the first interpretation. I guess it’s up for you to decide which you prefer.
43. The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing – Nothing matters when we’re dancing..? This sounds like Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing, just faster and more upbeat. I hope there is another song at towards the end of the last disc that is about dancing. I get it, Merritt, 69 songs is hard. Should’ve separated Epitaph into two songs.
44. The Way You Say Good-Night – The way Person B says goodnight is so amazing and beautiful and glorious. If only you knew what that was. Terrible song. Worse than Love is Like Jazz. This is so far the only song I have been unable to listen to more than once. The entire song feels like a massive buildup, with strings playing a seemingly crescendoing background for what should be some magnificent chorus of even bridge. But neither builds to anything, so you are stuck in this eternal buildup with zero relief. It would be bad enough if the entire song was that, and it ended on the same buildup it started with, but no, the song falls into a quiet ending verse that is the exact opposite of what you wanted the buildup to end with. And you never find out the heck this person says goodnight! I know that Merritt wrote this song and its accompaniment extremely intentionally, but the musical blue balls from this song is absolutely terrible. Just let us have that resolution, Merritt.
45. Abigail, Belle of Kilronan – I’m off to war, but don’t wait up for me, Abigail. I again have to hand it to Merritt for knowing how to create simple instrumentation and music that sets a scene even before the words start. The feel of three, the tambourine, the havy accents on one to signal a dance, paired with the title give an old Irish feel to the song. And it is a typical “war is coming so I must do my duty for my country and for you” song, but war sucks so Person A should’ve just stayed with Abigail, especially if she’s the prettiest in all of Kilronan. The lyrics say that Person A hopes that when he comes back, that he hopes Abigail isn’t alone, because it’ll be years until he returns and she shouldn’t waste her beauty while she waits for him. Hopefully Abigail does exactly that, and lives her life because it seems like Person A is just valuing Abigail by her looks and her ability to procreate, which is pretty typical of someone choosing to participate in war. Abigail deserves better. Hopefully she becomes the ruler of Kilronan.
46. I Shatter – Person B thinks that Person A is crazy, which shatters Person A. This is a very sad and intense song to end the second disc on. You have these really unsettling violins in the background who are playing a repeating harmony, but it sounds scrambled and messy. It also sounds like they are pushing to hard on their strings, causing uneven sound to come out. This pairs very well with the lyrics that tell of someone who did too much and scared away their lover. You want to feel for them, the lyrics are heartfelt and incredibly sad. You really want to feel for them, but the voice is so unnerving that you can’t feel bad for anyone, you just end up feeling uncomfortable. Which is probably how Person B felt about A, even more so now that they are “shattered”. The last disc ended on a song about someone who was going over all the missed opportunities with the person they lost, while this one ends with someone being so broken they are unable to do anything but think about how broken they are. Incredibly unsettling, but a fair ending for what I see to be the second movement of this incredibly long story.

Songs 47 – 58 coming soon!