Those who know me and my musical tastes know that there's little I like better than a good love song. I'm very much into slower stuff and I listen to a lot of it. Some of it really effects me, and more than once I've been moved to tears. This song doesn't have that effect on me, but it is a pretty amazingly well written song. The subject matter deals with a woman who has to choose between staying with the man she has now, or going back to the one she used to be with. It's written from the point of view of the guy as he listens to her taking a telephone call from the old flame, and wondering what she's going to do: is she going to leave him and go back to her ex, or is she going to realise she has things so much better here and stay with her current lover?
The one you love (Glenn Frey) from “No fun aloud”, 1982
Music and lyrics by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin
It's an interesting little song that explores the pull an older relationship can have on a newly or recently-established one, and the fact that in some ways we often never get over the one we may see as having been the love of our life, even if it didn't work out, and sometimes all it can take is a call or a chance meeting to bring those old feelings flooding back, and make us wonder if we made the wrong choice, or if we should give it one more try? It's of course unfair to the guy or girl we're with now, as here the lyric asks
”Isn't he the guy/ Who left you crying?” as the singer tries to understand why his girlfriend would consider going back to the man who hurt her.
It's also in many ways a very empowering song for women, as the singer realises that there is in the end nothing he can do; if she wants to go back to her old flame, then she will and there's no way he can stop her. Nor, more importantly, has he any intention of doing so: this must be her decision. But like two people waiting for the same prize, he is fully aware that
”Someone's gonna cry/ When they learn they've lost you/ Someone's gonna thank/ The stars above”. We're not told what decision the girl makes in the end, but it's a tender yet bitter little lovesong that I think really showcases the ex-Eagle's songwriting talent.
” I know you need a friend,
Someone you can talk to
Who will understand what you're going through.
When it comes to love
There's no easy answer:
Only you can say what you're gonna do.
I heard you on the phone:
You took his number;
Said you weren't alone, but you'd call him soon.
Isn't he the guy
The guy who left you crying?
Isn't the the one who made you blue?
When you remember those nights in his arms
You know you've gotta make up your mind:
Are you gonna stay with the one who loves you?
Or are you going back to the one you love?
Someone's gonna cry when they learn they've lost you;
Someone's gonna thank the stars above.
What you gonna say when he comes over?
There's no easy way to see this through.
All the broken dreams,
All the disappointments:
Oh girl! What you gonna do?
Your heart keeps saying it's just not fair
But still you've gotta make up your mind...”