Silly Love Songs

Above: Darren Criss & the cast of Glee

It is always interesting to discover the origin of favorite song. When I heard 'Silly Love Songs' on Glee's Valentine Show I had a bit of a déjà vu but could not quite figure out why. Now the song is very famous and has been around for decades so it is not surprising the song is familiar. It was more than that however, there was a specific memory of that song that I could not put my finger on until I did a little research on Youtube.

Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge


It was both fascinating and hilarious to see the many versions of the song. Many artists from Shirley Bassey through the Replicants have recorded it, but I never heard any of their versions. (love Shirley but not a fan of her version). It was also a part of The Elephant Love Medley in Moulin Rouge but I am ashamed to say that is one musical I have never seen. (some say it is brilliant but although I LOVED The Hours, I tend to skip most projects involving Kidman...).

Shirley Bassey


I loved seeing Donny & Marie sing it on The Sonny & Cher hour but I was barely a year old when it aired so I doubt my déjà vu was connected.

Donny & Marie on Sonny & Cher


It was of course the original version, Paul McCartney's version with Wings that I remembered. When I was a kid my older brother was a huge Wings fan. I think I was introduced to the music of Wings even before I heard anything by the Beatles. In the early 80's there were still records and my déjà vu was cranking Wings on my beige plastic square record player while dancing around my room. I think the reason the déjà vu was so vivid was because I had completely forgotten how I could only do this when my brother was not home. He never let me borrow his records and often he would come home mid-dance and slam into my room to retrieve his music screaming at me for taking his shit.

Silly Loves Songs is just that, a silly love song. But for many, a good silly love song often has a rich history with a connection to our past that surges forward even when we hear it decades later.

Paul McCartney & Wings: