music, books, love and kindness

Bread, specifically David Gates, is exactly what I need right now. I love his gentle voice (that goes so well with his kind face) and I need a good cry and if a person can't cry over songs like "If" and "Lost Without Your Love," then what songs can you cry over? I swear...if actresses need help getting ready for a scene where they have to sob, they should just listen to David Gates.

 

I found this article on him very interesting, especially since its focus is on "Diary" and why it's such a rare kind of song for pop:

 

“Diary” actually surged as high as #15 in 1972. Maybe the one thing that Gates overlooked when assessing the song is that is the lure of a great twist ending. It’s the kind of a thing that’s a little easier to pull off in a movie when there are a couple of hours to set the surprise up. It’s a much tougher task in a song, but Gates pulls it off while still delivering a resonant story of unrequited love.

 

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/09/bread-diary/

 

The lyrics to "Diary":

 

I found her diary underneath a tree
And started reading about me
The words she'd written took me by surprise
You'd never read them in her eyes

They said that she had found
The love she'd waited for
Wouldn't you know it?
She wouldn't show it

When she confronted with the writing there
Simply pretended not to care
I passed it off as just in keeping with
Her total disconcerting air

And though she tried to hide
The love that she denied
Wouldn't you know it?
She wouldn't show it

And as I go through my life
I will give to her my wife
All the sweet things, I can find

I found her diary underneath a tree
And started reading about me
The words began to stick and tears to flow
Her meaning now was clear to see

The love she'd waited for
Was someone else not me
Wouldn't you know it?
She wouldn't show it

And as I go through my life
I will wish for her his wife
All the sweet things she can find
All the sweet things they can find

It seems perfectly fitting that someone who writes and sings as David Gates does has remained married to his high school sweetheart since 1958. As the article above points out:

 In one of the noblest gestures under extreme duress in pop music history, somehow this guy musters up the strength to give this couple his blessings: “And as I go through my life/I will wish for her his wife/All the sweet things they can find/All the sweet things they can find.”

I think that's why I like the song so much...because it captures true love, which is wanting the person you care about to be happy, whether she feels the same for you or not.
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