"There's Always Something There to Remind Me" by Sandie Shaw

This has always been one of my favorite songs of all time. The Naked Eyes' version has a cool backing track, but they don't understand what the hell they're singing about. I also like this video of Sandie. She looks like a cute, angry, Mennonite librarian. My kind of woman. Perfect hair, too. And the fact that she won't even dance for you when the song gets lively? Too cool. Marry me.

I walk along the city streets
You used to walk along with me,
And every step I take recalls how much in love
We used to be
Oh, how can I forget you

When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love you
And I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me

When shadows fall, I pass a small cafe
Where we would dance at night
And I can't help recalling how it
Felt to kiss and hold you tight

Oh, how can I forget you
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love you, and I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me

If you should find you miss the sweet
And tender love we used to share
Just come back to the places where we used to go,
And I'll be there

Oh, how can I forget you
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love you, and I will never be free
When there is always something there to remind me.

Obviously Bacharach and David knew what the hell they were doing. You don't just write music like this, it comes out of the ether, the interior, the deep unconscious. From the lyrics to the sexy stutter in the chorus, this is a perfect tune.

It's a real hymn, actually, to lost love and the art of loving. When Sandie sings, "When shadows fall," I die and am reborn. She's creeping slowly through her own unconscious as the issues slowly surface, wading in the ruins of her lost love. "If you should find you miss/The sweet and tender love we used to share/Just come back to the places we used to go/And I'll be there." To have these beautiful experiences and have them fall apart and disappear--that's what these songs are about. Always caught in this cycle--is it time or constant and formless? It's cynicism which makes us age, not time. And she understand the beauty of being bound: "I was born to love you/And I will never be free." It makes my eyes water. The sentiment is negative and positive. Either way, true. You can never truly let go, because the imprint is always there. B.F. Skinner knew it. We are formed more than we form ourselves.

These songs are powerful like the irrational, the unconscious, like emotion, and they never quite have form because they can't wholly be articulated. These feelings are the enemy of language, which is why we (or I) cry when really in love and we're trying to express that or express just the general happiness we feel. It cannot be done. You can never truly let your partner know the depth of your feeling. You only hope they feel the same way and understand through that. This ultimate achievement in song shows us how imperfect we are.