By DiscoMonster
Martha & The Vandellas – Jimmy Mack *
The Go-Betweens – Bye Bye Pride *
Little Feat – Long Distance Love
Marvin Gaye – Distant Lover
Alone in a Café
Grant overheard a girl called Martha phoning her man. She said to Jimmy: “You’ve been away too long, my resistance to another’s charms is low.” Martha’s words echoed Grant’s situation. His own love had travelled away and grown independent. Things had changed over long distance. He accepted she was emotionally far apart. Truth be told, it was only ever long distance love. He bought scotch. Went home. Still missing her touch, he drank himself drunk while listening to Marvin Gaye’s Distant Lover.
Steeleye Span – My Johnny was a Shoemaker *
Alfred Apaka – Aloha ’Oe *
Yasmine Hamdan – Deny *
Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters – A Taste of Honey
True Love’s Wanders
She remembers the colour and cut of his clothes, the curls of his hair. He sailed away but promised to come back and marry her.
True in love and word, Johnny returned. But he sang foreign melodies and bittersweet lyrics of fond remembrance and parting. He set sail again.
Parted once more, she breathed in scent he wore. Her yearning intensified. The wind described her beloved's voice. She wished the distance between them would fade.
He returned in dreams of honey kisses. But he sea was jealous and stole her warmth from his body. La mer took him. The taste of honey turned bitter.
Chuck Berry – Memphis, Tennessee
Advance Base – Dolores & Kimberly
Elbow – Open Arms
Hitesh Sonik feat Piyush Mishra – Husna *
The Distant Hearts Club
Chuck spoke of his six-year-old daughter. He couldn’t contact her. Empathy and legal advice were all we could offer.
Owen told of a long-distance internet affair that bloomed into full-blooded romance and love. It was beautiful but costly – his ex-wife has sole custody of their children. “Write to show them your love,” we said.
Guy was suffering a demoralising break up. We made this “law unto himself” call to his family. They said: “We’ve got open hearts for broken hearts. Come home. The man you are will know the boy you were. You're not the man who fell to earth.”
Piyush Mishra was mournful. The violence of a new border separated him from the adored Husna. He wondered: “Can she still listen to the same melodies, celebrate the same festivals, enjoy the same scents and colours. Had she read his letters? Is she alive?” Tears welled in our eyes.
The Long Blondes – Separated by Motorways *
Kid Creole and the Coconuts – Going Places *
Aztec Camera – We Could Send Letters
R.E.M. – Don't Go Back to Rockville *
Love Knows No Distance
The two girls now know that long-distance relationships make for exciting adventure. They ran away, making the A1 and A14 their gateway to the world. By chance They met a man sailing away, seeking his very own Helen of Troy. In a harbour town, a troubadour sang them a song that promised adult regrets. He lingered on the words, “It doesn't matter where you choose to go. The end's the same”. But he had it good: a girl in port and a wide open road. He had no counter to the pretty persuasion found in the words of Don’t Go Back to Rockville
.
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – I Miss You *
Ketty Lester – Love Letters
Al Green – Call Me (Come Back Home)
Little Big Town – Your Side of the Bed
Sad Teddy
Crying, “I miss you!” Teddy put aside his manly pride and confessed his weakness and loneliness. To keep the romance burning, he poured his heart into writing love letters. He gave her all the support in the world and in return just asked her to call him. They thrived in the separation but couldn’t survive day-to-day living together. A chasm opened in their bedroom.
Zero 7 – Destiny (ft. Sia and Sophie Barker) *
Vienna Teng – Flyweight Love *
Poemss – Miles Away *
Prefab Sprout – When Love Breaks Down *
The Gravity of Love
She yearns for her beloved. Loneliness leads to porn. To cope with love at long distance, she dreams her beloved will be her destiny.
Despite work trips, the guidance of others leads her to believe she and her lover can move around the fixed point that is their relationship. They revel in their freedom, spinning out and returning to each other’s scent and words. But the mass of love decays … celestial objects can escape orbits.
Somewhere another is singing to her love: “You can’t feel her weight, you can’t love her when you’re a million miles away.”
She posts a Prefab Sprout song on My Jam. “My love and I, we work well together. But often we're apart. Absence makes the heart lose weight, yeah. Till love breaks down.” She pities and reviles the man who left his heart for easy sex. “The lies we tell that only serve to fool ourselves,” cut her to the quick.
Going The Full Distance Playlist:
Songs marked * above make the A-list.
The rest make up the B-list.
Guru’s wildcard picks … are also included at the end of the above playlist:
Destination – Job In London
Okkervil River – A Girl In Port
Moonface – Headed For The Door
Atmosphere – Flicker
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Have love will travel: songs about long-distance relationships. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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