Love's labo(u)r lost
Story behind the song
I found the title phrase in Roger Kahn’s book ‘The Boys of Summer’ and filed it away as a good song title. One spring evening in 1991, I was playing guitar in the backyard of a house I was renting a room in. I was broke, depressed, and didn’t know how to get out of my situation. I finished the song in under an hour and wrote the chords and lyrics down by moonlight.
Lyrics
If I could write like Shakespeare
I’d write all about you
I’d start by describing your lovely face
And that would take up most of
Volume One and Two
Then I’d write about your beautiful spirit
Untamed and free
But if I could write like Shakespeare
I still couldn’t tell
What you mean to me
If I could sing like the angels
I’d sing a song about you
From the top of the highest mountain
So it could be heard in Timbuktu
My song would be long
My song would be strong
It would sound out straight and true
But if I could sing like the angels
I couldn’t come close to the beauty of you
Well, I can’t write like Shakespeare
I can’t sing like the angels
Hell, I can’t even dance
But I could love you like no other
Given half a chance
If I could write like Shakespeare
If I could sing like the angels
If I could love you
I would, yes I would