Love, love is a verb

If you had asked me a few years ago what was the greatest album ever recorded, I would have said, without a moment's hesitation, "Mezzanine" by Massive Attack. And if you had then asked what was the greatest song, I would have said "Teardrop" off the same album.

While the album remains in my collection, I must admit I've gone a while without listening to it, but the gorgeous Jose Gonzales reminded me recently of my love for "Teardrop" (his version is pretty much as good as the original) and today, despite being November, is a very wet and wintry day in Melbourne, exactly the sort of day for whipping out "Mezzanine" again.

It isn't a happy album, I must admit. I was always aware of that fact, but I guess being much happier now than I was in my early years of University the general gloom of it all is that little bit more noticeable. That said, it remains incredibly brilliant, and quite cutting edge, despite being ten years old (gasp), and "Teardrop" remains one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

The lyrics, of course, are bollocks, because the wonderfully loopy Elizabeth Fraser wrote them (and she is responsible for some of the most endearing goobledegook ever penned, including that Cocteau's song with the lyrics "Fafa lala faskata"). However, the song does begin with that amazing opening line, "Love, love is a verb/Love is a doing word". dc Talk, of course, made the same observation several years earlier, but their song was crap, whereas Liz's is a masterpiece. The rest of the lyrics, most of which I've never understood, are poetic but seem a bit nonsensical - "Tear drop on the fire of a confession/Feathers on my breath/Most faithful my love" (which I'd always heard as "Most fearful mirror"), and so on. It's not really clear how it all relates to love being a verb/doing word, but the words serve as an amazing accompaniment to some of the most breathtakingly beautiful vocals to ever be recorded.

Is this really a love song? It's not so clear. If it is, it's not a happy one; hence the crying into the "fire of confession". But I suppose love doesn't always make us happy, does it? Sometimes love requires the kind of honesty that will hurt all involved. But love is, after all, an action, not mere sentiment. It's good to be reminded of that every now and then.

And good also to remember what a wonderful song "Teardrop" was, and still is. The rest of the album is pretty damn good too.