Valentine Day Tim Minchin February 12, 2010

Valentine Day Tim Minchin

By Dr. Denise Cooper-Clarke
February 12, 2010

by Jesse Galef –

In honor of the impending Valentine’s day and for a fun way to end your workweek, I thought I’d put up this clip of Tim Minchin‘s song “If I Didn’t Have You.”  He addresses love and fate in his typical form:

Normally I would type up some lyrics, but I think you need to just hear it for yourself.

I’ve written a post on love before, so I won’t talk about it much. As wonderful as it is, I don’t believe love is magical or mystical. The notion of soulmates is absurd and detrimental. That said, this song probably isn’t the best one to sing in romantic situations.

Of course, I’m not a person you should listen to when it comes to dating – I once told a girlfriend “So when we break up…” In my defense, I was merely referring to the fact that neither of us wanted marry each other (She was not my girlfriend much longer).

I’m sure I’ve said stupider things, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head.  Have a great weekend, guys!

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  • rbray14

    all i can say is,least you’ve had girlfriends,and bah humbug to valentines day 😛

  • That song could also be about religion. For a religious person, any religion will (and does) do. And if they don’t have one, they will simply have another.

  • Tyler Nothing

    That is one of my favorite songs by Tim Minchin.

    I once told a girl, who I really liked, that I found her haircut appalling. She cried. I’ve stopped being so openly honest since then.

  • Joseph

    You should be dating my current girlfriend. I don’t go into relationships thinking we’ll be together forever, but she’s actually vocal about it. Like she’ll look at a book and say, “You should really take this when we break up.” We’ve been together years, it drives me crazy, but it’s still flattering that she won’t marry me but I’m good for the meanwhile, that she feels no obligation to date me but wants me.

    Then of course when she stops talking out the scenarios for our beak up, you know she wants to break up.

    Happy unimaginative, consumerist-oriented, and entirely arbitrary, manipulative, and shallow interpretation of romance day!

  • I adore his little ‘dance’ moves. 🙂

    Love for a partner isn’t immediate or magical, but he is right, it does grow over time.

    It can also diminish over time…

    I hope you all have a great Saint Valentine’s Day… another pseudo-religious holiday made awesomely secular by Hallmark and commercialism.

  • Claudia

    One of my favorites, though if you really want to have a blast with Time search the Tubes for “Storm by Tim Minchin”

  • MaleficVTwin

    I once told a girlfriend “So when we break up…”
    You have foot-in-mouth disease too? 🙂

  • There’s actually an uncut version of this song, with two extra verses:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KynIKjRwqDI&feature=channel

  • @Claudia:

    Have you seen the animated movie currently being made of Tim Minchin’s Storm?

    http://www.stormmovie.net/blog/2010/01/tim-minchins-storm-official-trailer/#content

    (There’s only a trailer so far, but it’s supposed to be completed soon, I believe.)

  • Revyloution

    Tim is such a hopeless romantic.

    That’s what happens when you analyze emotions. They end up making perfect biologic sense, and we just end up looking like sticky moist automatons.

    But I’m sure looking forward to snuggling up Sunday and obeying my predetermined biologic imperative.

  • Claudia

    @Jeff, yes, I’ve seen it. I follow Tim on facebook, so I’m current on most of his stuff. Looks like a lot of fun.

    I wouldn’t mind seeing an animated movie of “Mitsubishi Colt”, after that,

  • The reason you type up lyrics is so that people who have hearing issues or who are in an environment which makes catching the lyrics difficult, can actually know what is going on.

    Its called accessibility

  • Kevin

    To echo Rebecca, my environment is not conducive to playing audio, and I’m always gracious to those who write up transcripts.

  • Jerad

    He’s said his wife hated the song, he tried explaining that it wasn’t a song about her, it was a song about maths.

    I don’t believe it worked.

  • I’m sure I’ve said stupider things, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head.

    Foot in mouth and selective memory. Tsk!

    Lyrics ==> http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tim_minchin/if_i_didnt_have_you.html

  • That said, this song probably isn’t the best one to sing in romantic situations.

    Actually, Ingrid and I love this song, and we both find it very romantic. For quite a while after she first played it for me, “You fall within a bell curve” became one of our most common endearments.

    I actually think it’s a more romantic sentiment than the standard “We are fated for one another” bullcrap. I don’t want to think of love as something that happened to us. I much prefer to think of it as something we do. The idea that she has to love me because she has no choice… pleah. The idea that she chooses to love me and to stay with me and to make me the most important person in her life — that’s way better. (And vice versa, of course.)

    I’ve written more about this, if anyone’s interested: A Skeptic’s View of Love. (Sorry for the self-linkage, but it really is relevant.)

  • Kimpatsu

    Roses are red, violets are blue
    Valentine’s Day is consumerist bullshit
    So dont you have some ironing and washing up to do?

  • AxeGrrl

    Greta Christina wrote:

    I don’t want to think of love as something that happened to us. I much prefer to think of it as something we do.

    You just nailed it Greta! 🙂 beautifully said….

    I always say that the verb form of the word ‘love’ should be treasured/nurtured more than the noun form.

    Loving someone is something you do more than just what you feel.

  • Alpha Bitch

    Right on, Greta. “Love at first sight” is attributable to hormones and horniness. Real love builds over time and stands stronger through the rough patches.

  • muggle

    Gee, how romantic of him. I’ll agree that love builds over time and that there’s no mystical, magical someone for everyone soulmate (what soul?) but that was really rather the opposite extreme? Well, you’ll do but I have no problem replacing you.

    How about I love you, chose you because you’re great? That doesn’t apply no one else will do. Only that you find them Grade A select.

    I was really glad I wasn’t his wife listening to that.

    But then, even though I think Valentine’s Day is great, I really don’t care to build anything over time with anyone. I always outlast the guy in the afraid to commit department — when I do date. Mostly I choose not to. It’s too much work. And looking back I’ve always been happier alone than when I was with someone.

    So I guess I can’t point fingers because I have an even crappier outlook towards romance.

  • Carlie

    After I was introduced to Tim’s stuff via his Christmas song, this was the very next song I found and I thought it was fantastic. (In third place? Storm.)

    muggle, I think the opposite (as Greta said better) – it’s a fantastic love song. It acknowledges the randomness inherent in finding someone special and that there are probably other people who are better than his wife in all sorts of ways he would find attractive; yet, he does love her and they’ve built something together and she is special. The last part of the song acknowledges how much he loves her. It’s a lot more solid view of love than goopy romantic “you’re the only one for me”, because everyone knows that’s not true and as soon as the newness wears off it won’t be the same. I don’t think it’s “I’d have no problem replacing you” at all; it was that he could have easily ended up with someone else, but he’s glad it was her.

  • Eliza

    Spot on!

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