@Biggirl , you start the best threads!!
Just had to say it.
Aw, thanks! * kicks dirt *
“Hello?"
“Yes, a collect call for Mrs. Floyd from Mr. Floyd. Will you accept the charge from the United States?”
“Oh, he hung up. That’s your residence, right? Well, I wonder why he hung up. Is there supposed to be someone out there besides your wife there to answer?”
“Hello?”
“This is the United States calling. Are we reaching…”
“See, he keeps hanging up, and it’s a man answering.”
From Vicki Carr, It Must Be Him:
I tell myself don’t be a chump
Who cares, let him stay away
That’s when the phone rings and I jump
And as I grab the phone I pray
Let it please be him, oh dear God
It must be him, it must be him
Or I shall die
Or I shall die
Oh hello, hello my dear God
It must be him but it’s not him
And then I die
That’s when I die
I always giggle at it, thinking of the entry in Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs. “It must be him/or I’ll stick my head in the oven again”.
And then there’s Missing You, John Waite:
… Well, there’s a message in the wire
And I’m sending you this signal tonight
You don’t know
How desperate I’ve become
And it looks like I’m losing this fight
… In your world
I have no meaning
Though I’m trying hard to understand
… And it’s my heart that’s breakin’
Down this long distance line tonight
Well, that’s just good stuff. 
Operator, the Grateful Dead
Although whether the singer is lovelorn or not is unspecified.
Not sure what third party the singer is addressing, but some lovelorn guys can’t even bring themselves to make the phone call:
And I can’t dial the phone just now, even though I know your number
Can’t bring my broken heart to be untrue
Like you did today, you’ll say goodbye the same old way
Ever since you hung up on me, I’m hung up on you
- Fountains of Wayne, “Hung Up On You”
Yes it is. Love that tear jerker!!
“Memphis, Tennessee” by Chuck Berry (and a few covers since) has a separated father trying to return the call from his daughter. Perhaps not “lovelorn” in a romantic sense (after a lyrical fakeout) but obviously missing his girl.
Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number but I know who placed the call
Because my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
[…]
Marie is only six years old, information please
Try to put me through to her in Memphis, Tennessee
Tom Waits
Martha
“Operator, number please…
It’s been so many years…
She remembers my old voice…
While I fight the tears…”
Elvis Costello’s “No Action” may or may not be about a lovelorn guy:
If I’m inserting my coin, I’m doing just fine
And the things in my head start hurtin’ my mind
And I think about the way things used to be
Knowing you’re with him is driving me crazy
Sometimes I phone you when I know you’re not lonely
But I always disconnect it in time
There’s no action
There’s no action, there’s no action
Every time I phone you, I just want to put you
Every time I phone you, I just want to put you
Every time I phone you, I just want to put you down
The guy who picks up when Biz Markie calls Blablabla is a unintended third party and there was definitely reason to declare lorn.
I wholeheartedly agree.
You only call me if you’re feelin’ blue
You tell me I don’t pay attention to you
But if you only knew just what I’m going through
You wouldn’t phone those guys who mess around with you, girl
-Back Of My Hand / The Jags
Goddamn you for posting this an hour before I discovered the thread.
I strut around the stage like a little king tonight
They’ll scream for every word and every note, that’s right
But when the show is over, and I’m all alone
Can’t reach my baby on the telephone
And everywhere I look, Mr. Loneliness is in the news
I’ve got the Big Star Blues
–“Nothing Ever Goes as Planned”, Styx
Sylvias Mother by Dr Hook?
Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone…
Lol, I knew I woke up with Eve 6’s “Amphetamines” in my head for a reason today.
Of course the hardest part is letting go
But you’ve got to or you know
You’ll end up waiting by the
Phone me once in a while
Let me know you’re alright
Tell you again that I’m fine
Then we go about our separate lives*
Phone me
Tell me that you’re waiting
By the phone for
Me to phone you
Once in a while
Etc.
I call you on the telephone
My voice too rough with cigarettes
I sometimes feel I should just go home
But I’m dealing with a memory that never forgets
You Better You Bet / The Who
That’s the one I was thinking of. Probably the archetype for the “modern” Country/Rock/Pop era.
