I was thinking of this this morning when I was listening to “Fields of Gold” and I heard
“as her hair came down”
And I was musing that that was something that would never be said about a man. Even though it’s common and accepted for men to have long hair now, and some of them even put it up and braid it.
Also
“In his arms she fell”
You wouldn’t hear
“In her arms he fell”. Maybe in a mother-son sense, but not really in a romantic sense.
Others?
One of the songs I listen to, I’d have thought was a gender-swapped version of an old song (one lover complaining about the other leaving and going off to sea, except this version it’s the woman leaving), but the chorus contains the line “I’d flutter my wings over lily-white breasts”. Which doesn’t really leave much weasel room.
Silly Wizard?
Hmm. I’m not convinced on this one. The first thing conjured to my mind is the heroic protagonist dragging himself back to his lover.
Forgive the doggerel (but thank you very much for getting me to bust out some writing–it’s been far too long, even for doggerel!), but the OP led me to imagine:
“He staggered through wasted land
Gut-shot and already dead
Eyes blood blind with no way to tell
Stumbling towards all he had left
No stopping. No crawling… Stand!
Until into her arms he fell”
Yeah, ick, but that’s what first drafts are for. Granted, there is no little “lover as mother” evoked by that, but I think it could maybe be done.
Anyway! Great question. I’ll try again after I’ve had some sleep.
ETA: On reread, nothing distinguishes lover/mother in the above. Now I’ll definitely need to give it some thought.
I’m not sure if you’re making an allusion to something, but the full chorus is
No, I was asking if you were listening to this version.
Lily white hands, or graceful hands in general seem to be a woman’s attribute, I can’t think of a man being described like that. Oops, never mind, Peter Whimsey is described as having beautiful hands in Gaudy Night, but perhaps that is the exception that proves the rule.
It’s fairly unusual to have a man described in floral metaphors.
If I remember correctly, the male lead is likened to a “mango tree in bloom” in Kalidasa’s Shakuntala.
Since it’s the only old-timey Sanskrit play I’ve ever read, I can’t say if that’s a unique touch, or common enough in Sanskrit literature.
Oh. No, I’d never heard of Silly Wizard (though listening to that version, maybe I should check them out more). The version I have is a band called Finnegan Ridge.