# the dying-out of marriage in music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474 "2015-12-15T00:06:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/1 "2015-12-15T00:06:37Z")
This question’s hard for me to express because my musical knowledge is not very strong. Wikipedia says that Bus Stop came out in 1966 with the lyrics “Someday my name and hers Are going to be the same”, and I’m guessing that was already a bit late for lyrical mention of marriage. And the Hollies are classified as pop/rock. What would you say was the last time when it was common in western, English-language music… of the sort aimed toward men as much as toward women… for marriage to come up in addition to love/sex? And what were some late, rare mentions? I’m trying to exclude areas I’m not curious about – like when pop eventually meant Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or whatever – and I don’t care what happened in country music, beyond… well, it could be somewhat interesting to know about shifts of their own… I just don’t know whether the term “rock” neatly covers what I’m trying to get at here. For that matter, if we do call it rock, I imagine marriage only started to come into it for little while when it first went mainstream with white audiences and had to become a bit…straight-laced. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/2 "2015-12-15T00:15:44Z")
> [@oara](#): > > I’m trying to exclude areas I’m not curious about – like when pop eventually meant Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or whatever That’s too bad, because one of the biggest pop hits in recent years was Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/3 "2015-12-15T00:30:47Z")
[Let’s Get Married - Jagged Edge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XwPCVvMcuE) [We Must By in Love - Pure Soul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=undSLONLhhs) Two about unrequited love. [Congratulations - Vesta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUP4y5-FMxg) [It Should’ve Been Me - Gladys Knight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SydPDjjBZHg) Those are my favorites. xist!!! I’m such a sap!!! ETA - If you’re only interested in rock, I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/4 "2015-12-15T00:41:13Z")
Omi’s “Cheerleader” (not about a cheerleader) came out in 2011 and became [a global hit in remix](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jGflUbPQfW8) in 2014-15. > [@](#): > > She gives me love and affection > Baby did I mention you’re the only girl for me > No I don’t need a next one > Mama loves you too she thinks I made the right selection > Now all thats left to do is just for me to pop the question ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/5 "2015-12-15T01:43:33Z")
All of Me by John Legend. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. Marry You by Bruno Mars. These are more recent songs, though I have prefer the old classics. … There are going to be marriages at least as long as there are weddings, gowns, bridesmaids, showers, cakes and honeymoons. There are people you marry, and people you don’t. The songs are for them. There will always be songs about marriage. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/6 "2015-12-15T01:53:14Z")
“Dead Flowers” by the Rolling Stones “send me dead flowers at my wedding” That was awhile ago though. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/7 "2015-12-15T01:56:36Z")
Another postscript to my continuing SDMB love letter to **Laura Nyro**. Monterey Pop Festival, June 1967. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fdBOzE1YPDM/hqdefault.jpg "Wedding Bell Blues (live) Laura Nyro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBOzE1YPDM) ---
**Author:** ![natterj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@natterj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natterj)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/8 "2015-12-15T02:57:20Z")
Here’s a recent one: [MAGIC! - Rude (Official Video) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIh2xe4jnpk) Not only is the singer old-fashioned enough to want to “marry that girl” he actually asks for her father’s blessing. He doesn’t get it, but is gonna “marry her anyway” ---
**Author:** ![fridolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85f322/32.png) [@fridolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fridolph)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/9 "2015-12-15T03:26:03Z")
This might not be recent but it is a song about marriage. Half of My Heart by John Meyer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/10 "2015-12-15T04:37:03Z")
Joe Walsh’s “Lucky That Way”. - Got a good woman and she makes me happy Most of the time I make her happy too We decided we should live together So we both said I do \* ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/11 "2015-12-15T05:10:38Z")
I Wanna Marry You - Springsteen - 1980 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/12 "2015-12-15T06:26:30Z")
John Denver, “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, 1969: “when I come back, I’ll wear your wedding ring…” > [@oara](#): > > What would you say was the last time when it was common in western, English-language music… of the sort aimed toward men as much as toward women… for marriage to come up in addition to love/sex? And what were some late, rare mentions? > > I’m trying to exclude areas I’m not curious about – like when pop eventually meant Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or whatever – and I don’t care what happened in country music, beyond… well, it could be somewhat interesting to know about shifts of their own… I just don’t know whether the term “rock” neatly covers what I’m trying to get at here. Your category choices seem a little weird, to say the least. If you’re interested in “western, English-language music of the sort aimed toward men as much as toward women”, then why are you excluding country? Or rap? Is this a veiled way of asking _“Does commercial music largely directed to a mainstream white male audience generally involve songs about marriage anymore?”_ ? That’s a reasonable question to ask, but I think you need to clarify that you’re asking it. Anyway, do you count Ed Sheeran’s 2014 “Thinking Out Loud” (“And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we’re 70…” ) as a marriage-themed song? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/13 "2015-12-15T06:39:03Z")
Warren Zevon - [Let Nothing Come Between You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIDMOv_DIQ) (1982) > [@](#): > > Got the license–got the ring > Got the blood tests and everything > Putting on my boutonniere–It’s her favorite flower > Then I’m walking to the altar and I’m gonna take the vow Just… try to ignore the fact that it’s on the same album as [the Hula Hula Boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqviDAkNo48) and [Looking for the Next Best Thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzWyZMKqB5o). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/14 "2015-12-15T12:19:04Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > _“Does commercial music largely directed to a mainstream white male audience generally involve songs about marriage anymore?”_ ? 2001 isn’t terribly recent, but the example that I was able to think of most quickly is from 2001 and the band is easily qualified as Rock so it seems to perfectly fit the OP’s parameters. “Hotel Yorba” by The White Stripes > [@](#): > > It might sound silly > For me to think childish thoughts like these > But I’m so tired of acting tough > And I’m gonna do what I please > Let’s get married > In a big cathedral by a priest > 'Cause if I’m the man that you love the most > You could say “I do” at least ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/15 "2015-12-15T16:23:11Z")
MAGIC’S! _Rude_ is about a guy whose intended’s father will not give him his blessing “. . . I hate to do this, you leave no choice Can’t live without her Love me or hate me we will be both Standing at that altar” ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/16 "2015-12-15T17:28:15Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > [Let’s Get Married - Jagged Edge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XwPCVvMcuE) The first song that came to my mind. Featuring the oh, so romantic line: “We ain’t getting no younger, we might as well do it.” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/17 "2015-12-15T17:52:20Z")
I thought of this thread this morning when I heard Jethro Tull’s “Too Old To Rock And Roll.” The song seems to view “married with three kids” as essentially a living death. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/18 "2015-12-15T17:57:35Z")
> [@](#): > > When I was younger man I hadn’t a care > Fooling around, hitting the town, growing my hair > You came along and stole my heart when you entered my life > Ooh, babe - you got what it takes so I made you my wife > > Since then I never looked back > It’s almost like living a dream > And, ooh, I love you Climax Blues Band, “[I Love You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvDwr9-MlfE)” ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/19 "2015-12-15T19:02:05Z")
“Elvira” by the Oak Ridge Boys, for some reason, was the first one that I thought of. “She’s gonna jump and holler Cos I’ve saved up my last two dollars We’re gonna search and find that preacher man” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/20 "2015-12-15T19:40:15Z")
I just thought of another one, though I guess you might consider it country; Taylor Swift’s _Love Story_, which - and I’ll kill you if you tell anyone- makes me tear up every time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474.md?page=2)