# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/21 "2015-12-15T21:20:21Z")
Old '97s “Question” is about a marriage proposal. Isn’t Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” technically about marriage? “If you like it, then you should have put a ring on it”. It’s not about a marriage exactly, but it illustrates that it’s still a thing women aspire to in popular culture. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/22 "2015-12-15T21:30:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > 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. Good thing Ian Anderson is married but only has _two_ kids. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/23 "2015-12-15T21:37:52Z")
Sort of midway between “Bus Stop” and Beyoncé would be Nirvana’s “All Apologies”: _I’m married!!_ The rest of the lyrics are too poetic to tell what the singer thinks of this fact, but there does seem to be some kind of affection or high regard for the spouse: _“I wish I was like you…”_ ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/24 "2015-12-15T22:06:49Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Sort of midway between “Bus Stop” and Beyoncé would be Nirvana’s “All Apologies”: > > _I’m married!!_ > > The rest of the lyrics are too poetic to tell what the singer thinks of this fact, but there does seem to be some kind of affection or high regard for the spouse: _“I wish I was like you…”_ It goes “Married… buried”. I assumed Kurt was pondering the fleetingness of life. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/25 "2015-12-15T23:20:10Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > It goes “Married… buried”. I assumed Kurt was pondering the fleetingness of life. Thanks. I didn’t know that. For years, I thought he was just crying out to a girl named Mary. The song still evokes for me memories of a girl named Mary I fell in love with, for about a week, twenty years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/26 "2015-12-16T11:37:34Z")
**Carly Simon** ’s “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be”: _But you say it’s time we moved in together And raised a family of our own, you and me Well, that’s the way I’ve always heard it should be You want to marry me, we’ll marry_ **Richard Thompson** ’s “Beeswing”: _And I said that we might settle down Get a few acres dug Fire burning in the hearth and babies on the rug_ Admittedly neither of these sheds a positive light on marriage. mmm ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/27 "2015-12-16T14:34:38Z")
The band [Oryx and Crake](http://www.oryx-and-crake.com) just released an entire album called Marriage ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/28 "2015-12-16T15:40:55Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > 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.” The New Romance is _[COLOR=“DarkOrchid”]_[/COLOR] **pragmatism** \*\* ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/29 "2015-12-16T17:20:28Z")
The lyrics to “Come to me” by _Goo Goo Dolls_ reads like a marriage proposal, and includes the lines > [@](#): > > Today’s the day I’ll make you mine > so get me to the church on time > Take my hand in this empty room > You’re my girl, and I’m your groom ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/30 "2015-12-16T22:45:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > **Richard Thompson** ’s “Beeswing”: > > _And I said that we might settle down > Get a few acres dug > Fire burning in the hearth and babies on the rug_ > > Admittedly neither of these sheds a positive light on marriage. > mmm To which she replied: “She said ‘Oh man, you foolish man, it surely sounds like hell. You might be lord of half the world, you’ll not own me as well’” So, not a good line (and not a good song) to advertise traditional marriage ;-). But one of my favorite lines by Richard Thompson. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/31 "2015-12-16T23:25:29Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > It goes “Married… buried”. I assumed Kurt was pondering the fleetingness of life. Or expressing his opinion on being married to Courtney Love. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/32 "2015-12-17T03:50:46Z")
Shakira’s “Hey You” came out in 2005. The lyrics are pretty strongly oriented toward a hoped-for marriage–following her seducing the guy “tonight.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474/33 "2015-12-20T13:48:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > To which she replied: “She said ‘Oh man, you foolish man, it surely sounds like hell. > You might be lord of half the world, you’ll not own me as well’” > > So, not a good line (and not a good song) to advertise traditional marriage ;-). But one of my favorite lines by Richard Thompson. One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite songs. mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dying-out-of-marriage-in-music/740474.md?page=1)