I always enjoyed this song being sung to me back when I was a wee Qadgop, and not yet the Mercotan. But listening to the lyrics today (from the album “O Brother, where art thou”, I suddenly realized they were a bit creepy.
To whit:
“I’ll always love you and make you happy,
If you will only say the same.
But if you leave me and love another,
You’ll regret it all some day”
and:
“You told me once, dear, you really loved me
And no one else could come between.
But not you’ve left me and love another;
You have shattered all of my dreams”
finally:
“In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains.
So when you come back and make me happy
I’ll forgive you dear, I’ll take all the blame”
The first verse above really seems a bit controlling, and a tad threatening. The second verse, which is rather neutral (if a sad common lament) when standing alone, carries a greater hint of dark design when paired with verse one. The third verse sends a definite mixed message, not unlike messages commonly expressed by a manipulative, rigid person in a relationship.
So now whenever I hear this song, I now start meditating on relational psychopathology.
What say you?
And can anyone point me towards less morally debatable lyrics?
I don’t see it. It’s clear that he feels abandoned and betrayed, but that does not necessarily mean that he will take up stalking. The line about how she’ll “regret it all some day” could just mean that he thinks that they were meant to be together and that therefore she will never find true happiness with anyone else. He believes that she’ll eventually figure this out and regret having left him. Now, it might be pretty arrogant for him to believe that he is the only man who could make her happy, but that still doesn’t make him a stalker.
The last stanza, in which he says that he will forgive her and take all the blame does sound kind of insincere and passive-aggressive. But even if it’s not a recipe for a happy relationship, I still would place it in some category less pathological than stalking.
This is a guy who still has feelings for his ex and wants to get back together with her. That probably wouldn’t be a good idea since he still clearly resents her for ending the relationship. He is a little delusional if he doesn’t see that yet, but I still don’t see the song as threatening in the way that others seem to.
Heck, a lot of popular love songs don’t sound all that healthy. But those are not the lyrics I remember from when I was a small one. Is it possible that those were written for the movie, just to be somewhat slightly creepy?
I remember:
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you.
Please don’t take my sunshine away.
There’s another verse that I’ve heard, but I don’t remember any of it. It didn’t sound like any of those you posted, though.
Look at my link. It has all the lyrics, at least for the version in “O Brother”, including what you cited. But as we’re not supposed to post entire songs here, I just posted the ‘problem’ verses.
I like the tune, but have to agree with my “Q” brother that it does sound a bit creepy. What do we know of the author, or is it one of those “traditional” songs?
Those are the correct lyrics. It is a very sad and disturbing song, but I don’t think it’s stalker-ish. It’s even more disturbing to hear Gene Autry sing it.
BTW, “I’ll Be Watching You” is quite clearly about a stalker. There’s no mistaking that unless you just aren’t listening to the words. The fact that people play it at weddings is just, well icky, and totally inappropriate. At some divorces it would be appropriate.
Written by by Jimmie H. Davis and Charles Mitchell, 1931. Big hit 1940. I’ve found a lot of variant lyrics, but I’m not sure which were the original ones. They seem to have hewed pretty closely to the link in my OP except for the
“In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains.
So when you come back and make me happy
I’ll forgive you dear, I’ll take all the blame”
one which seems to be missing from that version. But it has the rest of them.
There’s some stuff about Louisiana and gumbo in some of the lyrics.
On this page, Davis is quoted as saying he “didn’t write it about anybody special”, and that he “believe[s] it was written after a rainy day in Louisiana like this. Sunshine is a welcome thing.” No deeper meaning is suggested – of course, none is denied, either.
As is noted on the site linked above, Davis served two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Louisiana, and You Are My Sunshine was adopted as Louisiana’s official state song in 1977, thirty-three years after it helped him win the governorship for the first time. Even before he had his biggest hit single, however, Davis had been politically active – he was elected Shreveport’s commissioner of public safety in 1938. He lived from 1899 to 2000, had a long recording career, and appeared in several films. Sounds as if his life itself provides plenty of fodder for an interesting movie.
I dunno; all I ever think of is that Muppet Show sketch. A random, Bert-looking Muppet sings the song, tremulously and slightly off-key, while Animal sets off dynamite charges.
You are my sunshine…
BOOM!
My only sunshine…
KA-BOOOOOM!
You make me happy…
BLAM!
When skies are gray…
BOOM! BAM! BLAST!
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Huge cloud, dust settles, then Bert-looking Muppet emerges from the rubble.
