Monday, 2 May 2011

Love and Marriage

I know that 'Royal Wedding' fever has been trumped by 'Osama is Dead' fever but I've always been a fashionably late sort of person. And what has got me thinking about it again is that just yesterday my girlfriend started humming 'Love and Marriage' by Frank Sinatra.

For those who are unfamiliar with the song, each verse begins with the lyric:

"Love and marriage, love and marriage, they go together like a horse and carriage"


Now I started thinking about what this simile means. I'm assuming that in the analogy, love is the horse, and marriage is the carriage, because love carries the marriage along, not the other way around. What struck me, though, is that a horse and carriage is actually quite a perverse juxtaposition of nature with man-made, and frankly, the horse gets nothing out of the arrangement; and infact would be far happier were it not burdened with the additional weight.

I think Frank's analogy begins to really break down when you consider that some carriages require more than one horse... so perhaps this equates to a man having a mistress on the side. And also if the horse dies, the carriage is still perfectly usable with another horse; whilst if the love dies, a marriage falls flat on its backside.
Similarly, if a wheel falls off a carriage, there is no need to shoot the horse.

So, maybe it was a crappy comparison in the first place, or maybe I have destroyed the foundations of the institution of marriage. What do you think?
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55 comments:

  1. Mysterious Stranger2 May 2011 at 08:27

    Lol. You might've taken the analogy a little too far and Love and Marriage reminds me of Married with Childern. You might have destroyed the institution of marriage.

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  2. Anonymous2 May 2011 at 08:28

    Great analysis of the song

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  3. choikesta2 May 2011 at 08:50

    Lol great post

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  4. Max Redgrave2 May 2011 at 10:25

    The Horse and Buggy will be forever trumped by the teleporter.

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  5. mindlessfrk2 May 2011 at 10:33

    When I think about marriage, I think about the good things that come after, and try to forget the bad ones :D

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  6. Bob Ross Afro Blog2 May 2011 at 10:33

    You're thinking too hard about it.. LOL

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  7. philmin92 May 2011 at 10:39

    I think it's the perfect analogy for marriage. It's always fun to be in one, but the ride can sometimes be a little bumpy.

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  8. Andy Stockdale2 May 2011 at 10:46

    i like how much youve broken this down, one learns more by looking deeper into life! followed!

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  9. baka12362 May 2011 at 11:04

    @mysterious the married with children theme song was playing in my head when i saw the picture

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  10. Unknown2 May 2011 at 11:25

    haha love it!

    +1

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  11. Anonymous2 May 2011 at 12:16

    lol nice

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  12. Arpz2 May 2011 at 12:17

    I admire your spirit and the fact that you haven't jumped on the Osama bandwagon, refreshing to read something a little different today, as for what you're saying... Like the others, I'm going to echo them and say that maybe you're thinking about it a little too much :p

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  13. Anonymous2 May 2011 at 12:29

    @baka1236
    I was thinking the same thing.

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  14. Magazinci2 May 2011 at 12:42

    i m in opposite of it.

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  15. Spartan0942 May 2011 at 13:17

    Very insightful thinking. Now I can never enjoy that song again. :)

    Also, America, F Yeah.

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  16. sp3nny2 May 2011 at 13:21

    nice horse!

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  17. PackScoot2 May 2011 at 13:42

    Ahaha i love sp3nnys comment, offtopic and brilliant!
    I'm happy to read something not about Osama, very interesting peice about similies, great read! :)

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  18. FunkyDuckman2 May 2011 at 14:54

    Never really thought of it like that. I do enjoy the song, a lot. Though it does stir up thoughts of "Married... with Children"

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  19. Jesse Crows2 May 2011 at 15:13

    touching!

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  20. King Elysium2 May 2011 at 15:55

    I dont see the big deal about the royal wedding tbh

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  21. Dav0h3 May 2011 at 01:15

    Thought a little to far into it lol but you do have a point!

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  22. Lucifer3 May 2011 at 02:18

    Marriage is an obsolete institution. Now it's just to show all your friends and relatives that you're going to stay together. :/
    In Croatia, when you have a child, paperwork is much easier if you're married.

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  23. Michael3 May 2011 at 02:54

    Uhhh wow, that marriage was a real stretch.

    I believe a wedding and marriage are almost necessary to celebrate what is a very happy occasion, and to many women the happiest of their lives.

    Give them their day, and they will hold it very dear.

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  24. Michael3 May 2011 at 02:54

    EDIT: Marriage 'analogy' I had meant

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  25. mindph3 May 2011 at 03:02

    When I hear the first steps of this song I instantly see Al Bundy in my mind :D
    This got me really affected hehe

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  26. lasewun3 May 2011 at 03:28

    How much do you think they spent on the royal wedding?

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  27. Armagedda3 May 2011 at 03:39

    No, no I think it's a great analagy mate and the foundations of the institution of marriage are still indeed intact.

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  28. Anonymous3 May 2011 at 03:58

    Always wanted to have a personal horse and carriage, slow going though.

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  29. Chriz3 May 2011 at 04:11

    not interrested in the royal

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  30. Bob3 May 2011 at 05:09

    @Iasewen I think it was like 70 million, and up to like 32 million to tax payers or something. Anyways, great writeup.

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  31. Pappa Püllï3 May 2011 at 06:50

    I love this post! Keep it up =D

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  32. b43 May 2011 at 07:06

    Personal horse, it sounds good :)

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  33. Anonymous3 May 2011 at 08:21

    I think he never thought about it like that

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  34. Simon black3 May 2011 at 08:41

    Never thought about that, but on the other hand i dont really get the big deal about the weadding in the first place.

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  35. Cyl Yoann3 May 2011 at 09:24

    Yeah weeding is a nice thing ! love love love !

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  36. SeniorGato3 May 2011 at 11:07

    meh... the paparazzi will probably get her killed too.

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  37. Dejch3 May 2011 at 11:12

    Does that still exist?

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  38. Lealeepo3 May 2011 at 11:26

    We see that you are very interested in this issue. You are scaring me a little bit. Don't want to think about marriage now i'am still so young ...

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  39. Blacher3 May 2011 at 11:35

    ahhahahah

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  40. Dootzkie3 May 2011 at 11:47

    The second I saw the title I started singing the "Married with children" theme :D

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  41. Mindy3 May 2011 at 12:38

    interesting analysis. It's true that marriage isn't always as fairy tale like as people portray it. I like the way you think!

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  42. Ketomaster3 May 2011 at 13:10

    I think they're trying to say that a marriage (carriage) can't function at all without a horse (love). Also, I thought metaphors were the ones that use the word "like"?

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  43. TheJackKelly983 May 2011 at 13:14

    I have to agree

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  44. Marc D3 May 2011 at 13:40

    Haha great post!

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  45. Anonymous3 May 2011 at 13:42

    bytheway, thanks alot, because of you the song is stuck in my head :D

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  46. brn3 May 2011 at 13:54

    ahahahah you're funny

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  47. Toto3 May 2011 at 14:34

    funny stuff!
    followed!

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  48. lasewun3 May 2011 at 15:01

    Tbh royals don't really do much these days, don't have much sway.

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  49. Maquina3 May 2011 at 15:03

    Marriage for love is crap anyway. It was accepted just recently no longer than 500yrs ago.

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  50. Ante Babaja3 May 2011 at 15:10

    nice analysis :D

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  51. psychpost4 May 2011 at 04:32

    oh wow, mind kinda blown away

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  52. Anonymous4 May 2011 at 10:15

    haha, that caption is funny :D

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  53. DubbaDeeDoo4 May 2011 at 17:22

    You've made a brilliant point there, Nom. The way you flip things into a whole new perspective is really crazy... I would've never have thought of it like that. While we're on the topic of marriage, I would like to raise the question, why does love seem to not have enough legitimacy until marriage hits, well, at least under society's standards. Can't two people just love each other for the rest of their lives without it? Nontraditional, yes. Unethical? I highly disagree. Just something that came across my mind.

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  54. ThirtySeven4 May 2011 at 21:27

    Over-analysis, lol.
    Now... Which one is the horse, the man or the woman?

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  55. pixel9 May 2011 at 20:38

    makes me think of married with children, i have been watching that show on late night lately

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