{Note: The Madonna Timeline is an ongoing feature, where I put the iPod on shuffle and write a little anecdote on whatever was going on in my life when that Madonna song was released and/or came to prominence in my mind.}
The Queen of Pop’s very first official duet was fittingly with a man named Prince. At the time of the ‘Like A Prayer’ album’s release, Prince and Michael Jackson were probably the only two musical icons who could match Madonna’s own pop-culture stardom. Prince was a more avant-garde choice, and in the end more fitting. Michael was fine for arm candy at the Oscars, but for musical legacy and credibility, Prince was far more prolific. His quirky and unmistakable musical style was all over his duet with Madonna, entitled ‘Love Song’ in questionably stultifying fashion. As unimaginative as the title was, the song itself also fell a little short of expectations from two pop superstars arguably at their apex in 1989.
It begins with Madonna speaking coquettishly in French: “Je suis prête? Vous êtes prêt aussi?“
Are you wasting my time?
Are you just being kind?
Oh no baby
My love isn’t blind
Are you wasting my time?
Are you just being kind?
Don’t give me one of your lines
If it sounds slightly disjointed, as if the two aren’t quite connecting, that’s reportedly because they recorded their parts separately, somewhat diminishing the duet aspect of the whole affair, and wasn’t that the whole point? Still, it grows on you if you let it, and Madonna steps up to the Prince-like musical environment, almost making it her own.
Say what you mean, mean what you say
Don’t go and throw our love away
God strike me down if I did you wrong
This is not a love song
Are you just being kind? No
Am I losing my mind?
Losing your mind
Oh no baby… Yeah
Strangely enough, given their pop-culture status at the time, ‘Love Song’ didn’t make much of an impact or impression. That said, it actually fits in the kaleidoscopic/psychedelic 60’s undertone of the tapestry that was the ‘Like A Prayer’ album – Madonna and Prince melding their personae like patchouli and lavender – and it works well as an album-cut.
Are you wasting my time?
Wasting my time
Are you just being kind?
Oh no baby, my love isn’t blind
Are you wasting my time?
Time, time, time
Are you just being kind?
Don’t go give me one of your lines
While I was busy hiding the ‘Like A Prayer’ album in the back of my desk drawer out of Catholic fear and guilt, ‘Love Song’ and all the other brilliant album deep cuts (‘Til Death Do Us Part‘, ‘Promise to Try‘, ‘Dear Jessie‘ and ‘Pray for Spanish Eyes‘ to name a few) went unheard for a bit. It wasn’t until my super-fandom began in earnest around 1991 that I returned to the album and discovered ‘Love Song’ again.
Say what you mean, mean what you say
Don’t go and throw our love away
God strike me down if I did you wrong
This is not a love song
Ooh, are you just being kind?
What?
Am I losing my mind?
Don’t… Wait
There was muted genius here, and a brilliant foreshadowing of a classic line that would come into great prominence many years later:
Time goes by so slow for those who wait
And those who run seem to have all the fun
But am I wasting my time?
She’s so fine
Are you just being kind?
No
My high school life had settled into a bit of a funk by the time I came to the whole ‘Like A Prayer’ album, and the darkness that was part of that journey was a welcome companion. The push-and-pull ambivalence of this track did nothing to allay my concerns of romance at the time, or the mixed emotions that handsome men elicited in my hidden heart.
Don’t try to tell me what your enemies taught you
Show them now how I didn’t do you wrong
This is not a love song
Despite its spring 1989 release, the Like A Prayer’ album was speaking to me most pointedly in the desolate fall of 1991. In the way that music has of meaning and mattering the most during adolescence, ‘Love Song’ was part of my romantic formation, for better or worse. I wasn’t even infatuated with anyone at the moment, but I knew those days would come, and if Madonna and Prince were finding love to be so maddening, I wondered how the rest of us mere mortals would navigate it. I could easily wait to fall in love if that was the case.
Are you wasting my time?
Wasting my time
Are you just being kind?
Oh no baby, my love isn’t blind
Are you wasting my time?
Time, time, time
Are you just being kind?
Don’t go give me one of your lines
‘Love Song’ is the final song from ‘Like A Prayer’ to get the Madonna Timeline treatment (you’ll see its missing link here). It’s a reminder that time ticks on, and this timeline is in the winter of its seasonal lifespan. Enjoy each entry as we approach the end – and be reassured that with a new album on the way that end will be extended like only Madonna could.
Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide
That’s how I feel, Don’t fog my mind
Mean what you say or baby I am gone
This is not a love song
Don’t try to tell me what your enemies taught you
I’m gone but I just want you to know
That this is not a love song that I want to sing.
SONG #180: ‘LOVE SONG’ – 1991
