Love Ain't For Keeping

I was first attracted by the title of this song “Love Ain’t for Keeping” because it sounded different from most pop songs. I Interpreted it as, you can’t imprison love, hold on to it as if it’s a possession. Love, when it appears to exist, is something intangible, wispy, ephemeral, transient, like all feelings. A sentiment that seems to correspond to reality more than the excessively romantic and unrealistic idea that love is forever, something that you find in most pop songs.

However, something didn’t make sense in the song. So being curious about other people’s experiences, words and ideas, I looked carefully at the lyrics especially the main refrain “lay down beside me, love ain’t for keeping”. I then realised that the singer means that love is not meant to be kept hidden inside your heart or head, but should be expressed to the other person. Very true, if the feeling is reciprocal...