Valentine’s Love Songs: The Enduring Appeal of the One and Only Robyn Hitchcock

A short post, courtesy of a friend’s request to “explain the appeal of Robyn Hitchcock.”

We listened to a livestream concert together and he’s baffled that this is my daily writing music, for a dark academia novel-jeremiad.

My fixation is so profound that I can’t work on this project without the accompaniment of RH, courtesy of my very good noise-cancelling headphones, because no one else can be expected to tolerate this much Hitchcock, at work or at home.

And the same was true of the last mystery novel I drafted, although I focused on a very specific playlist of “My Wife and My Dead Wife” and a handful of other spooky-gothic tunes. “Raymond Chandler Evening,” always. “Ghost Ship” and “The Ghost in You.” “Eerie Green Storm Lantern.”

For my money, Robyn Hitchcock is one of the great poet-lyricists of our time, and he’s written some gorgeous love songs:

“So You Think You’re in Love“

“Love“

“Winter Love“

And my personal favourite, “I Used to Say I Love You.” This is a love song like Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” is a love poem, which is to say: more elegy than romance.

Hitchcock also writes love songs to inanimate objects (cheese, televisions) and to animals (cats, crustaceans). He’s a bit indiscriminate in his affections.

But his concerts-from-home are a total delight: highly recommend. His shirts are glorious, although my efforts to garb people in RH-inspired floral prints have been spurned.

And Robyn Hitchcock’s partner-in-crime, singer Emma Swift, keeps him in check during their live joint performances.

He’s been on the west coast this past week, Seattle and Portland and not a Canadian date here in sight.

So I’ve sent in a plea. It would be nice to celebrate next Valentine’s in Robyn H.’s company.