a casual look
for trudy wells & the six teens
lyrics from “a casual look” by
ed wells (1956)
lyrics from “a casual look” by
ed wells (1956)
in an age of innocence where happily ever after
began with an idyllic wedding walk down the aisle
just days before a conscripted groom shipped out
overseas, i raptly listened, my eyes bulging with pulsing
heart-shaped pupils, to trudy wells, barely a teen
herself, as she fronted five other teens to sing:
a casual look, a little ring, can reveal just what u think…trudy’s girlish voice fleshed out my simple love;
painted the self-coherent, internally consistent setting
along with all those do-do-do-do-do-do-do-dos, for my
acting out hormones to play at love. i could be her
unshy soldier guy with the frozen face; i could
practice what would become a lifetime of begging:
darling can’t u see that i’m going overseasmy romantic fantasy lay hidden in that voice; leaked
for two, three, four years, don’t know how long its
gonna be …
out into my real world through that simple lyric,
opened up the timeless for me to step into & stay
there. but my real affairs & numerous nuptials,
which began sweet & innocent enough, more often
than not ended in trouble, heartaches & pain.
& just to think all it tookthere were no songs to tell me that openings were temp-
was a casual look…
orary, that fantasy could neither balance love & need nor
even hint of the impossible selfwork involved in making
a relationship last. like a man trying to relive his first
coital release, i’ve spent the goodly part of my life trying
to reprise the thousand delights cloaked in a casual look.
© Joseph McNair; 2009
Trudy Wells, that was the lead's name on this song, wasn't it? This was one of tunes that stay with you for a lifetime.
ReplyDeletei know! i fell in love with that voice & the face i imagined it came from
ReplyDeleteLove can bring delightful moments, the same as it can bring difficult times. When the heart is in love, it flies away, dreaming without limits about the loved one, until disappointments appear and tear the magic down. It is very common to see it in marriage: the couple experiences this delight of being together and share great moments. This is usually the period before getting married and at the beginning of marriage. But there is a time when things start to change. The romantic relationship turns to monotony and the partners behave in a different way that can be harmful for each other. However, relationships are an opportunity to learn from ourselves and a chance to grow in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows how young love or love on a whole behaves. Whenever it gets a hold of you your mind doesnt think, it is only your heart that tells you what to do. It is a great experience for each person in this world to fall in love .
ReplyDeleteA concept I understand now, with age. But something I had no interest in as an adolescent. A Casual Look is a piece I can relate to now, having partaken in it and witnessed it amongst others. An act so simple, but bearing so much more than a causality to it. As adolescents we don’t realize the weight in our gaze. It is much more than a look. It offers a frank look into the eyes of someone who adores you, who pleas with you, who can see a future with you. I have come to realize that there is no such thing as a causal look, unless it’s a quick gaze into the face of someone you couldn’t help look at, whether it was there good looks that attracted you to them or not. A casual look amongst interested parties loses all casual feel to it. Like when you are across the room, and feel an odd sensation, a sort of tension running through your body, and when you look into the direction of that feeling you realize someone casually looking in your direction. There is nothing left to do but look back, and through that look express what it is that you are feeling. Discomfort will make you shift in your seat, and probably move. Interest will open you up, and make you turn to face your suitor, like a flower turning to face the sun, open, ready, and willing. Where this look will take you only time will tell. But only children start off with an innocent gaze. As we age, so does our gaze, and when a casual look is exchanged, well, like the song says “it can reveal just what you think.”
ReplyDeleteListening to the song and reading the deep words of thought about how at a young innocent time in life that we feel that "LOVE". Taking me back to “memory lane” when I once thought so much of a guy just by a simple casual look, My mind running wild and thinking, imagining of all the things that I would want to say, share, and do to this guy at the time...Just a casual look...Deep feelings feeling so high like I’m floating and there’s no one around me but that guy... I assume automatically that the guy is feeling the same way...But turns out... It’s not that serious to him just a hi and by. As I am an adult I can reflect on those tender youth moments when I would sit back and plan a future with the guy that I saw and just knew it was a sure thing. But now I’m an adult and I’m now more knowledgeable about jumping the gun with the first bullet.
ReplyDeleteThe casual look of a 'puppy love',or one who is the simplest of any woman,or man. As love knows no color, or race,its the means of anyone who finds their crush attractive,yet it can be a casual look in the person's eyes.Many are quick to judge today on the "look of perfection",but there is no such thing as the perfect-look,or image,but only the casual look of a person in love.
ReplyDeleteProfessor McNair,
ReplyDeletePuppy dog love is a beautiful feeling and definitely an adrenaline rush. However, call me cynical, but lust is lust, and true, long-lasting relationships take an incredible amount of work and effort. I wish fairy-tale love actually existed, but in today'scontemporary society, divorces far outnumber happy,fulfilling marraiges. Some of my favorite memories as a child are of innocent crushes and "casual looks." Those beautiful experiences can become the foundation of learning how to succeed in love and relationships with others in general. I still have many of my childhood "love" notes, and look at them fondly from time to time, wishing it could still be that simple.
Is it love at first sight? A casual look could bring much detriment depending on the end you stand. For the receiver it’s that twitch that you feel by just that look. But to the giver the meaning could be a lot, I love you, or I love you not. It was a thing in those days to fall in love at first sight by just a casual look. Needless to say many made commitment that some time ruins their lives or some live happily ever after (yea right) there is no such thing. ‘Teeth and tongue must meet’:-)
ReplyDeleteIs it love at first sight? A casual look could bring much detriment depending on the end you stand. For the receiver it’s that twitch that you feel by just that look. But to the giver the meaning could be a lot, I love you, or I love you not. It was a thing in those days to fall in love at first sight by just a casual look. Needless to say many made commitment that some time ruins their lives or some live happily ever after (yea right) there is no such thing. ‘Teeth and tongue must meet’:-)
ReplyDeleteThis piece discusses Trudy Wells and how her voice and words in the song a “Casual Look” helped you relate so well to the many encounters you had with puppy love, and how they all simply started with a glance. Even though puppy loves usually ends with what we think is the most devastating heartbreak at that time, I think that those experiences are essential for everyone to endure and be able to look back on those moments and think “oh I was really that young and naive once?” Puppy love is all a part of growing and learning, so when the real thing comes along you’ll be able to take a casual look and now you’ve found it.
ReplyDeleteI cant imagine that women believed happily ever after began with a wedding, and then her husband goes overseas for their country. That was the life of many women in that era.
ReplyDeleteA casual look is what most realtionships begin with unless it’s done electronically. Many songs lead their fans to believe that after the casual look, comes love, then comes marriage and a life that is happily ever after. Songs tend to indicate that love is like a fairy tale. That is partially true. I am thankful that many songs I am starting to hear on the radio bluntly discuss the work that is involved in a relationship. There are also some songs that I hear now that convey the same message as trudy wells & the six teens. Casual look can end up being a catastrophe , and even a casual look can turn into happily ever after.