The Story Behind “Love at First Sight”
“In our search to love and be loved romantically or otherwise, we should know that we are already deeply loved by God.”
“Love at First Sight,” is an original song I wrote that explores the desire and longing to love and be loved. I started writing it at an emotionally vulnerable time in my life. I was fresh from a break-up. I had also just finished my Ph.D. What should’ve been a time of celebrating a personal and professional milestone, was clouded by a broken heart. I hadn’t anticipated having to navigate post-graduate life alone. There was an emptiness inside me that I knew only love could fill and a deep wound that I knew only love could heal. I was eager to replace love-lost with new love. It is said that time heals wounds, but I didn’t want to wait. In the midst of this challenging season, my song was born.
While most of the song expresses the desire for love, the last part of the song is an affirmation. In our search to love and be loved romantically or otherwise, we are already deeply loved by God. It might not be the romantic kind of love we are searching for, but its a love that is real. We might love because of how we feel, but God loves because its who he is. And his love for us is a love at first sight kind of love. The moment he first laid eyes on us, or rather created us, he loved us. And it wasn’t a momentary fall in and out kind of love, but a love that sustains and lasts. I didn’t quite fully feel or believe that at the time when I first started writing this song, but I desperately wanted to.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about my song is the songwriting journey I’ve taken to write and share it. I started writing the song when I was single, fresh from a breakup, and newly graduated. And, I recently finished the lyrics to the song at a completely different stage in my life: I’m a wife and mom of two boys. The song has come full circle and is bookended by two very different seasons of my life. A break-up may have inspired it, but love and new life helped me finish it. I recently submitted the song to the NPR Tiny Desk Contest. Stay tuned!
Song Lyrics:
Verse 1:
How many days does it take, to fall in love?
I gave you a card and you gave me a hug.
I signed my email best and you signed your warmly.
Verse 2:
How many roads must I take till I find love?
I turned on the radio heard your favorite song
I called just to tell you, and you told me thank you.
Pre-Chorus:
But how do I know just how I feel?
How do I know if this is real?
I don’t know, but its how I feel.
Maybe it’ll come and go
I guess you can tell that I’m emotional
Chorus:
I just want someone
Someone who loves me
It don’t take that much time
To know that you love
To know that you care
Could it be love at first sight?
I wanna believe in love at first sight.
Is it really love at first sight?
Ending:
But/now I know someone
Who tells me he loves me
He said when I first saw you
I knew that I loved you
I knew that I cared
I said how did you know just how you felt?
How did you know that this is real?
He said I know
Cuz its who I am
Maybe you will come and go
But please don’t leave cuz I’m emotional.
It’s who I am.
