"Lies" by Stan Rogers...

To me, it is one of the few songs that talks about real, lasting love, rather than the first heady infatuations which are the subject of most songs about "love". For those not already familiar with it, it starts with the thoughts of a woman who has been married many years and is noticing all her wrinkles, wishing her mirror would "tell her lies". Then in the last verse, she looks forward to dancing "at the Legion" with her husband on Friday, and we have possibly my favorite lines of all time:

    And thinks ahead to Friday, 'cause Friday will be fine!
    She'll look up in that weathered face that loves hers, line for line
    To see that maiden shining in his eyes
    And laugh at how her mirror tells her lies

It is such a moving song, it took me months before I could sing it without getting all choked up at the end. And the way he manages to so skilfully twist the meaning of "lies" in that last line - simply fills me with admiration (not to mention envy).

That would be enough in & of itself, but the simple, effective words and phrases used in the whole song are a model of what a good song should be - no wasted words. The tune's not bad either. ;-)

This is not Rogers' only masterpiece, of course - I think many of his songs will still be sung a few hundred years from now - but it's my favorite. I have sung it at friends'/family weddings, and asked a friend to sing it at my wedding. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

If you want to see all the lyrics, click here.

Cheers,

YY