Fave song

So my kids accuse me of having "weird" musical taste. I listen to a LOT of different stuff. One of my favorite genres of all time is mid-1960's Jamaican Rock Steady and early Reggae. One of my favorite songs of all time is "Girl I've Got A Date" by the great Alton Ellis. At the time it was released this was a huge hit in Jamaica. Alton Ellis was bigger than Bob Marley in 1966. I LOVE the lyrics. To me this is a swinger song.

"Girl I've got a date
And I just mean, I can't stay late
All of my life and I've been warning you girl
And not just once or twice
Take this from me, I'm as free as the birds in the tree"

I've been listening to this song for a long time. First of all the bass line and the rhythm and the instrumental track are crucial! Alton Ellis' vocals sound sublime. It's a great vocal track by him. He's on top of his game. Then there are the lyrics. Who is the girl that he is singing to? It is his wife? His girlfriend? He's telling her that he's really excited about his date. He can't stay late. So I'm assuming she's his "primary" relationship? He's hanging out with her but he has to get ready to go out and see his other lady friend. But he'll be back.

He also says that he's warned her all of his life. He's made it perfectly clear that he just isn't a monogamous kind of guy. We have to assume she's OK with that. He's letting her know once again that he's going out for a night of fun.

Then he says he's as free as the birds in the tree. I love it! To me this song sounds joyous. It's a happy song. Life is good. What I also love about the song is that it only has three verses. They are almost identical, and the third verse is the same as the second verse. The Ramones could have written this one!

In the second verse there is the line

"All my, all of my life and I've been warning you girl
You just can't be my wife
Take this from me, I'm free as the birds in the tree"

I interpret this to say that he just can't be in a traditional monogamous relationship. This lady can't be his "wife" in the traditional sense. But he's with her singing this song right? It doesn't sound like a breakup song. He's not dumping her or dissing her. It doesn't sound like he's being cruel to her. He's just telling her how it is. He has a date and he's excited about it and he's reminding her that this is the way their relationship is.

The reason I bring this up is that I've had this song in my head the past few days because I have a date this coming Friday. I can't wait! It's with one of my favorite lady friends for some one on one fun. We were going to meet a few weeks ago and things didn't work out so I'm really looking forward to seeing her again. It's been a while. Maria knows all about and she knows that I can't stay late at home that day. I'll be heading out. She knows that "I'm as free as the birds in the tree" and she's totally fine with that at this point. She is as well! She also knows that at the end of the night I'll be home and sleeping next to her. Meanwhile, all week long this song will be in my head...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzthjJI9Xg