In unrivalled poetic language, the Song of Songs explores the whole range of emotions experienced by its two lovers as they work out their commitment to each other, consummated in marriage. The Song's powerful and unabashed affirmation of love, loyalty and earthy sexuality is urgently relevant today, when commercialised eroticism is in, and permanency in relationships is out. Tom Gledhill argues that beauty, intimacy and sexual consummation are to be celebrated, but not as ends in themselves. Rather, the point to another world, another dimension, only occasionally and dimly perceived. God has chose the love of a man and a woman as an image of his own love of his people.

Uncovers the unexplored history of the love song, from the fertility rites of ancient cultures to the sexualized YouTube videos of the present day, and discusses such topics as censorship, the legacy of love songs, and why it is a dominant form of modern musical expression.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Grammy Award–nominated, platinum-selling musician Halsey is heralded as one of the most compelling voices of their generation. In I Would Leave Me If I Could, they reveal never-before-seen poetry of longing, love, and the nuances of bipolar disorder. In this debut collection, Halsey bares their soul. Bringing the same artistry found in their lyrics, Halsey’s poems delve into the highs and lows of doomed relationships, family ties, sexuality, and mental illness. More hand grenades than confessions, these autobiographical poems explore and dismantle conventional notions of what it means to be a feminist in search of power. Masterful as it is raw, passionate, and profound, I Would Leave Me If I Could signals the arrival of an essential voice. Book cover painting, American Woman, by the author.

The definitive collection of lyrics from three decades of songwriting. As a performer, songwriter, and actor, Will Oldham has carved a singular path through the worlds of indie folk and cinema. Now the critically acclaimed, enigmatic artist presents his life’s work: the lyrics to more than two hundred songs spanning the 1980s to the present, each with annotations that impart new meaning to his music. Oldham’s aphoristic meditations—on death, patience, and turning carelessness into a virtue—are, like his lyrics, profound, earthy, and often funny. They reveal flashes of Oldham’s philosophy, the sources and circumstances that inspired his lyrics, and the literary ambition of his songwriting. Separated from their aural form, Oldham’s lyrics become a new kind of poetry—candid, awkward, and wise—with influences as diverse as Rabindranath Tagore and The Mekons. A book that will delight his longtime fans and inspire young songwriters, Songs of Love and Horror reveals an artist who has captured extraordinary poetry in music despite being "a stranger among my own language."

This collection of intermediate piano solos is perfect for the romantic at heart. All of the pieces are lyrical, expressive, and absolutely beautiful! Titles: * Daydream * First Loss * A Heart Takes Flight * Lament * A Lovely Mood * Love Theme * Prairie Love * Simple Pleasures.