Grenade, or, WTF Were You Thinking When You Wrote That?

I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya

I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for you, baby
But you won't do the same

"Grenade"  -  Bruno Mars

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I just heard this song again while I was driving home, and I was struck anew with how much it annoys me.  It was popular as a new song when I went to San Francisco, and I remember standing on Pier 39 in the rain listening to it booming through the outdoor speakers thinking how totally asinine the lyrics are.  I try not to be overly judgmental about songs.  I mean everybody likes different things, and I try to respect that.  There's an audience out there for everything, and I know that my own tastes aren't bread-and-butter for all people.  That being said, there's just something about this song that pushes all my buttons one after the other.

I think it's the over-the-top-ness of it.  It's a bit of the old "the lady doth protest too much" for me. I am all for profound expressions of love, for deep and heartfelt commitment, but despite the intention to express that here, somehow, it doesn't come through.  Instead, what I hear is something petulant and immature.  I get Romeo and Juliet love instead, all extreme, all impulse. I hear, "Hey!  I'm showing how wonderful I am!  Aren't you watching?"  There is nothing here that is about endurance or survival.  Instead, this is all about sort of a glorious blowout finale that is supposed to serve as proof of love.  

What about proving that you love someone by sticking out the bad times?  What about proving that you love someone by simply picking up the phone and making a call when you know they need to hear your voice?  By going to the grocery store when they're sick?  By taking care of the daily grind instead of elevating the drama or waiting for the disaster movie?  Is this guy going to be there for that?  I think not.  I don't think he's got the stones for it, personally.  That is the real test of a man, and the point at which all too many fall away, unable to have real courage.

So, really, I guess, I don't want to hear any more of these "romance" songs with swords waving.  I think, gentlemen, that if a woman is asking you to "throw [your] hand on a blade for [her]," you might want to check that out a little more closely before you make a long-term commitment, too, but you know, hey, whatever works for you, personally.  Not my business.  I'm still on the lookout for somebody with that true daily courage myself, not courage to die like a drama queen, but the courage to live like a real man.