I must write about this tune, said the insistent small voice as if a small version of my younger self sat on my shoulder. The Cutting Crew tune came over the radio as I made my way before sunrise to the Geneva Starbucks neighborhood. There is something about this tune, the keyboard runs which are simultaneously bright and dark, and a lyric that suggests the jeopardy entailed with male and female interaction. 

To be alive is to be at risk. In fact the exhilaration of touching someone different from oneself (difference in more ways that one can know), is offset by the frustration, the disappointment of the revelation that “she” is unprepared/unwilling/not ready “to give and take,” – she’s loving by proxy.  The narrator laments his loss recognizing nothing other than his fantasy was filtering, editing out what he could not notice about his partner. In fairness it must be said that the same story told from the females perspective likely would be similar.

The beating heart of life is conflict. The ancient Greeks knew this very well.  Perhaps I will read Homer’s Iliad soon.  What better reminder!?

(I Just) Died in Your Arms

By Cutting Crew

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must have been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight

I keep lookin’ for somethin’ I can’t get
Broken hearts lie all around me
And I don’t see an easy way to get out of this
Her diary, it sits by the bedside table
The curtains are closed, the cats in the cradle
Who would’ve thought that a boy like me could come to this

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been some kind of kiss
I should’ve walked away
I should’ve walked away

Is there any just cause for feelin’ like this?
On the surface, I’m a name on a list
I try to be discreet, but then blow it again
I’ve lost and found, it’s my final mistake
She’s loving by proxy, no give and all take
‘Cause I’ve been thrilled to fantasy one too many times

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight
Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been some kind of kiss
I should’ve walked away
I should’ve walked away

It was a long hot night
She made it easy, she made it feel right
But now it’s over, the moment has gone
I followed my hands not my head, I know I was wrong

Oh I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been something you said
I just died in your arms tonight
I, I just died in your arms tonight
It must’ve been some kind of kiss
I should’ve walked away
I should’ve walked away

Songwriters: Nicholas Eede