I don't know how long it took me to figure out that this song must have been written by a man, though its most famous version was sung by Linda Ronstadt. It fits the male stereotype of the time* - in fact of all recent times until just after this was popular. Women trying to secure promises and commitments from men and men trying to elude them was a common theme of novels, plays, and folk songs.
Yes, and I ain't sayin' you ain't pretty
All I'm sayin' 's I'm not ready
For any person, place, or thing to try and pull the reins in on me
So yeah, it was a man who wrote it. Michael Nesmith, later of the Monkees, in 1964.
*I was on the other end of that spectrum in the 70s, actively seeking serious relationships, but choosing girls who went on to marry late or never. They were ahead of their time, I suppose, but I was rescued by Tracy, who found some reason to accept my suit.
3 comments:
Pretty sure that should be "reins," not "rains."
Yup. Fixed.
Yes, it always sounded weird when she sang that bit. "Pretty?" I seem to recall (strangely enough, given my environments at the time), that I heard the original first.
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