"Love Hurts"

I have never cared for talking about my personal life in this blog, but right now I just feel the need to express my feelings. I cannot say I have been happy for the past several weeks. The truth be told, I have to wonder if I will ever be happy again. And it is not hard for me to find the reason why. I suppose that many, if not most, people reach a point in their life when they know what they want. And I suppose that it is all too often, once they have found what they want from life, that they find their hopes and dreams have come crashing down around them. That is where I am at right now. For the past few years I have had one hope and dream, one that is dearest to me, one that I would sacrifice all my other hopes and dreams for it to come true. Now it looks as if it might never come true. And there is nothing else that can take its place. Or perhaps I should say, no one else...

Indeed, it seems that among my "theme songs" now number the song "Love Hurts." It was written by husband and wife songwriting team Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, who were responsible for many of the hits produced by both the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. Both Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers recorded "Love Hurts." And in both cases the song was treated with a light touch, with a bit of humour. Even though both Roy Orbison and the Everlys had produced their fair share of heartbroken ballads (indeed, it was Orbison's forte), "Love Hurts" was performed with tongue strictly in cheek. This would not be the case for Scottish heavy metal band Nazareth, who remade the song in 1976 for their album Hair of the Dog. They took a song that had been treated lightly and turned it into one of the saddest, most tragic power ballads of all time. Indeed, it would become Nazareth's biggest hit and the best known version of the song. So, here it is, Nazareth's "Love Hurts."

"Love Hurts" by Nazareth