Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Listening to today's repeat program, the discussion about meanings of love - comparing English and Spanish - points out once again a rather sad inadequacy in English: the word "love" is compelled to stretch too far, tries to cover too much. I was reminded of an obscure-yet-favorite piece of music - one that might even be useful in the context of the show.

Back in the 70's, when Pop Art was still Pop Art, one of my musical heroes decided to create some musical Pop Art. Bob Dorough used the text from various everyday items - a parking ticket, a laundry receipt, a dunning letter from a collection agency - and created songs from them. The best of the lot was the dictionary definition of Love, taken right from Webster's.

Bob Dorough is one of those obscure song writers who has used his craft to do more for the English language than, perhaps, anyone else in the musical realm. Not only is he a wonderful wordsmith, he's a great teacher. He is the creator of the *School House Rock* songs that helped a generation or two have fun learning math and English.

It seems to me that these songs - or bits of them, at least, might sometimes make for some interesting punctuation between segments. I can point the way to recordings, if there is any interest.