The Love Song
by k-os

Album: Joyful Rebellion (2004)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • K-os appears to be sending mixed messages on this track, where he contradicts the title by stating, "This is not a love song, it's a sonnet."

    In his Songfacts interview, he explained: "When you're a hip-hop nerd or a musical nerd, your relationship is with the music. That's why 'The Love Song' says, 'This is not a love song, it's a sonnet,' in the sense of it's more about the poetry. In other words, this is some poetry, and that's my love song. The love is about the art and the poetry."
  • The chorus line, "Don't get high off your own supply" comes from the movie Scarface, where it serves as a warning to drug dealers. In the context of this song, it is about hubris, relating to the next line, "Someone said first before a fall comes pride."
  • In this song, k-os struggles with the idea of depending on another person for inspiration, as he doesn't want his art to hinge on falling in or out of love. "That's also a very unnatural way to look at art, because most art is inspired by love," he told us. "A big part of why you get into music is because you are weird, and no girls really like you. So you go to your bedroom and retire and you try to come up with something that's going to ease your pain, or at least get you a girl to like you. If you deny that, then you're denying some of the core reasons why people get into music."
  • The music video switches between an Old West and a Far East theme. K-os directed the clip with his frequent collaborator, Micah J. Meisner.

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