Perfect Love

Album: Marc Cohn (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song tells the story of a couple whose love sustains them while the world changes around them. While it affirms Cohn's faith in love, it also reflects his beliefs that America is headed downhill socially and politically. In his 1992 interview with Q magazine, he explained that his favorite lyrics on the album are: "They worked one summer together/at the '64 World's Fair, They met Robert Kennedy there/ Well that was right before the fall." Said Cohn: "That's the season and the Fall with a capital 'F'. It's about my brother and his wife. It was a love story happening when America was falling apart at the seams. The assassinations, Vietnam, the race riots. Even when you were six or seven you felt it. To me now those people dying, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, was the beginning of the end for America. The first thing that opened my eyes about where America was going was when I was 13 and I campaigned for George McGovern. I went to this shopping mall outside Cleveland collecting money - and I got spat on. Just a kid and they spat on me! It's been a long time since there's been anybody who I've felt has spoken to me on any kind of level at all, politically, socially. That's very scary. It's strange such a young country should feel so old with the people we have coming in and out of office."
  • Why are the couple in this song hearing voices singing "it's a small world after all?" Because the popular Disney song "It's A Small World" was written for the 1964 World's Fair. And you know it's impossible to get that song out of your head once it burrows in.

Comments: 1

  • Volker from Hamburg"Loosely based on the arc of the love affair between one of my older brothers and his wife. The song follows them from Shaker Lake (in Cleveland where my family is from) to Rockaway Beach (where my sister-in-law grew up) to the '64 Worlds Fair (they really DID meet Robert Kennedy there), all the way to an autumnal country lane... somewhere in New England let's say." Marc Cohn on Facebook
see more comments

Editor's Picks

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.