This week Jim Adams, our host of Song Lyric Sunday, has handed the prompt reins to fellow blogger Angie from the blog King Ben’s Grandma, She has given us “Sweet, Honey, Sugar, Candy and Chocolate”, Plenty of songs out there to fit today’s theme. I have picked Sweet Love by Anita Baker. A personal favorite from the 80s.
The Song
“Sweet Love” is a song by American R&B singer and songwriter Anita Baker from her second studio album, Rapture (1986). It was written by Anita Baker, Louis A. Johnson, and Gary Bias, and produced by Michael J. Powell. It was released in July 1986, as the album’s first single.
The song was Baker’s first big hit single, peaking at number two on the US Billboard R&B chart, number three on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1986. In the UK, it reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 21 on Canada’s Top Singles chart.
“Sweet Love” won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards (1987).
Daryl Easlea of the BBC said that Baker’s voice “rings like a bell”, and that “Sweet Love” is one of the three most memorable tracks on Rapture. He felt that the lyrics might have sounded trite if sung by a different artist, but that Baker imbued them with “so much passion and wonderment” that they sound like “old love sonnets” brought back to life.
Baker won two Grammys at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards (1987). “Sweet Love” was selected as Best R&B Song, earning her (along with Gary Bias and Louis Johnson) a songwriting award. Also, the album containing this song, Rapture, won in the category Best Female R&B Vocal performance.
In a moon punctured velvety sky
The stars shone like bright lights
Glinting through pinholes reminiscent of
A thousand and one Arabian nights
A backdrop dramatic in its splendor
Showcasing the beauty of nature’s jewels
She reclined on a blanket of leaves
Her eyes drawing him into her limpid pools
The young and petulant girl had matured
She was now beautiful and seductive
Contrarily he remained socially awkward
Heuristic in his approach and still selective
Her infinite beauty was breathtaking
He felt rooted in the earth
A feeling of inadequacy consumed him
As he suffered in his dearth
She enthralled him on the forest floor
Devouring his manhood as she wished
Helpless in his efforts to dissuade her
Laying still until completely ravished
They lay holding each other tight
As if the other might disappear
Clinging to the sweet memory of love
Staring up at the celestial sphere
She was everything he had dreamed of
Although his superstition had given him fear
She elegantly propped herself on one elbow
And said, “Did you bring any beer?”
