From E-Hell Blog: Do People Listen To The Lyrics?

[DannysGirl]

How about "Never Before and Never Again" from the Muppet Movie?  Another cute one.

You're right.  Definitely a good choice!

[hobish]

I've always been amused at the inappropriate songs that are played during the reception (NOT the wedding ceremony).

I've heard:

I Will Survive
It's Raining Men
Paradise by the Dashboard Light

And a bilingual bonus: Often they'll play a song in Hebrew called "Od Lo Ahavti Dai" -- which is about how the singer isn't ready to get married because they haven't loved enough women.

I don't have a problem with that. Not every single song at a reception has to be about how amazing love is and happily ever after, etc.

[Kendo_Bunny]

My best friend left the church to the haunting strains of 'Theme from Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. I plan to use that for my recessional.

And as a joke, she and I switched the CD's at the rehearsal dinner, so she walked down the aisle the first time to 'Foxy Lady'. Nothing says love like some Hendrix!

[Hushabye]

I've always been amused at the inappropriate songs that are played during the reception (NOT the wedding ceremony).

I've heard:

I Will Survive
It's Raining Men
Paradise by the Dashboard Light

And a bilingual bonus: Often they'll play a song in Hebrew called "Od Lo Ahavti Dai" -- which is about how the singer isn't ready to get married because they haven't loved enough women.

I don't have a problem with that. Not every single song at a reception has to be about how amazing love is and happily ever after, etc.

I'm with hobish on this one.  Those are just good songs to dance to and have a good time, which is what I would want a reception to be, personally.  Now, having them for a first dance song or something that's supposed to be all about the couple might be a little weird, but just for the dancing?  Sounds like fun!

[BeagleMommy]

DH and I wanted "If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot because that's what we went to see on our first date.  The band we had hired a) didn't know the song; b) couldn't find the sheet music and c) didn't have a singer with a good enough voice to carry it off.

We had "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago as our first dance.  Don't laugh, it was the 80s. 

[claddagh lass]

I can't remember the title but it's a song about having a bad infection in the body and being in constant and terrible physical pain.

That got some interesting looks.

[rashea]

My sister and brother in law went with "I need you" which is great, except it starts with a section that makes it sound like it's about addiction. That and "I need you/ like a needle needs a vein" is an odd sentiment for most people. But it works for them (she's an ER nurse and he's an EMT).

[Snowy Owl]

I've always been amused at the inappropriate songs that are played during the reception (NOT the wedding ceremony).

I've heard:

I Will Survive
It's Raining Men
Paradise by the Dashboard Light

I don't have a problem with that. Not every single song at a reception has to be about how amazing love is and happily ever after, etc.

Agreed, I don't think I've been to a wedding reception that didn't have "It's Raining Men" during the reception. I think if you stuck to love songs during the reception, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. 

[purplemuse]

We had "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago as our first dance.  Don't laugh, it was the 80s. 

I love that song!

[WolfWay]

I'm fine with a couple picking a song that has meaning to them (My DH and I both LOVE the Naked Gun movies.  We originally wanted our first dance to be "Ding Dong, the witch is dead," but as my aunt had died not too long before our wedding, I was afraid it would have looked so inappropriate!).

But yeah, I think a lot of songs are picked because they have words like 'wedding' or 'love' in the titles, and it's just weird.

I remember reading somewhere that Love Fool by the Cardigans was a popular choice. Have they listened to the lyrics? At all?

Dear, I fear we're facing a problem
You love me no longer, I know
And maybe there is nothing
That I can do to make you do
Mama tells me I shouldn't bother
That I ought to stick to another man
A man that surely deserves me
But I think you do!

So I cry, I pray and I beg

Love me love me
Say that you love me
Fool me fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
Love me love me
Say that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
I can't care 'bout anything but you

[lovestoread]

I just heard Lovesong by the Cure, which i quite like, but i can see a lot of people being funny about it just because its the Cure!!

[Dandy Andy's Daddy's Love]

My sister and brother in law went with "I need you" which is great, except it starts with a section that makes it sound like it's about addiction. That and "I need you/ like a needle needs a vein" is an odd sentiment for most people. But it works for them (she's an ER nurse and he's an EMT).

DH and I chose "I Need You" by Tim and Faith as our first dance as well. Here's my interpretation of the chorus:

So I need you
Like a needle needs a vein (I have no purpose without you)
Like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain (I can't thrive without you)
And I need you
Like a lighthouse on a coast (you protect me)
Like the father and the son need the Holy Ghost (you are a part of me)

[Kimblee]

I just heard Lovesong by the Cure, which i quite like, but i can see a lot of people being funny about it just because its the Cure!!

Its a high school friend of mine's wedding song. They did their "couples" dance to it (she/husband, mother/father, MIL/FIL) it was so sweet.

She and her husband fought a lot (well, they did get married when she was 18 because of immenent bun-in-the-oven syndrome...) and finally decided to get a divorce so they're (at that time) two kids wouldn't have to grow up in a home with so much fighting.

They were headed to a law office to finalize everything (together... They were really trying to be adult about this, despite her only being about 21 at this point) when "Lovesong" came on the radio. She started crying and he pulled over (on a country road) and they talked for awhile.

They decided to give it another chance and 3 years later are doing pretty well. (although eight months after they almost divorced they added baby #3 to the family.... we're still gently teasing them about that.)

[Mrs. Pilgrim]

Okay, I realize that "Because We Are in Love" is, in fact, a wedding song...

...The parents of the bride at my wedding wanted us to include it on our reception tape.

Yes, the Carpenters version.

For those who haven't heard it, it's very...dramatic, with huge sweeping crescendos.  Not precisely reception music (particularly if the reception is just a sit-down lunch, no dancing). It's great as a recording for a lengthy wedding, but...

The parents of the bride just SO WANTED the HC to enter the restaurant and stand there for five minutes, being applauded, while this song played in the background.  YeahnoIdunthinkso.  We opted for Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You", partly because it's sweet, and partly because Mr. P. and I actually DID know each other before we met (eHarmony).

In fact, the whole lyric is eerily accurate.

[aventurine]

BeagleMommy:  I wanted "If Ever I Would Leave You" sung at our wedding, too.

DH was having none of it; it's sung from Lancelot to Guinevere, so it's about an adulterous affair.  I conceded the point.