Evergreen tales, tunes and toons about love

Tina Turner asks the famous question, ‘What’s love got to do with it?’ in a song by the same title. Photo/FILE

What you need to know:

  • Shakespeare, the great writer of the 16th century also penned a most tragic tale, Romeo and Juliet, which tells the story of young star-crossed lovers who fate destined to doom.
  • Ancient Greek and Roman Tales and even native African myths like Lwanda Magere speak of the power love has over mortals.
  • What then, are some of the timeless evergreen tales and tunes about love that have stood the test of time?

Tina Turner asks the famous question, ‘What’s love got to do with it?’ in a song by the same title.

If the numerous timeless tales that exist on love are anything to go by, then the answer would be, without any doubt ‘everything.’

Shakespeare, the great writer of the 16th century also penned a most tragic tale, Romeo and Juliet, which tells the story of young star-crossed lovers who fate destined to doom.

Ancient Greek and Roman Tales and even native African myths like Lwanda Magere speak of the power love has over mortals.

What then, are some of the timeless evergreen tales and tunes about love that have stood the test of time? One would ask in this month of love.

TUNES
Top of the love blues for this season would be Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh. The song’s flirtatious and coy lyrics and the fact that red is considered the colour of love on Valentine’s could be the reason this song will always remain timeless.

Peabo Bryson’s A Whole new World, largely considered a popular wedding march song in Kenya, is another well-loved Valentine’s tune.

Closer home, African tunes that seem to be considered all-time favourites include Daudi Kabaka’s Safari Tanganyika, Freshly ground’s I’d Like, Atemi’s Someday and Fadhili Williams’ Malaika.

TALES
Hollywood has also done its fair share in bringing love into our make-believe world. Perpetual tales have been told over and over.

City of Angels is a heart wrenching tale in which an angel (Nicholas Cage) falls in love with a human (Meg Ryan) and thus gives up his angelic nature and becomes human.

Sadly, his sacrifice of super natural powers is in vain as Ryan is involved in a bad accident and perishes on the day that Cage takes the fall that humanises him.

Dear John, another Hollywood love story, tells of John, a solder, who falls for a pretty girl called Savannah just before going on a war mission abroad.

They keep in touch through regular letters they write each other (hence the title Dear John.) However, as fate would have it, John’s chances of reuniting with his love dwindle as months go by and this, needless to say, exposes both lovebirds to heartaches.

Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman, a well-loved romance story, tells of a prostitute (Roberts) who meets a ‘client’ (Richard Gere) for business but the two end up falling for each other. Obviously, this has dire consequences for the super-rich Gere who has a name to preserve and Roberts who, despite her genuine feelings, is regarded as a social climber.

TOONS
Walt Disney hasn’t been left behind in the exploration of the love theme. Besides Aladdin, numerous other cartoons have been enhanced through inclusion of romance as a plus for good winning over evil.

Lion King, the story of Simba’s coming of age is spiced up by his reuniting with his playmate and childhood love against a backdrop of Elton John’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

Shrek is also happy to find an ogre like him in Fiona.

In Oz the Great and powerful, we see how love can lead even the bad to goodness. Oz, a cheat and sly fellow, is challenged when Glinda, the good witch, completely trusts him to save her people from the wicked witch sisters.

This belief in him makes Oz choose his good, honest and honourable side and he is rewarded with kingship and great romance with the beautiful Glinda.

The Tanzanian cartoon Kirikou is a great love story too. It tells of a little super-boy Kirikou who has been chosen by fate to be the saviour of his people from the wicked witch Mchawi Karabaa.

Through brilliant tricks, Kirikou successfully delivers his people from the spell of Mchawi Karabaa. After her spell has been removed, Mchawi Karabaa turns out to be a good person and she and Kirikou get married.

All this tales that are as old as time, coupled with the more recent ones like that of the famous and beautiful Taj Mahal in India that was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favourite wife Mumtaz; and the Lord Egerton Castle of Nakuru Kenya, built by Lord Morris Egerton for the woman he loved; work through our hearts to remind us of the great power of love, which is up until now, unfathomable to mortal man.