This is the first tune that really hit me as a bona fide, lay it all on the line, love song love song. I heard it for the first time back in high school and was struck by how completely earnest it is. That’s actually a quality Cat Stevens brings to most of his work, but this song in particular.

I suppose these lyrics describe an unrequited love, or at least a long-distance relationship. In that sense it definitely has an aura of melancholy, which Alex should appreciate because she is always pointing out that I am drawn to the melancholy in music and film.

But there is one section in here that I identify with completely, and not in a melancholy way. “Wherever I am girl, I’m always walking with you, but I look and you’re not there… Whoever I’m with, I’m always talking to you, and I’m sad that you can’t hear.”

Sure, those words are a bit forlorn but they describe my feelings for my wife quite nicely. I have few encounters that I don’t experience through the prism of how I’ll share them with Alex later. My days are filled with mundane moments but also with jokes I can’t wait to share, thoughts I look forward to discussing. I am indeed always walking with and talking to her, no matter where I am or who I’m with, and that’s a powerful and comforting feeling.