I write these posts in advance, so I’m guessing that my wife, Alex, might have broken her Internet silence to comment on yesterday’s post and reveal that while, yes, she did have a crush on piano man Paul O’Shea, it paled in comparison to the crush I had on massage therapist Aihnoa Gallardo.
If so, I plead the fifth. If not, please disregard the previous paragraph. Nothing to see here… move along.
One of the perils of the piano bar is getting caught singing along to a song you don’t really know.
Such was the case with The Foundations’ ‘Build Me Up Buttercup,’ a song that sounds incredibly familiar in the way a lot of oldies do but one that was at the same time utterly foreign to me.
This is a song that has several ‘hey hey heys’ and ‘ooo ooooos’ and ‘bah-dah-dahs’ and I was wholly unprepared to deliver any of them, even when prompted. It made for a tense two-and-a-half minutes each time this song came up on the tracklist.
And that’s a tension that could only be assuaged by the prettiest Spanish masseuse on the high seas.
Incidentally, when we first discovered Paul O’Shea, after a day of me pining over Aihnoa, Alex declared, “Well, it looks like now I have a cruise boyfriend to match your cruise girlfriend.”
“Yeah, but your cruise boyfriend hasn’t rubbed your body down with oils,” I said.
Alex’s reply: “Not yet.”
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
“I’ll be over at ten”, you told me time and again
But you’re late, I wait around and then (bah-dah-dah)
I went to the door, I can’t take any more
It’s not you, you let me down again
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find
(Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I’ll make you mine
(Hey, hey, hey!) I’ll be home
I’ll be beside the phone waiting for you
Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
You were my toy but I could be the boy you adore
If you’d just let me know (bah-dah-dah)
Although you’re untrue, I’m attracted to you all the more
Why do I need you so
(Hey, hey, hey!) Baby, baby, try to find
(Hey, hey, hey!) A little time and I’ll make you mine
(Hey, hey, hey!) I’ll be home
I’ll be beside the phone waiting for you
Ooo-oo-ooo, ooo-oo-ooo
Why do you build me up (build me up) Buttercup, baby
Just to let me down (let me down) and mess me around
And then worst of all (worst of all) you never call, baby
When you say you will (say you will) but I love you still
I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
I-I-I need you-oo-oo more than anyone, baby
You know that I have from the start
So build me up (build me up) Buttercup, don’t break my heart
Meet Me In Montauk 
Okay, first of all, the thought of you tensing up for two and a half minutes because you weren’t sufficiently familiar with this classic tune to fill in the audience participation parts has me laughing out loud. Why wasn’t Alex filming your face during those minutes?
Second, where is the video or at least a picture of Ms. Gallardo?
Third, what the hell was really going on with you two during this cruise?
Oh, and as for the song, while it is familiar to me, I must confess that, until today, I thought he was singing “fill me up buttercup.” I guess “build me up” makes more sense.😄 And I suppose both you and Alex could sing either version to ms. Gallardo and mr. O’Shea.😃
Too bad I wasn’t along…I know EVERY word! 🙂
Great reply Alex!