Two for Tuesday 10-17/2023 If this is love, I can’t explain it #twofortues #classicrock #bighairbands #classicrock

This week’s Two for Tuesday songs are rock songs I became familiar with during the Big Hair era of the 1980s.

Is This Love? by Whitesnake

and

I Can’t Explain by Scorpions

Is This Love? is 1987 a power ballad written by Whitesnake’s front man, David Coverdale, and the band’s guitarist (at the time), John Sykes. Coverdale later revealed in an interview that the song had been written with Tina Turner in mind to record it, which didn’t materialize.

I Can’t Explain was originally a Who song written by band member Pete Townsend. The Who released it in December 1964.

Scorpions released their cover of I Can’t Explain in October 1989. Theirs is the version I heard first, and therefore, it’s the one I like best.

The common theme running through these two songs is that of wondering if the feelings you’re feeling for another person are really love. The singers have felt this way before, but it either didn’t turn out to be the love they were looking for, or it’s driving them completely bonkers trying to determine if this really is love.

Being apart from the person you love is both a relief and maddening. Being in love is simultaneously pleasure and pain. The singers ask themselves how to explain, in a rational way (which is impossible), whether this is love or not.