i heart question mark

 

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG  [lyrics below]

 

one day in 1995, while doing laundry, i noticed some graffiti on the door of the laundry room.  it was the letter I, followed by a heart, followed by a question mark.  this was a few days after valentine’s day, and it struck me:  here was a person who desperately wanted to be in love, the kind of love that makes you deface public property, but who had no one.  the idea knocked around in my head for a few days, and then i got this song out of it.  (i also took a few photos of the graffiti before they changed all the doors in my apartment complex.  this is the first time anybody but me has seen this picture.)

 

some people feel this song is “funny” or “whimsical” or “light-hearted”.  perhaps it is.  others feel it’s “sad” or “longing” or “pensive”.  perhaps it is.  maybe it’s all of them.

 

in the summer of 1995, when i conceived the idea of performing my songs solo, just bass guitar and vocal, the first two songs i tried arranging this way were “shakespeare in the dark” and “i heart question mark”.  i was pleased with the results and went on to perform through the mid to late 90s as kendall and fiona.  (fiona is the name of my shiny, black acoustic bass guitar, and that’s a whole other story.)  🙂

 

the 1997 recording included on my first album, independence day, was the original arrangement.  in 1998, at the suggestion of a friend, i altered the arrangement to make it more syncopated.  i liked it that way and that’s how i’ve played it ever since.

 

let me know your thoughts on this song in the comment field below.

 

“i heart question mark”

© 1995, kendall brown, qara’s music shop

 

CHORUS

i heart question mark, where is someone for me?

i heart question mark, there’s gotta be somebody, you see

i’m an overflowing river of love, but i can’t seem to reach the sea

i wanna write her name on a bridge or a tree

but i don’t know who she’s gonna be

 

look around you every day, there’s couples everywhere

hanging on each other’s arms, perfecting the romantic stare

when i thought about them holding hands

when i thought about the way they kiss

that’s the moment when i knew

i’d write a tongue-in-cheek song like this

 

CHORUS

 

i don’t need somebody famous, i don’t need someone rich

all i need is a nice girl, with whom my woo to pitch

when i carve into that bark, when i spray-paint my graffiti

i just need a pair of initials to go with “plus k.b.”

 

CHORUS