ten billion butterfly sneezes

Hy Zaret, who wrote the hauntingly beautiful lyrics to Unchained Melody, has passed away at age 99. The boomer that I am, I remember the Righteous Brothers’ rendition of the song the best. The song was recorded over 300 times, and ASCAP listed it as one of the 25 most-performed works of the 20^th century.

When the Righteous Brothers recorded the song, I was a young nerdish wallflower¹, and didn’t care for it a lot at the time. I grew to like it after marrying SWMBO, and then after Leann Rimes recorded it, I fancied that I’d always been a huge fan of the song all along.

I’ll leave y’all with the lyrics; imagine your favorite version, or if you can pull it off, break out into song:

Oh, my love, my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch, a long lonely time
And time goes by, so slowly and time can do so much
Are you, still mine?
I need your love, I need your love
God speed your love to me

Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea
To the waiting arms of the sea
Lonely rivers cry, wait for me, wait for me
To the open arms, wait for me

My love, my darling, I’ve hungered for your kiss
Are you still mine?
I need your love, I need your love
God, speed your love, to me

-k-
H/T: Absolute Lyrics, for the words.

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