Monday, February 22, 2010

Maudlin

The thought of it made me burst out laughing.

The Word Power column in the March Reader's Digest is based on words made from people's names. The introduction included life jackets named Mae Wests and the word jeremiad--meaning a complaint (from the biblical prophet Jeremiah, who wrote the book of Lamentations).

So one of the words featured in the column is maudlin, meaning [effusively or tearfully] sentimental, a word, we are told, that comes from Mary Magdalene--who is traditionally depicted weeping in penitence. What made me burst into laughter was the sentence chosen to illustrate the way one might use the word:
Instead of a maudlin wedding song, the couple chose Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."
The thought of playing such a song with the overblown bass line put me over the edge.

And then one last tidbit for my friends from BH-BL High School: This reminds me of the day--sometime during my first year in Burnt Hills; I expect it had to have been in the spring of 1970--when someone told me we could listen to music in the Junior High library. And the specific album they mentioned was Led Zeppelin II on which this song was the first cut. I couldn't believe we could listen to rock music in the school library . . . provided by the school! But that's exactly where I must have first heard this song.
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