Lips of an Angel

I'm pretty sure we've all heard the song. When it first came out, a year ago, it was one of my favorite songs. I grew up in the era of power ballads by rock stars....Poison, Cinderella, Guns n Roses, etc...so this was one of those that took me wayyyyyy back. Then there was a time when I absolutely hated the song and every time it came on I would change the station. As I was driving to the train this morning, it came on the radio and I listened to the words.

Its funny because the song/video is about a guy who is living with a woman and gets a late night phone call from his ex-girlfriend. He starts by saying why are you calling me so late. Yea, why IS she calling him so late? It must be a drunk dialing episode. He asks her why she's crying. Yea, it's DEFINITELY a drunk dialing episode. Then he goes on to say sometimes he wishes that his current girlfriend was his ex-girlfriend. It's funny, because if that were the case, wouldn't he still be with his ex-girlfriend instead of the woman he is with now? He talks about how he can't talk too loud. Why is that? Why does he feel the need to hide from his current girlfriend? He says that he never moved on. Well, actually he did move on because he has a new girlfriend. He also asks if HER boyfriend knows that she's talking to her ex. That right there is messed up. Why is she calling HER ex when she's involved with someone knew, too? The words of this song are pretty silly if you think about it.

Look, here's a guy who is involved with someone new. That means that he has moved on from his ex. He gets a late night phone call from his ex, who must be drunk and lonely and emotional, lonely being the key word here, because she is calling her ex. Now, first of all, Mr. Man needs to remember that she is his ex for a reason. He also needs to remember that he is in a relationship with someone new, someone who he obviously chose to be with. Drunk Chick needs to hang up the phone, get some self-respect, learn to love herself, and realize that her ex is with someone new. Don't be that woman.

I think as women we are harder on men than we often need to be. We punish them for the "sins" of our exes. Don't get me wrong. Relationships can oftentimes be a battlefield. It can leave us with open wounds, and unless we heal, we will blame our current and future partners for giving us these wounds. Either that, or we will shield ourselves because we think that our current or future partners will reopen these wounds. But have you ever seen a man with a broken heart? I have. And let me tell you, they hurt just as much as us women do when we have a broken heart. We think that men are arseholes and they have no feelings, but they do. And they can hurt just like we hurt. They can feel lost and desperate just like we do. And when a man is in a relationship, unless he is a real piece of crap, no phone call from an EX is going to tempt him to be unfaithful. Of course some men cheat. But so do some women. Men are just notoriously being bashed for something that both sexes do. I think it's because women are more vocal about things. Maybe its because women like to play the victim role more frequently than men do.

Bottom line is, in this song, the man is simply feeling a hint of nostalgia because he heard from his ex. We've all done it, sat back and reflected on partners who are gone from our lives. But the reality is, we are in a current relationship because we want to be with this person. If we wanted to be with our ex, they wouldn't be called our ex now would they. The only "wrong" party in this song is the ex-girlfriend who can't get over her ex and is drinking and dialing.

Remember - friends don't let friends drink and dial.

LIPS OF AN ANGEL

Honey why you calling me so late?
It's kinda hard to talk right now.
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud

Well, my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

It's funny that you're calling me tonight
And, yes, I've dreamt of you too
And does he know you're talking to me
Will it start a fight
No I don't think she has a clue

Well my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel

Honey why you calling me so late?

- Hinder