UNDER MY SKIN

Valentine, circa 1938, from collection of SWMBO’s late Dad.

I’ve got you under my skin
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you’re really a part of me
I’ve got you under my skin

I’ve tried so not to give in
I’ve said to myself this affair never will go so well
But why should I try to resist, when baby I know so well
That I’ve got you under my skin

I’d sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Don’t you know, you fool, you never can win
Use your mentality, wake up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
’Cause I’ve got you under my skin

I was originally looking to the lyrics of “My Funny Valentine” for inspiration, but on closer examination, they were not a suitable frame for my thoughts regarding the Love of My Life, the Missus, She Who Must Be Obeyed. Lookit:

...Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable...

and

...Is your figure less than Greek
Is your mouth a little weak
When you open it to speak
Are you smart?

Well, the Missus has her Funny Moments. After all, the ability to make each other laugh on random occasions is one of the things that has kept our marriage strong for almost thirty years. But funny looks?


She Who Must Be Obeyed, December 2006.

Naw.

So I went elsewhere in the Sinatra canon, and found what I was seeking. For after so many years together, it often feels as as though we are under each other’s skin...two souls in one body.

She told me that I make “happily ever after” happen every day. High praise, indeed - and yet, how much more so does she do that for me?

Valentine’s Day, Schmalentine’s Day. It’s a form of goyische narrischkeit to which most of us subscribe in this country, thanks to the perfervid ministrations of the Card ’n’ Candy Cartel - the notion of a single day on which we must express our feelings of romantic love. But I’m here to tell you that with the Missus, it’s Valentine’s Day every frickin’ day.

I wouldn’t want it any other way.