Love Comes

Song Meaning

Graham Parker's "Love Comes" isn't a saccharine declaration; it's a subtly disorienting exploration of love's intrusion on a previously guarded heart. The opening lines set the stage: love arrives unexpectedly, a "sweet rain" in the darkness. It's not sought, but rather experienced as an external force. The vulnerability is palpable, not in a pleading way, but in the slightly bewildered tone of someone caught off guard. The lyrics suggest a past defined by caution and perhaps a certain emotional detachment. Parker cleverly uses nocturnal imagery to amplify this sense of altered perception. Midnight walks shift the world's "hue," and even the speaker's own identity takes on a melancholic tinge ("make mine a shade of blue"). This isn't a simple case of lovesickness; it's a recognition that love fundamentally changes how we perceive reality and, crucially, ourselves. The lines about never having "wings on my feet" and always wearing "gloves" speak to a prior state of groundedness, perhaps even emotional protection. Now, the speaker feels a newfound lightness, a sense of being lifted above the mundane. The latter part of the song takes an unexpected turn, referencing Pluto, Mars, and the stars. This isn't mere whimsicality; it's a way of placing love within a cosmic context. "Love comes from a distant sun" suggests that love, like celestial phenomena, operates according to its own mysterious laws, independent of human control. It's a force both powerful and remote, capable of reshaping our inner landscapes in ways we can't fully comprehend. Parker isn't offering answers, but rather a sophisticated meditation on the transformative and often destabilizing nature of love.