Medley: Almost Like Being in Love / This Can’t Be Love (Live At Carnegie Hall)

Song Meaning

Rufus Wainwright, ever the master of sophisticated emotional irony, doesn't just sing these Rodgers and Hart classics—he dissects them with the precision of a seasoned psychoanalyst. This live medley, "Almost Like Being in Love / This Can't Be Love," becomes a wry commentary on the very nature of romantic expectation versus reality. Wainwright, with his signature theatrical flair, uses the juxtaposition of these two songs to explore the dizzying, often contradictory, feelings associated with that initial rush of infatuation. The song meaning here is less about simple love and more about the performance of love, the stories we tell ourselves, and the inherent anxieties that bubble beneath even the most seemingly carefree declarations. Wainwright's genius lies in his ability to hold both the sincerity and the skepticism in perfect balance. The "Almost Like Being in Love" section is delivered with a knowing wink. The lyrics paint a picture of naive, almost childlike, bliss: "There's a smile on my face / For the whole human race." But then comes the pivot. "This Can't Be Love" bursts in, a cynical counterpoint that exposes the darker underbelly of romantic ideals. The lyrics drip with sarcasm: "This can't be love because I feel so well / No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs." Wainwright seems to suggest that true love, as we've been conditioned to expect it, often involves a certain degree of suffering, a dramatic intensity that borders on the masochistic. Wainwright's interpretation also subtly critiques the cultural script of romance itself. He questions whether the ecstatic highs and devastating lows are genuine emotions or simply learned behaviors, performances we enact because that's what we've been told love should feel like. The repetition of "Almost like being in love" further emphasizes the artificiality, the sense of imitation rather than authentic experience. Ultimately, Rufus Wainwright's medley is a brilliant deconstruction of love's illusions, a reminder that the reality is often far more complex, and perhaps even more rewarding, than the romantic fantasies we're sold.