I loved to be loved

One of my favourite songs is Peter Gabriel's "Love to be loved".      It expresses the sadness and anger of the end of a serious romantic relationship, the realisation that it has to end and the determination not to go back, despite the pain.

As one who dabbles in English language teaching, I was struck by the ending of the song:

"....but it takes all the strength in me, and all the world can see

I'm losing such a central part of me (I can't let go of it)

You know I mean it ..You know that I mean it

I recognise how much I've lost but I cannot face the cost

'Cause I love to be loved, I love to be loved."

There then follows a repetition of this line 8 times in pairs, the first using ascending notes at the end and the second using descending notes at the end.  This, to me, conveyed two meanings:

1.    I love to be loved - passive infinitive, meaning that I love it when someone loves me.

2.    I love to be loved - infinitive of purpose - I love in order to be loved in return.

Both of these meanings are relevant to the song and its message, and I was thrilled to discover that our English language can convey both with the same sentence.

https://youtu.be/iJzfmrYqtJ0?si=FzFP8ldOxFD6LflU



   



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