Love is ‘More Than Words’
Picture this: Two lovers, one in Seoul, South Korea and the other in Knoxville, Tennessee. The ultimate long distance relationship battling a 15 hour time change. Well that was my mom and dad in the early stages of their relationship. My dad lived his guitar obsessed days at the University of Tennessee assimilating to the quintessential country American lifestyle. My mom on the other hand lived more like a posh, city girl as one could say. No one thought they would make it, but alas 26 years of marriage and two daughters later, here we are. Their love story isn’t some Disney fairytale googly eyed romance though. It’s a story of sacrificing careers, migrating to a new country, learning a new language, saying goodbye to friends and family, and a major leap. They are the reason why I view love as “More Than Words.”
One of our family’s favorite songs is “More Than Words” by Boston hard-rock band, Extreme. It was an anomaly for its time. Extreme typically produced heavy-metal, high energy music. Then, in the spring of 1991, they released a raw, stripped down acoustic song that instantly topped the charts. My dad, being a hard-rock lover, took a chance. He played this song on his guitar and sang to my mom. All of his courting happened through the phone while on opposite sides of the planet. My mom said he would sing to her almost everyday, and it would fill her heart.
“All you have to do is close your eyes
And just reach out your hands and touch me
Hold me close, don't ever let me go
More than words is all I ever needed you to show
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know”
Lyrically, the words express the love between two humans is something you can’t describe sometimes. That it’s more than just saying how you feel, and acting on it. For me, I can see the love shared between my parents. Although they might not be the most PDA couple, time after time, I see the everyday things they do for each other and the sacrifices they’ve made to prove their love. When I hear the words I can envision my dad being so nervous to play this English song to my mom. I can picture her tearing up and blushing from probably not understanding many English words, but knowing exactly what they mean. I can hear my dad’s slight Korean accent and see his eyes closing as he sings. This happened long before I was born, but it’s one of those moments you can just imagine when you close your eyes. It makes me feel fuzzy and warm, mimicking the feeling of getting a hug from both of my parents. Flash forward to present day, my parents are now in a long-distance relationship yet again with my mom living in Korea and my dad in California. It’s a full circle moment. So 30 years later, here we are, but now instead of my dad singing to just my mom, he gets to sing to my sister and I too! It’s not just a symbol of their love, but a symbol of our family’s love.
To mom and dad, your love is music to my ears.