My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Melancholic Muse Behind the Classic
Lyrics
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My cherie amour, lovely as a summer day
My cherie amour, distant as the Milky Way
My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine
In a café or sometimes on a crowded street
I’ve been near you, but you never noticed me
My cherie amour, won’t you tell me how could you ignore
That behind that little smile I wore
How I wish that you were mine
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La la la la la la
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Maybe someday, you’ll see my face among the crowd
Maybe someday, I’ll share your little distant cloud
Oh, cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore
You’re the only girl my heart beats for
How I wish that you were mine
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
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In the mosaic of Stevie Wonder’s hits, ‘My Cherie Amour’ stands out as a shimmering piece of plaintive soul, a bittersweet ballad that balances itself delicately on the edge of joy and yearning. The song, as silky and smooth as any Wonder creation, captures an entire spectrum of emotion within the confines of its deceptively simple lyrical power.
Released in the balmy summer of 1969, it was both a musical innovation and an emotional revelation, encapsulating the essence of unrequited love which resonates as deeply today as it did then. The song is more than a melody—it’s an intangible feeling made tangible through Wonder’s unmistakable harmonies and heartfelt words.
A Serenade of Summer Love: Impeccable Harmony Meets Heartache
Wonder’s ‘My Cherie Amour’ is at once a celebration of love and a mourning of its lapses. Steeped in the velvety sounds of Motown’s golden era, it is a song that immediately strikes the ear as a serenade tailored for a summer’s day, soft and warm.
Yet, upon closer inspection, what emerges from this idyllic representation of love is an undercurrent of melancholy. With his silken voice, Wonder paints the portrait of a distant, perhaps even unattainable love—’distant as the Milky Way’—rendering the song’s brightness with shadows of longing.
Below the Surface: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
What lies beneath ‘My Cherie Amour’ is not just a man yearning for the woman he loves, but a nuanced exploration of love itself—unsettled, unfulfilled, and universally human. It mirrors the solitude of seeing your heart’s desire within reach, yet as distant as the stars.
Wonder’s lyrics serve a dual purpose: they are a beacon of adoration for this ‘pretty little one’, and also a mirror reflecting the loneliness of unreciprocated affection. It encapsulates the essence of the complicated dance between desire and reality and the often painful space in between.
The Dance of Desire: Wonder’s Vivid Imagery
The vivid imagery of ‘My Cherie Amour’ is crucial in conveying Wonder’s narrative. The ‘café’ and ‘crowded street’ are not merely settings but spaces charged with the electricity of missed connections, places where our protagonist’s gaze falls upon his beloved yet fails to grasp her attention.
These snapshots of ordinary life add layers to the song’s storyline, elevating its lyrical landscape to a place where each listener can identify with the pining heart of the song, and find echoes of their own unspoken yearnings.
The Resonance of Memorable Lines: The Power of Simplicity
It is perhaps the recurring line, ‘How I wish that you were mine,’ that anchors the song’s enduring legacy. A simple sentiment, it carries the weight of universal longing, encapsulating an ocean of feeling in a droplet of lyrical clarity.
Wonder doesn’t shy away from the vulnerability of this confession. Instead, he lets these words ripple through the song, a mantra-like chant that evokes both hope and despair, the sweetness of desire tenderly interwoven with the ache of its unlikelihood.
Someday Perhaps: The Optimistic Linger of Love’s Potential
Amidst the earnest admissions of unrequited love and the persistent yearning, ‘My Cherie Amour’ holds a note of optimism. Wonder hints at a ‘someday’—a flicker of a chance that maybe his face ‘among the crowd’ or his place in her ‘little distant cloud’ might be recognized and shared.
This subtle sense of hope that steers the song away from despair and towards an aching, poignant sense of possibility. Although the love Wonder sings of remains a dream, ‘My Cherie Amour’, like all dreams, allows us to consider a future where love’s potential is finally realized.
