In article <350F2C80.3E30@netmatrix.net>,
PaperbackWriter  <paperbackwriter@netmatrix.net> wrote:

>As a young man, I can't remember ever once saying to a girl, "Darling, I
>want to hold your hand."

Watch out, you'll reveal your age. :-)

There was a time---admittedly one rather dim and distant to some of
us---when the first physical contact was as simple as the desire to hold
the hand of another. It was the first foray into intimacy. And my guess is
that this was the intent of the song, judging from my recollections of the
early-mid sixties and the social proclivities of the era.

>I might have said I wanted to hold other areas of her body, but hands
>were never a real preoccupation to me. 

So you missed out on one of the true pleasures of young love! I'm not sure
the Beatles had much experience with it either in real life; finesse does
not appear to have been an important part of their mix. But they were
romantics, despite all, and able to harness a universal sensation of ardor
merely from the image of a touch, and excite the soul with a tune
tailor-made to accompany that image. 
 
>I know I certainly would not
>have been as emphatic as to state the necessity three times in a row,
>with some added harmony ringing through my head (no pun intended yet).

Perhaps it takes a songwriter to know the inner secrets of iteration!

>So what is all this hand holding about?  Did young Brits find something
>peculiarly fascinating about hands?  Was a big hand better than a small
>hand?  Was a sweaty hand taboo? 

I recall a novel---a favorite one of mine---where the young protagonist
waxes rhapsodic about the hands of one young lady, someone he remembers
fondly, and misses, if I read him correctly. He mentions how varied are
the general styles of handholding, and the varieties of partners--- those
whose hands are in constant movement, whose hands just lie there, whose
hands are moist or inattentive...and yet the girl whom he recalls most
fervently is the one who *really knew* how to hold hands, naturally,
passionately, eloquently.

Perhaps over the years, as generations have grown far too wise for their
own good, we've lost the delicacy of this nuance. It's a recoverable art,
I can assure you. But you have to leave the cynical 'nineties behind you.

Of course, handholding itself could be a metaphor for more powerful forms
of romantic expression. Is that what the Fabs sing about here? I doubt it.

Here they harmonize about the first approach, the initial tactile thrill
of finger laced within finger, palm to palm. I can understand it; can't
you? 

Maybe this would help. Imagine a love so impossible to attain that your
life would be complete *if only* you could hold hands with your intended. 
If that's all you could have, it would be enough. Imagine it, and the song
is yours. 

Romantic twaddle, you say? Confabulatory codswallop? We may have already
lost you to galloping misanthropy. Alas and alack....

>And how does wanting to hold your hand relate to being unable to hide
>one's love which apparently one "can't hide. . .can't hide. . .can't
>hide"?  There must be some correlation, since both are mournfully
>expressed in triplets.  

I don't hear anything mournful. It's downright joyful, a wonderful
revelatory moment when what was hidden suddenly blossoms forth. And such
gentility! Such a civil approach to the lady of his dreams, asking only to
hold her hand! Where do we find such good breeding in this day and age?

>If a man or woman were unable to hide his or her
>love, would that then require a hand to come into play?

It's as good a start as any. 

>Finally, who is this other person who apparently won't hold hands?

Ah, there's the crux of the conundrum. Perchance this explains the
gentleman's reluctance to express himself before this. One always fears
rejection. And one is never more vulnerable than when one is revealing
one's heart.

>Geez, I know, I know, I know, I want to get a life, I want to get a
>life, I want to get a life. . .

Perhaps a good lyricist might help? :-)


-- 
"And I just can't live without you. Can't you see it in my eyes?"
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saki (dlm3@midway.uchicago.edu)