Bonnie Raitt: "I Can't Make You Love Me"

By Richard K. Barry

I spent much of yesterday thinking about House Speaker John Boehner's reply to a question from an attendee at a fundraising event. The question was: "Can you make me love me Mitt Romney." Basically, he said, "no, no I can't." I wrote about it here. And then I spent what was left of the day thinking about Bonnie Raitt's classic song, "I Can't Make You Love Me." It's a great song, and having it rattle around inside your head isn't the worst way to spend time. Being reminded of it by thinking of Mitt Romney is another matter. Sorry. Maybe I was just imagining a Saturday Night Live skit. I don't know.

The song was written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by Raitt for her Luck of the Draw album in 1991. It's an incredible tune and her delivery is amazing. The song is ranked #339 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, which, as I have said in the past, means little other than the fact that, apparently, a lot of people think it's great song.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)