When we ask “What Color Is Love?”, we delve into a realm of emotions and experiences that defy simple categorization. Love isn’t just one shade; it’s a spectrum, a rich tapestry woven with countless hues. Terry Callier, in his masterful album, paints this very spectrum through sound, inviting us to explore the diverse colors of love, from its most tender whispers to its most passionate cries.
The album opens with a bold stroke of color in “You Goin’ Miss Your Candyman.” If love had a carnal color, this track embodies a deep, fiery red. The phenomenal bass line, famously sampled, pulses with a raw desire, a departure from Callier’s typically romantic expressions. Here, he explores the passionate, almost primal side of love. It’s a visceral experience, culminating in a “lupine howl of desire,” a raw, unfiltered expression of longing. This song is the color of intense passion, a vibrant and sometimes overwhelming shade on love’s palette.
Moving from the heat of “Candyman,” we transition to the soothing blue of “Just As Long As We’re In Love.” This track represents the calmer, more serene aspects of love. It’s the color of devotion and commitment, the kind of love that seeks solace and escape from the world’s harsh realities. Callier’s lyrics, “Sometimes I wish we could fly away / Leave this all behind,” paired with Stepney’s dramatic strings, evoke a sense of yearning for a peaceful, loving refuge. This is love in its comforting, reliable form, a gentle, unwavering blue.
However, love doesn’t exist in a vacuum. “Ho Tsing Mee (A Song of the Sun)” introduces a shade of grey into our understanding of love’s colors. This song reflects the world’s pain and suffering, questioning divine compassion amidst global turmoil. While not directly about romantic love, it touches upon love for humanity, and the sorrow and disillusionment that can color our perception of it. The lyrics about “Children dying in their daddy’s war” and questioning “Can it be you just don’t hear us / When we weep” paint a somber picture, a reminder that love is often intertwined with sorrow and empathy for a world in pain. This song adds depth, acknowledging the grey areas in love and life.
In “I’d Rather Be With You,” we find a warm, earthy brown or ochre. This track is about contentment and simple, grounded love. It’s the color of home and comfort. Callier’s gentle declaration, “I could take my guitar / And hit the road, try to be a star / That sort of thing / Just don’t appeal to me,” speaks volumes. His warm, mellifluous voice, often compared to Morgan Freeman’s in its comforting gravitas, emphasizes the beauty of simple connection and presence. This is the color of comfortable, familiar love, a grounding and reassuring hue.
The album concludes with an instrumental track, a unique choice that adds a final, perhaps unexpected, color to love’s spectrum. This instrumental piece, devoid of lyrics, can be interpreted as the color white or even gold – the color of pure bliss and unspoken understanding. It’s the sound of love that transcends words, a state of harmony and peace created by the melodic interplay and production. It’s a reminder that love can also be a feeling, a silent, shared space of joy and contentment.
Terry Callier’s album, in its entirety, is a masterclass in portraying the multifaceted colors of love. From passionate reds to serene blues, from somber greys to comforting browns and blissful whites, he covers a vast emotional landscape. His music resonates because it speaks to the complex, colorful nature of love itself, reminding us that love is not just one color, but a beautiful, ever-shifting spectrum of human experience. If you want to truly understand “what color is love,” immerse yourself in the rich palette of Terry Callier’s music.
