as long as means provided that or while that is the case. popular music provides a multitude of examples, many of them romantic.
boy band the backstreet boys and pop sensation justin bieber convinced young girls around the world that as long as you love me, no other problem really exists.
the beatles had a similar message for the screaming mobs of girls of their generation. at :50 in and i love her the lyrics say…
a love like ours could never die, as long as i have u near me
clean bandit‘s track rather be is yet another romantic example. the title is a useful expression that is used (with slight variations) throughout the song…
as long as u are with me, there’s no place i’d rather be
is often used with would (i’d rather be) to show a preference.
haruka abe, the star of clean bandit‘s rather be video
eminem (with rihanna on the chorus) and depeche mode provide darker examples.
at :35 in love the way you lie eminem’s lyric illuminates the dysfunction of the relationship described
as long as the wrong feels right it’s like i’m in flight
and at 2:05, never let me down again indicates an unequal relationship through the use of two idioms
promises me i’m as safe as houses, as long as i remember who’s wearing the trousers
safe as houses is very safe and the person who wears the trousers (or the pants) in a relationship has the power. in other words, security is dependent on recognizing that the other person is in charge.
in his classic stand by me, ben e. king sings about strength in the face of darkness and natural disasters; a strength inspired by the support of a relationship. twice in the lyrics u can hear…
as long as u stand by me
dancing in the streets by martha reeves and the vandellas is an invitation across the nation and everywhere around the world for people to meet and dance in the streets. twice in the song martha reassures listeners that fashion isn’t important.
it doesn’t matter what u wear just as long as you are there
remember that the lyrics are talking about clothes, so it’s necessary to use the verb wear NOT use (like in the metaphor wear the trousers in never let me down above) based on the spanish verb usar.
in this song, justin timberlake sings about wearing a suit & tie to go dancing. the chorus starts…
and as long as i’ve got my suit and tie
ima leave it all on the floor tonight
lil baby uses long as, a reduction of as long as when he raps about performing live in drip too hard. listen at :40 for..
doin’ all these shows, i’ve been on the road
i don’t care where i go, long as i get paid
and wendy and lisa were in prince‘s band the revolution during the early part of the 80s. in 1987 they released waterfall which contains this observation in the chorus about fair-weather friends…
people may come, people may go just as long as the waters slow
but watch out when you’re headed for the waterfall
as long as also can be a comparative that refers to time, duration; as in the expression as long as i (can) remember which appears in songs by creedence clearwater revival and ll cool j with boyz ii men.
the first line of who’ll stop the rain is…
[as] long as i remember the rain’s been falling down
and hey lover starts with the spoken line
i’ve been watching u from afar for as long as i can remember
finally, john mellencamp‘s celebration of midwestern youth, jack and diane, advises teenagers to make their adolescence last at 2:45…
hold on to 16 as long as u can, changes come around real soon make us women & men
the english practice extra for this song defines the following words/expressions: entry, might, wear the pants in a relationship (this definition also appears above) , even though, ode, encourage, hold on, snack, eager, move on.
in addition, u can hear jumpsuit (:59) and damn (1:04). both these words appear in other entries here on richyrocks.com.
how many of these as long as songs did u know already? which one helps u remember as long as the best? post your observations under leave a reply.
