"He couldn't stand to hear me say
That I'd been with someone new
And when I told him I had been untrue
He hit me and it felt like a kiss.
He hit me and I knew he loved me."
Over the past few months i've been delving back into the music i loved as a teenager. I had forgotten how surprised and taken aback i was by the lyrics the first time i heard it. It was written by Carol King and Gerry Goffin after they discovered that Little Eva, a member of The Crystals, was regularly abused by her partner. When they expressed concern, she explained it was his way of letting her know that he loved her. In my opinion it remains one of their finest songs and an ode to the tangled web that is domestic violence.
