There are times when I find a song which takes over my life, which I play constantly because I become drunk on the emotion it provokes. The last song which did this to me was Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends." My new obsession is "The Art Teacher," a song from Rufus Wainwright's latest album, Want Two. I referenced it in an earlier post. Of course, feelings of regret, lost opportunities, unattainable love, and the transformative power of art will always resonate with me. And I love when men sing from the perspective of women (which Morrissey did as well). I myself frequently write stories from male points of view. Anyway, here are the lyrics (although you've really got to hear it sung with Rufus' velvety tenor to get the chills):

The Art Teacher

There I was in uniform
Looking at the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then

He was not that much older than I was
He had taken our class to the Metropolitan Museum
He asked us what our favorite work of art was,
But never could I tell it was him
Oh, I wish I could tell him --
Oh, I wish I could have told him

I looked at the Rubens and Rembrandts
I liked the John Singer Sargents
He told me he liked Turner
Never have I turned since then
No, never have I turned to any other man

All this having been said,
I married an executive company head
All this having been done, a Turner - I own one
Here I am in this uniformish, pant-suit sort of thing,
Thinking of the art teacher
I was just a girl then;
Never have I loved since then
No, never have I loved any other man