Senator Motown

Last week here was contemplating Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and their hit song, "I Second That Emotion."

1967 is the year when that song came out, but I heard it more during the 1990s when work required some travel, and I would listen to cassette tapes in my car -- The Big Chill soundtrack included "second that emotion" and it grooved into my brain at that time, more than when it was new.

--------------------
"I second the motion" was a phrase I heard many times in the 90s when working as a lobbyist:  during the annual meetings of the State Legislature, you would hear representatives and senators "seconding motions" both in committees and on the floor.  A person might say,

"I second the motion" or

"I second that motion" or just

"Second!"

When the State Senate (35 members) or House of Representatives (70 members) was in session, lobbyists would be in "our" lobby (on the opposite side of each Chamber was a lobby where only senators or representatives could go, lobbyists couldn't go in).  

Sitting on ancient, reupholstered sofas; standing by the chamber wall where, if you were tall enough, you could look through the strip of unfrosted glass at the bottom of the window and gaze into the Chamber;

or walking through -- the lobby was a sort of heavily trafficked pocket in the Capitol building where many visitors never went, and lobbyists and legislators always went.


One day during a debate on the Senate floor, I was listening, looking briefly in the window, then up at the loudspeaker on the wall -- not that you can hear better when looking at it, but sometimes that can become a habit...  A Democratic senator made a motion, and another Democrat got on her microphone and said, "I second Senator Symens' emotion."

It was one of those moments -- frozen in thick, muddy time for a split second, I looked away from the wall-speaker and happened to catch the eye of another lobbyist standing a few feet away.  


I looked at him, and he looked at me, and above our heads was one of those imaginary, comic-strip clouds with two streams of cloud-bubbles, one stream pointing at his head and the other at mine, and the thought we were thinking simultaneously without saying it, printed in the cloud:  "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?"


And he smiled a little, and I smiled a little more, and we both looked around the lobby to see if anyone else caught it:  Harry's face burst into a big smile (he usually looked solemn and low-key) and he dipped his shoulder to launch into a little modified groovy-dance and started singing, "I second that emotion...!"

(Maybe the senator had been listening to The Big Chill tape in her car, too....)

_______________________
Go on Google and You Tube and type in

I second that emotion, smokey robinson and the miracles

-- there's a version at the top where they're performing live, wearing grey suits -- I don't recommend, not good, a TV-show house band, no no no...Listen to the vinyl single, looks like this:

Maybe you'll wanna give me kisses sweet

But only for one night and no repeat

And maybe you'll go away and never call

And a taste of honey is worse than none at all

Oh -- little girl -- 
in that case I don't want no part

I do believe that,
that would only break my heart

Oh -- but if you feel like lovin' me
If you got the notion
I second that emotion...

----------------------
{"I Second That Emotion" - released October 19, 1967.  Recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A).  Album:  Greatest Hits, vol. 2.  Genre:  soul.  Label:  Motown.  Songwriters:  Smokey Robinson; Al Cleveland.  Producer:  Smokey Robinson.}

-30-