I Love You Simply
By Bennett Konesni
March 2022
I adapted this from Pablo Neruda's poem "Sonnet XVII."
Key of D capo 2
Harmonies: Annadeene Fowler
Lead Vox & Guitar: Bennett Konesni
Fiddle: Ed Howe
Pedal Steel: Baron Collins-Hill
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where
I love you simply, without problems or pride
I love you simply, without problems or pride
I love you simply, without problems or pride
I love you in this way because
I know no other way because
I know no other way
of lovin' but this
In which there is no I or you
In which there is no I or you
In which there is no I or you
No I or you
Your hand upon my chest
Your hand upon my chest
Your hand upon my chest
is my hand
When I fall asleep
When I fall asleep
When I fall asleep
your eyes close
The Story
I wrote this at the beginning of COVID, when I was through my divorce but still processing it. It's based on a Pablo Neruda poem, and I found catharsis in imagining Neruda as a kind of cowboy, alone by a lake at sunset and thinking of his lover. He famously rode horseback over the Andes to Argentina in 1949 to escape a new political regime that he was fleeing in his home country of Chile.
It's been one of the more rewarding songs to play live. I've sung it at Belfast Summer Nights, outside as the sun was setting, people sitting around with their partners. That's the right context for it. A lot of people know the Neruda poem, and they'll sometimes come up after the show and tell me how meaningful it is to them and their partner, and how cool it was to hear it in a country version on stage. That's a good feeling.