Can music mend a broken heart? (Medium)

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Im Sam.

Neil

And Im Neil. There are million songs about falling in love, and just as many about being broken-hearted-. Do you remember the first time fell in love, Sam?

Sam

Yes - I was fourteen and it seemed like every word of every song had been written just for me!

Neil

Theres a strong connection between music and love - as famously wrote, ‘If music be the food of love, play on’. In this programme well be meeting a singer-songwriter used music to express her feelings of falling in love, and later to mend her broken heart when the ended. And as usual, well be learning some new vocabulary as well.

Sam

But first I have a for you, Neil. Your mention of Shakespeare reminds me of Romeo and Juliet, his famous lovers who fall in despite their fighting families, only to die tragically young. But in which Italian city was Romeo and Juliet set? it:

a) Florence?

b) Venice? or,

c) Verona?

Neil

I think it must be one of the most romantic cities - Florence.

Sam

OK, Neil, Ill reveal the answer later in the programme. Julia Jacklin an Australian singer-songwriter whose song, ‘’Dont Know How To Keep Loving You’, reached number eight in the Australian pop . Her song lyrics explore feelings of falling in love as well as the pain of breaking up.

Neil

songs are written from experience. Several years ago she quit her band in Australia and bought a one-way ticket London to be with her boyfriend and soulmate  � the person who she felt a special romantic connection with. things didnt work out as shed hoped, and she found herself alone and working in a depressing job.

Julia turned to music, pouring her feelings of lost love into the songs which later became her first album a successful grown-up musician. So when BBC World Service programme, The Conversation, spoke with her, they asked Julia what would tell her younger self:

Julia Jacklin

The one thing that was just very heart-breaking for me at age was adult cynicism, I guess, about love… I found that really difficult. You know, now when a young is, like, really in love at fourteen, I know that as an adult, all your instincts are telling them… know that it's probably not going to work, you know? And it's like, just relax, or whatever, but I at the time just desperately wanting to be validated by adults and not be told that I was being . I don't know, I'd probably just be like, yeah - go for it!

Neil

Many teenagers have a ideal of ever-lasting love, often in contrast to the beliefs of adults which Julia calls cynicism - the belief something will not be successful, or that the people involved are not sincere.

Sam

The young Julia wanted feel validated  � to get confirmation that her feelings were worthwhile and valued. She wanted someone to tell her, ‘ for it!’, a phrase used to encourage a person to do whatever it takes to make something work.

Young love is delicate and its easy to be pessimistic. I mean, how many couples do you know, Sam, met as teenagers and stayed together for the rest of their lives?

Sam

I dont know many, its . Neuroscientist, Dr Lucy Brown, is co-creator of, The Anatomy Of Love, a website exploring the science of romance. She we need to be more realistic about falling in love, as she explains here to BBC World Services’, The :

Dr Lucy Brown

I wish someone had said: you know love is wonderful… yes, go for it but happens and maybe this isnt gonna last… maybe it is, but maybe it isnt', and just realise that it be one of the most devastating experiences in your life, but youre gonna get over it.

Neil

Dr thinks its important to know that relationships can end in heartbreak - feelings of great sadness, as if your is broken, especially after the end of a romantic affair.

Sam

But she also wants young people to that, whatever happens, they can get over it - feel better again after something has made them unhappy.

Falling in love is one of the great experiences in life, and developing the strength to face whatever happens it more likely that the story ends happily– unlike the tale of Romeo and Juliet.

Sam

I think time to reveal the answer to my question  � in which Italian city does the story of Romeo and take place?

Neil

I said it was Florence  � so, was I right?

Sam

Well, Florence is romantic city, but the correct answer is… Verona. Verona was little known in Shakespeares time, but nowadays thousands of visit the sites connected with the story, including the famous balcony where Romeo declared his eternal love. OK, lets the vocabulary weve learned starting with soulmate  � the special person who you feel a strong romantic bond to.

Neil

Cynicism describes the belief that something will not work out successfully.

Sam

If you are validated, you external confirmation that your actions, ideas or feelings are worthwhile and valuable.

Neil

You can use the phrase, for it! to encourage someone to make whatever efforts are necessary to get something done.

Sam

Heartbreak describes of great sadness, as if your heart is broken.

Neil

And finally, to get over something means to better again after something has made you unhappy. One again our six minutes are up, but theres time for more famous saying and I think its good advice: “better to have loved and lost, than never to have at all”. Goodbye for now.

Sam

Bye!