Dick & Jane

Dick and Jane, sang by Bobby Vinton and written by Dewayne Blackwell speaks of unrequited love and the eternal love triangle. A love story spawned at the early stages of childhood, from innocence to social awareness.  The song opens with the chorus:

Look, Dick look, look at Jane

See Jane laugh and play

Look, Dick look, see pretty Jane

I'm gonna marry her someday

The phrases bring back familiar phrases: look, look at jane, see pretty Jane.  Indeed, Dick and Jane are the main characters of books used to teach children in the United Stateshow to  read using the "look say" method.  The next lines confirms this connection of the song:

I've loved her since we were children

Back in grammar school

Loved her then and I always wiIll

Though I know I'm just a fool

Was the songwriter admonishing the basal reading method? In the 50s Rudolf Flesch wrote the book "Why Johnny Can't Read" blaming "look say" and urging a return to teaching phonics instead.

The story of unrequited love follows with:

Then one day I kissed her

But it was all in vain

Cause I was at their reception

To have fun with Dick and Jane

Time has turned some pages

Since they moved away

I think back in stage

Of the way she'd laugh and play

Today I received a letter

That she has passed away

So one last time I kissed her

By the flowers where she'll lay

But Why did Blackwell turn the love story to a tragic ending

The basal reading pedagogy started losing favor in the 70s.  

Bobby Vinton recorded Dick and Jane in 1975.