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Does "Make love with somebody" mean "have sex with somebody"? Make love out of nothing at all I've heard this song for a lot of time that was sung by Air Supply. But I didn't figure out exactly what this title means. Does "Make love with somebody" mean "have sex with somebody"? And does "out of nothing at all" indicate "without any foundation or reason"? Please help me! Thanks!
Aug 27, 2014 9:35 AM
Answers · 9
Just in case anyone's interested, 'make love' hasn't always meant 'have sex'. There are still plenty of older examples in literature and popular culture where it just means 'flirt' .. or kiss, or whatever. Such as the (almost) rhyme: Don't make love At the garden gate Love is blind But the neighbors ain't.
August 27, 2014
Yes, "to make love to" somebody means "to have sex with" somebody. Notice that the preposition is different--"to" and "with". In English we don't make love WITH a person, instead it is TO. The song title is a play on words. Normally, in English, you make something out of something else, e.g. "I made the table out of wood" or "The phone is made out of plastic." Obviously, when you "make love" you are producing a thing, so he is playing with the meaning--"to make" can also mean "to do" or "to give rise to" or "to cause", e.g. make a fuss, make a bargain. So what the writer intended is up to the listener. Does he mean without any foundation, as you suggest, or without a suitable partner, as he may be implying about himself. That's what art is about.
August 27, 2014
"Make love" WITH somebody means "have sex". However, in the lyrics, it doesn't say "make love WITH" somebody - just "make love", which could literally just mean creating love, or a loving situation. So "making love out of nothing at all" could mean to create a loving situation from nothing. So, it's a pun on the more usual meaning of "make love".
August 27, 2014
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