Horace writes about his personal experience of his relationship with a particular lover, and shares what the current younger lover must be feeling and doing in his stead, the good and the bad. Similarly, in the song 31 Candles, the lead singer sings about her experience with her ex-husband who left her for a younger woman, and what their new love life will be like. Both authors go into great detail to describe the interactions between the new lovers. Horace describes how the “slim boy — beside you (Pyrrha) on the roses” is “soaked with flowing scents, is pressing you.” He describes how the new lover will “often weep over your promises” and “who thinks you’ll never be busy, always be ready to love, not knowing the betrayals of the breeze.” Horace then describes how he is a veteran lover, and has survived the turmoil of his past relationship with Pyrrha. The other author also describes the characteristics of the new lover, as “the skirt with the acoustic guitar… got a f***ing kitty on her shirt” implying that she is a child. The artists describes her husband “Stroke(ing) her supple skin” and saying that she will eventually get older by creating an image of a birthday party to describe the passage of time, “Blow up the balloons, Take out the ribbons in her hair, She’ll be a woman soon
God forbid self possessed and self aware…she may not fare as well as me, I’m thinking 5 more years to go uh, huh.” The use of descriptive texts from both authors indicates that these are their own personal experiences, that they have felt this love, laid beside them in roses, and had their supple skin stroked.
Both authors similarly warn of the downsides of their experiences and the bad side of their lovers. The singer writes about how the relationship was one-sided and the husband was selfish, “You didn’t never give me nothin’, Always, take, take, take, uh, huh.” Horace warns that the new lovers do “not knowing the betrayals of the breeze, They’re fools you dazzle, they haven’t tried you.” Further indicating towards his own personal experience.
The differences in texts is that Horace’s relationship with Pyrrah had ended, and there is no indication that he was cheated on and left for a younger lover. The singer of The Mendoza Line, However, sings about how she was betrayed and her husband left her. The point of age is also more important in the Mendoza Line song, since the husband purposefully leaves for a younger lover. Having a younger lover in ancient Rome was common and was most likely mentioned to indicate the age of Horace when he was in that same position.
1.5 (page 225 – 226)
What Slim Boy — beside you on the roses —
soaked with flowing scents, is pressing
you, Pyrrha, in a pleasing grotto?
For whom do you bind your yellow hair?
–easily elegant. How often he’ll weep over your promises and the shifting gods,
amazed at the seas rough with black winds, the innocent
who now enjoys you, believes in your luster, who thinks you’ll never be busy, always
be ready to love, not knowing the betrayals
of the breeze. They’re fools you dazzle, they haven’t tried you. Me, well a votive plaque on the temple wall tells that I
hung up my sopping clothes to the god
who rules the sea.