Catullus and Journey give us a glimpse into the men who are waiting in the wings, just hoping to swoop down and win back the woman of their dreams. In the chorus of the song “Separate Ways”, the singer comes on strong, saying “Someday love will find you/Break those chains that bind you, one night will remind you/How we touched and went our separate ways/If he ever hurts you, true love won’t desert you/You know I still love you/Though we touched and went our separate ways”. The singer is just waiting, hoping, to have a chance with the woman he parted ways with once before. Even though the lover is with someone new, and may be happy with them, the singer implies that his is the truest love.
A similar sentiment is found in Catullus. His muse is a woman known as Lesbia, and he writes about her frequently. Topics range from who she is with, what she says about him (nothing good), and how he is the one that loves her the most, “No woman can say she’s been loved so truly as you, Lesbia, have been loved by me. There was never such trust in any bond, as was found, on my part, in my love of you.” (Catullus, 87). Here again we see this idea of the author being the one who clearly loves the object of affection the most. Lesbia is with another man, trash-talking him, and yet Catullus still patiently waits for a chance with her.
Here we may see a connection in the theme of obsession, these men have no real evidence that these women want to be with them, and yet they just lurk about, lying in wait, as if that is somehow romantic? Obsession is a remarkably consistent theme in erotic love from the ancient world to today.
These works are different in that the Singer’s love story is never resolved, whereas Catullus does end up with Lesbia for the time being (and supposedly she came back to him willingly, Catullus 107). There is also a different flavor of language used to talk about the relationship the object of affection has with her own lover, the singer uses references to chains and bonds to indicate that his ex-lover is now trapped in a less passionate relationship, while Catullus makes it clear that Lesbia has more autonomy. She hasn’t been tied down by some villainous rival, rather she has more control over her sexuality which allows her to wander about as she pleases.
Catullus 87 – No woman can say she’s been loved so truly as you, Lesbia, have been loved by me. There was never such trust in any bond, as was found, on my part, in my love of you.