“Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow go, straight to my lover's heart for me..." -Sam Cooke
Love songs were a staple of the 1950s and the early 60s. These songs were commonly filled with lyrics of innocence and true romance. Sam Cooke was one of the major artists during this time, penning and recording 11 studio albums, 49 singles and 13 compilations and over 30 love songs.
One of Cooke’s most notable songs, his single “Cupid,” was released in May of 1961. Cooke’s single acts as a call to the Roman mythical figure, Cupid, who is known today as a figure of desire. However, Cupid’s origin seems a little more messy than it should be.
Cooke wrote the song about a girl he saw on the Perry Como Show who didn’t really do anything but look up at Como while he was speaking.
In Greek and Roman mythology, Cupid is a being of desire as well as scorn. A majority of his tales include him meddling with the love lives of other mythological figures. While we still know and accept the “loving” Cupid, this doesn’t explain how we’ve got to the portrayal of a cherub-like figure that doesn’t tamper around with others.
The figure we know today can be credited to the 18th and 19th centuries, as it was popular to give friendship cards on Valentine's Day. Greeting card companies, specifically Hallmark, made their mark on Valentine’s Day as a holiday by bringing about our modern interpretation of Cupid. Artists such as Kate Greenaway and Esther Howland brought about the original concepts of Valentine's Day cards.
Valentine made by Kate Greenaway in 1874 | Contributed by the MET Museum
Valentine made by Esther Howland in the mid 19th century | Contributed by the MET Museum
Their art, along with greeting card company art, brought in Valentine’s Day as a more profitable holiday. This year alone, Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $27.5 billion, with each person celebrating spending approximately $188.81.
Keeping that in mind and the history of one of the most prominent holiday figures, looking back on Cooke’s song we can see that it was more of a plea with Cupid so Cooke can get the girl he wants.
While the love is unrequited, Cooke sings, “There's danger of me losing all of my happiness, for I love a girl who doesn't know I exist […]” in the first verse and follows with “Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow go, straight to my lover's heart for me, nobody but me […]” in the chorus.
Cooke’s plea does seem desperate yet innocent. Of course, Cooke’s song lightly works with what Cupid’s fable is about — being a being of desire and longing — while also not getting what he wants.
Looking from a more modern lens, Cooke's lyrics seem outdated. We see more straightforward lyrics from many R&B artists like SZA, Brent Faiyaz, Daniel Caesar, and Giveon. Most of the frank-speaking lyrics can be seen as raunchy by the standards of people who grew up with Cooke's music.
As corny as it is to say, romance as we know it is something that we can consider to be "dead" compared to what Cooke has released.
I mean lyrics like "Now, Cupid, if your arrow make her love strong for me, I promise I will love her until eternity [...]" aren't something you see today.
Once again, making this plea, Cooke is making promises to treat his girl right and love her with all he can give is so much better than seeing lyrics about cheating, a one-sided relationship or even just using someone.
Common lyrics like "Hundreds of baddies, it's hard to choose one" aren't something that should be normalized. Obviously, we've evolved in so many ways from the '50s and '60s but even in 2025, love and romance deserve to be celebrated.
Mixes of today's songs though are close to that of Cooke's. Today, we hear mixes or samples of guitars, drums and pianos, something that we definitely consider "romantic."
Cooke’s song mixes in most genres that we consider “sultry” or “desirable” today. He mixes Latin, R&B, jazz and a few pop elements commonly found in songs from the time. Those that have covered Cooke’s single have also put their own twist on the song.
Johnny Nash covered the song in 1970 and added in reggae elements. Otis Redding also covered the single and it was released posthumously in 1993; finally, in 2008, Amy Winehouse changed the lyrics to fit herself as well and implemented a reggae sound with her sultry tone.
Winehouse's recent cover of the single combined Nash's and Cooke's styles to insert her own twist to the single.
She uses lyrics of loving a man instead of a woman, the reggae sound that Nash introduced allowed her to find a different rhythm within the song making the song sound almost like a new tune. She also used different backing vocals compared to those of Nash and Cooke, which also set her apart.
Winehouse's artistry flows way outside of this song and putting her own style into this cover is something that mixes her recognizable sound with that of a different one from her usual style and it seems to me, like Cooke, that she nailed the tune perfectly.
Cooke’s plea inspired these artists and more to reach out with their plea to Cupid. Funnily enough, we have Kate Greenaway and Esther Howland to thank for giving us the Cupid we know and celebrate today.
In that same light, we should be thinking like Cooke when it comes to being in love. Cooke's discography is an example of what love should be like for people in this age. It's something to look back on and replicate. Romance and innocence are something we should be wanting and appreciating in this generation.
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Brychelle Brooks, junior majoring in public and professional writing with a minor in information systems, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since August 2023. She previously served as the Campus Reporter and Opinion Editor. She is currently serving as the Newsletter Editor.
