The Wedding Song (There Is Love) is a classic, easy listening hit song that topped the charts upon its release on June 28th, 1971. It was originally written and performed by Paul Stookey, who found his initial fame in the American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary which was formed in 1971. When the group broke up in 1970, The Wedding Song became Stookey’s first single off of his debut solo record title Paul and.

The Wedding Song’s compositional origins are actually said by Stookey himself to have come from divine inspiration. In 1969, just on the heals of the band’s breakup, Stookey’s bandmate Peter Yarrow was getting married to his wife Mary Beth McCarthy. Funny enough, McCarthy was actually the daughter of 1968 Presidential Candidate Eugene McCarthy, who Peter, Paul and Mary campaigned for. Peter Yarrow asked Stookey to be the best man at his wedding, so therefore, Stookey decided that he wanted to write the two a love song as a wedding gift to them. He says that Stookey actually asked God to send him the inspiration for the song, and that he he received the melody and lyrics back from God in almost a miraculous way. As a result of this, the lyrics definitely reference God directly multiple times, and hint at a religious influence. However, there is nothing about the lyrical content that strictly places it into one religion. The presence of the capitalized “His” is the only real defining religious overtone in the lyrics, and due to its ambiguity, it could be applicable to many religions, not just Christianity. Outside of these few religious lines, the song at its core is simply a beautiful love song, describing the relationship between the man and woman and their love for each other.

After performing the song at Yarrow’s wedding, he and his wife insisted that Stookey record and release the song on his first solo record. The song was recorded in 1971, produced out very simply with Stookey playing two double tracked, 12-string guitar parts and a solo lead vocal. The song was produced by Ed Mottau and Jim Mason, was written and arranged by Stookey himself and was released by Warner Records. It is in the key of Eb, played at 136bpm in cut time, and the original recording is played by a 12-string guitar that is tuned two full steps down.

This song has seen a multitude of covers and renditions over the years. One of the most famous covers that has been released was done by Petula Clark, just a year after the song’s release in 1972. That version was produced by Don Costa and gave Clark a top 10 hit on the charts. Other cover versions include Captain & Tennille and Harry Belafonte. The song is arguably one of the most popular “wedding” songs of all time, being covered at countless weddings to this day. It also remains one of the most popular love songs from the 70’s. It helped influence many other traditionally religious artists to write songs that could crossover to the mainstream.

Due to the “divine inspiration” of the song, Stookey feels that he did not actually write it. Therefore, the song’s copyright is owned by the Public Domain Foundation, and all profits from the song are distributed to various charities every year.