Most songwriters who teach songwriting will tell you to start with a title. The title was just about the last thing I wrote into this song. It started out with the working title "I Don't Want My Cake". The way I work on songs, re-writes often take place over the span of months or even years, so I very often approach a re-write with a new perspective. Whatever stuck the Valentine's Day theme into my head, I don't recall, but I like how it tied the verses together and underlined the romantic gestures of the song. I had a lot of fun writing this one, with the twists on Marie, the squeezing of the word 'gentlemanly' into a song lyric, and all the food references. Listening to this song when you're hungry may be bad for the diet...

(FYI, my wife and I usually celebrate Valentine's Day by having chinese food with the kids, no chocolates or cards.)