The Rip Chords' "Here I Stand"

I listened to an album of the Rip Chords a couple days ago, but this afternoon I was thinking about "Here I Stand" and realized something about the bridge.  The "so" in the first line ("I love you so") has a melisma, which emphasizes the degree of the loving.  The "so" is drawn out to various pitches to represent the greatness of singer/speaker's love.

In the first and third iteration of the bridge, the "I love you" is all sung to an F, and the "so" is sung to a G F G F Eb phrase.  In the second iteration, the "I love you" is sung to a Db, and the "so" to Eb F Eb Db Eb.  The specific melismas are different, but the idea behind both is the same.