Category Archives: 1960s songs

The top 500 best music and songs from the 1960s. Song meanings, lyrics and interpretations from your favorite artists. The Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Dylan. See who rates the highest!

1960s songs, infatuation

#403 I Only Wanna Be With You- Dusty Springfield

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‘Cause you started something, can’t you see/
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me.

In “I Only Want to be With You” we see Dusty Springfield’s range. Not only can she do sultry songs like “The Look of Love”, she can also do typical, upbeat pop fair. This song has a theme similar to many pop songs of the 60s: “I am really into you”, “I want to spend more time with you”, “I’m falling in love with you”, etc. Springfield delivers it in an optimistic way that is reminiscent of the hope of young or burgeoning love. She has a very versatile voice.

I only Wanna Be With You Meaning
Dusty

Springfield’s “I Only Want to be With You” is really upbeat and fast-paced. The arrangement contains a bit of an eclectic selection of instruments. Along with the usual strings and drums that you find in a lot of songs from the pop songs from this era, you also have a small sax intro and featured trumpets. The brass section seems to drive a lot of the rhythm of the song, which contributes to that unique “old-school” sound.

I Only Wanna Be With You Lyrics

I don’t know what it is that makes me love you so
I only know I never want to let you go
‘Cause you started something, can’t you see
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
I happens to be true, I only want to be with you

It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do
I want to spend each moment of the day with you
Look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
It’s crazy but it’s true, I only want to be with you

You stopped and smiled at me
Asked me if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
I didn’t stand a chance

Now, listen, honey, I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
‘Cause you started something, can’t you see
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do, I only want to be with you

You stopped and smiled at me
Asked me if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
I didn’t stand a chance

Now hear me darling, I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
‘Cause you started something, can’t you see
That ever since we met you’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do, I only want to be with you
I said, no matter, no matter what you do, I only want to be with you

Songwriters: Ivor Raymonde / Michael Hawker

1960s songs, toxic relationship

#397 She Belongs To Me- Bob Dylan

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You will start out standing/
Proud to steal her anything she sees/
But you’ll wind up peeking through her keyhole.

Some have claimed “She Belongs To Me” is a love song. It is not. Dylan didn’t really write many love songs. However, he is writing a song about a woman that he is currently dating (or the narrator is dating). The narrator probably tells himself “she is mine”, or “she belongs to me”, but does she? Here is a once proud man, who is now stealing for her just to get a glimpse of her naked through her bedroom keyhole. It sounds like she has him wrapped around her finger. It sounds like he is a belonging to her.

She Belongs To Me Meaning
Dylan

As always with Dylan, the lyrics are exquisite, but the melody is good too and the simple arrangement works. His harmonica solo is solid, as is his guitar work, and his voice is as good here as it is in any of his recordings. If you want to hear the best recording of this listen to Dylan at Royal Albert Hall in 66. He was magnificent that night, and a lot of the versions from this list will pull from that concert.

Lyrics She Belongs To Me

She’s got everything she needs, she’s an artist
She don’t look back.
She’s got everything she needs, she’s an artist
She don’t look back.
She can take the dark out of the nighttime,
And paint the daytime black.

You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees.
You will start out standing
Proud to steal her anything she sees.
But you’ll wind up peeking through her keyhole
Down upon your knees.

She never stumbles, she’s got no place to fall.
She never stumbles, she’s got no place to fall.
She’s nobody’s child, the Law can’t touch her at all.

She wears an Egyptian ring that sparkles before she speaks.
She wears an Egyptian ring that sparkles before she speaks.
She’s a hypnotist collector, you are a walking antique.

Bow down to her on Sunday,
Salute her when her birthday comes.
Bow down to her on Sunday,
Salute her when her birthday comes.
For Halloween give her a trumpet
And for Christmas, buy her a drum.

Songwriters: Bob Dylan

1960s songs, protest songs

#396 I’d Love To Change the World- Ten Years After

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Tax the rich, feed the poor/
‘Til there are no rich no more.

Ten Years After’s “I’d Love to Change the World” might be one of the first social change songs we’ve talked about on this list. This is a big one. Ten Years After sees themselves as the modern day Robin Hood…kind of. They want to tax the rich and feed the poor, they support the environment, they see racial injustice that needs to be rectified and they think war is out of hand.

I'd Like To Change The World Meaning
Ten Years After

Ten Years After have a lot of beliefs similar to the social democrats. The difference is that they’d “like to change the world, but I don’t know what to do… So I leave it up to you.”  Well I suppose we need idea people as well as the doers.

The cool thing about this song is that it discusses a serious subject but it still rocks. Traditionally folk music has been where most protest songs have occurred. I love folk music, but not everyone does. We need more songs like this in rock and pop.

It is amazing how similar the message that people were fighting for 50 years ago is still something we are fighting for today. This would be an appropriate campaign song for a Bernie Sanders campaign.

I’d Love to Change the World Lyrics

Everywhere is freaks and hairies,
Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity.
Tax the rich, feed the poor,
‘Til there are no rich no more.

I’d love to change the world-
But I don’t know what to do,
So I’ll leave it up to you.

Population keeps on breeding,
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy.
Life is funny, skies are sunny,
Bees make honey, who needs money, Monopoly.

I’d love to change the world-
But I don’t know what to do,
So I’ll leave it up to you.

World pollution, there’s no solution,
Institution, electrocution.
Just black and white, rich or poor,
Them and us, stop the war.

I’d love to change the world-
But I don’t know what to do,
So I’ll leave it up to you.

Songwriters: Alvin Lee