Category Archives: 1970s songs

The best 500 songs from the 1970s. Meanings, lyrics and interpretations from your favorite seventies artists. Fleetwood, The Eagles, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Queen and all your favorite 70s artists ranked.

1970s songs, story songs

#236 Levon- Elton John

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And he shall be Levon/
And he shall be a good man.

Elton John’s “Levon” is about three generations of the Tostig family: Alvin Tostig who is Levon Tostig’s dad, and Jesus Tostig who is the youngest, Levon’s son. Each Tostig is a good man and desires the best for their son, but most of all, each wants their son to achieve more in life than they did.

Levon Greatest Alltime song Meaning
Elton

It is very much a tale of the American dream. Levon owns a semi-successful balloon company but his son Jesus just looks at the balloons and dreams of being an astronaut. This makes Levon both proud and disappointed. He is happy that Jesus is looking to better himself but slightly disappointed that he doesn’t see himself continuing the family business. I really like structure of the song, and how Taupin is simply telling us a story about a family.

The melody of the verse and chorus in addition to the story-telling all add up to make “Levon” a great song. The song is produced extremely well. Most of John’s albums are. After the piano intro, the strings do most of the weight-lifting. Though there are some crazy piano solos that really show off Elton’s piano chops. He is the best rock piano player (on this list and not on this list). Nina Simone is better than him, but I don’t consider her rock.

Levon Lyrics

Levon wears his war wound like a crown.
He calls his child Jesus,
’cause he likes the name,
And he sends him to the finest school in town.

Levon, Levon likes his money,
He makes a lot they say.
Spends his days counting
In a garage by the motorway.

He was born a pauper
To a pawn on a Christmas day,
When the New York Times
Said God is dead, and the war’s begun.
Alvin Tostig has a son today.

And he shall be Levon!
And he shall be a good man.
And he shall be Levon,
In tradition with the family plan.
And he shall be Levon,
And he shall be a good man.
He shall be Levon.

Levon’s sells cartoon balloons in town.
His family business thrives.
Jesus blows up balloons all day,
Sits on the porch swing watching them fly.

And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus,
Leave Levon far behind.
Take a balloon and go sailing,
While Levon, Levon slowly dies.

He was born a pauper
To a pawn on a Christmas day,
When the New York Times
Said God is dead, and the war’s begun.
Alvin Tostig has a son today.

And he shall be Levon!
And he shall be a good man.
And he shall be Levon,
In tradition with the family plan.
And he shall be Levon,
And he shall be a good man.
He shall be Levon.

And he shall be Levon!
And he shall be a good man.
And he shall be Levon,
In tradition with the family plan, woo.
And he shall be Levon,
And he shall be a good man.
He shall be Levon.

written by Elton John/ Bernie Taupin

1970s songs, heartbreak

#235 If You Could Read My Mind- Gordon Lightfoot

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And I will never be set free/
As long as I’m a ghost you can see.

Gordon Lightfoot had a breakup that is not going well. He is a bit of a romantic. He has seen all the love stories and the movies and even though the hero doesn’t always get the girl, he doesn’t remember a story where the hero ends up feeling like this!

If You Could Read My Mind Meaning
Gordon Lightfoot

He feels discarded. She left him for another man. He is still in her world so he feels entangled and unable to move on. This is not how things are supposed to go. If only she understood.

“If You Could Read My Mind” has melodramatic lyrics but anyone who has felt loss can identify with Lightfoot’s lyrics. His imagery in the song and the extended metaphor of him as a jilted actor in a play is really unique. The sound of the song is a wonderful mix of classic folk and soft rock. Having a great voice and accompanying that with a finger-picking acoustic guitar and strings will always be a win in my book. This is an underrated song about heartbreak.

If You Could Read My Mind Lyrics

If you could read my mind love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
About a ghost from a wishing well.

In a castle dark or a fortress strong,
With chains upon my feet,
You know that ghost is me.
And I will never be set free,
As long as I’m a ghost you can see.

If I could read your mind love,
What a tale your thoughts could tell.
Just like a paperback novel,
The kind the drugstore sells.

When you reach the part where the heartaches
Come the hero would be me.
Heroes often fail.
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take.

I walk away like a movie star,
Who gets burned in a three way script.
Enter number two, a movie queen
To play the scene of bringing all the good things out in me.
But for now love lets be real…

I never thought I could act this way,
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feelings gone and I just can’t get it back.

If you could read my mind love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie about a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet,
The story always ends.
And if you read between the lines,
You’ll know that I’m just trying to understand.
The feeling that you left.

I never thought I could feel this way,
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feeling’s gone,
And I just can’t get it back.

Songwriters: Gordon Lightfoot

1970s songs, love songs

#234 Is This Love?- Bob Marley

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I’m willing and able/
So I throw my cards on your table!

I feel like a cooler title to this song would be “This is Love!” Listen to Marley’s feelings about the woman. He says he wants to treat her right, share his bed, spend time with her, provide for her and he wants to love her–and he is ready and able. Why is he asking “Is This Love”? He clearly is in love. Perhaps he is simply hesitant. Declarations of love—that is, putting yourself out there to potentially be rejected—is difficult.

Is This Love? Meaning
Bob Marley

Marley is the only reggae artist on this list. It really shows how much his art transcends genres. I wonder how this song would sound with no percussion and just an acoustic guitar? I think it would make a great soft-rock song. That is not to say that the song is not great as it is, I am merely suggesting that the melody is so good that the arrangement for “Is This Love?” could go in many different directions and this would still be an all-time great song.

Is This Love? Lyrics

I want to love you
I want to love you, and treat you right
I want to love you, every day and every night

I want to love you, and treat you right
I want to love you, every day and every night

We’ll be together, with a roof right over our heads
We’ll share the shelter, of my single bed
We’ll share the same room
Is this love, is this love, is this love
Is this love that I’m feelin’?

I want to love you, and treat you right
I want to love you, every day and every night
We’ll be together, with a roof right over our heads
We’ll share the shelter, of my single bed
We’ll share the same room
Is this love, is this love, is this love
Is this love that I’m feelin’?

Is this love, is this love, is this love
Is this love that I’m feelin’?
I want to know, want to know, want to know now

Is this love, is this love, is this love
Is this love that I’m feelin’?
Is this love, is this love, is this love
Is this love that I’m feelin’?
I want to love you

Songwriters: Bob Marley