“There’s no time to lose, ” I heard her say/
Catch your dreams before they slip away.

Mick—a renowned playboy—has seemed to have met his match in Ruby. Ruby seems to be a tough nut to crack. Ruby doesn’t like to talk about the past as it’s irrelevant.  And she has big dreams about the future that she is anxious to obtain. Ruby changes so often that it seems as if you almost don’t even know her. But that intrigues Jagger more.

Is it possible that Ruby is even more free-spirited than the legendary Jagger? Perhaps. Ultimately, Ruby leaves–of course. He will miss her…or what he thinks he knows about her.

“Ruby Tuesday” is a fantastic character because she is described so specifically that you know she must have been based on a real person. That is fascinating. As is Ruby. The music is great, especially the choice of a recorder. Sometimes a recorder can be a real easy thing to screw up. Most of the time it is just annoying but here it is perfect. They also use an upright bass to fill out one of their signature (and underrated) songs.

The Rolling Stones “Ruby Tuesday” often gets overlooked because the name is a bit silly. But that is the point. He knows her name is “Ruby” but other than that he knows nothing about her.  She changes all the time; did he ever know her? The lyrics, music and arraignment are quietly complex. Just like Ruby.

Ruby Tuesday Lyrics

She would never say where she came from.
Yesterday don’t matter if it’s gone.
While the sun is bright,
Or in the darkest night,
No one knows, she comes and goes.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day.
Still I’m gonna miss you.

Don’t question why she needs to be so free.
She’ll tell you it’s the only way to be.
She just can’t be chained
To a life where nothing’s gained,
Or nothing’s lost, at such a cost.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day.
Still I’m gonna miss you

“There’s no time to lose, ” I heard her say.
“Catch your dreams before they slip away”.
Dying all the time.
Lose your dreams and you will lose your mind.
Ain’t life unkind?

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day.
Still I’m gonna miss you.

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day.
Still I’m gonna miss you.

written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

I want a perfect body/
I want a perfect soul.
I want you to notice.

“Creep” is the song that made Radiohead famous.  For a couple years it appeared Radiohead might be a one-hit wonder. That was mostly a function of how big this song was on the radio and how little commercial airplay the rest of their catalogue received.  In hindsight, they are one of the most important and influential bands of the 90s with Nirvana and Green Day.

Radiohead
The narrator feels like a “creep” because that is how society has labels men who approach women who are more attractive. And he wants to approach a particular woman who is out of his league. He places her on a pedestal–this is obvious and problematic.  Equally problematic are his feelings of self-hatred for feeling attraction and society’s reaction to “ugly” people.

We initially feel him to be a sympathetic character. I believe this is what makes the song connect with so many people.  We have all had feelings of inferiority and approaching strangers is difficult for anyone. We are rooting for him and we identify with him.

However, things turn south toward the end of the song. He describes her running out the door.  Is this woman so insensitive, or is it more likely that he is exhibiting creepy behavior? Or perhaps he is an unreliable narrator and not telling us all the details or giving us a distorted version of the story. We don’t know.

The melody of the song is amazing as are the vocals. It does sound a bit like another song on this list, The Hollies The Air That I Breathe, so perhaps that is a particular chord progression that just works. Obviously, the songs are unique enough to both deserve a spot on this list. The best part of the song is when the electric guitar comes in on “I’m so fucking special… (tat)(tat)..(tat)(tat)…(wahhh)..(that’s a guitar sound).

Radiohead avoids playing it live, which is annoying. I don’t care if you’re sick of playing it. I payed a lot of money for this once in a lifetime experience. Sing the song I want.

Creep Lyrics

When you were here before
Couldn’t look you in the eye
You’re just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You’re so fuckin’ special

But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here

I don’t care if it hurts
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I’m not around
You’re so fuckin’ special

I wish I was special
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here, oh, oh

She’s running out the door
She’s running out
She run, run, run, run
Run

Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You’re so fuckin’ special
I wish I was special

But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong here

In the clearing stands a boxer/
And a fighter by his trade…

Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” is a story about perseverance. The song was written well into Simon and Garfunkel’s career. “The Boxer” is perhaps a bit autobiographical, which is interesting. Even as Simon was seemingly on top of the world, he sees himself as being beat up and an underdog.

The song’s meaning resonates because most of us feel like underdogs—we are all “The Boxer”—fighting to make it and flourish in a sometimes-cruel world.

The production and musical arrangement on “The Boxer” is top-notch. There are two instruments used in “The Boxer” that are iconic, that I don’t know if I have heard in another pop/rock song—the bass harmonica and the piccolo trumpet. The bass harmonica in “The Boxer” is especially interesting to me. All these years I thought it was a bassoon or perhaps a bass clarinet. The drum work is also very interesting.

The iconic slams during the chorus are great and the galloping in the background is not something anyone would think would work, but it does. It sounds like someone running away.

Paul Simon’s guitar work is very solid and often goes unnoticed, but it has become iconic as well. As with most of their songs, the harmonies play a huge part in their success. In “The Boxer”, Garfunkel is much less prominent than in other songs. He allows Simon to shine.

The Boxer Lyrics

I am just a poor boy,
Though my story’s seldom told,
I have squandered my resistance,
For a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jests,
Still a man hears what he wants to hear,
And disregards the rest.

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy,
In the company of strangers.
In the quiet of the railway station-
Running scared.
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go.
Looking for the places
Only they would know.

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie.
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie.

Asking only workman’s wages
I come looking for a job,
But I get no offers.
Just a come-on from the whores
On Seventh Avenue.
I do declare:
There were times when I was so lonesome,
I took some comfort there. le le le le le le le.

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie.
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie.

Then I’m laying out my winter clothes,
And wishing I was gone-
Going home.
Where the New York City winters
Aren’t bleeding me;
Leading me,
Going home.

In the clearing stands a boxer-
And a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down,
Or cut him till he cried out-
In his anger and his shame:
“I am leaving, I am leaving”,
But the fighter still remains.
mmm mmm

Written by Paul Simon