1960s songs, new love

#155 Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond

I Look at the night/
And it don’t seem so lonely.

Few songs are as feel good as Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”. It is hard to feel sad while this song is playing. There is something about the happy feel of the song along with singing about meeting a woman that has never made you feel so good. That is a recipe for happiness, I guess.

The lyrics tell a story of a burgeoning love, an unexpected love. The narrator sounds surprised and in a really good mental space. Isn’t new love fantastic? The things that seemed to bother him no longer concern him as long as Caroline is around. I think “Caroline” would be a good thing to name your kid. You get automatic good vibes associated just from this song. (Though I wonder if people named Caroline grow to hate this song?)

“Caroline” sounds simple, but it has a lot of nuance. Take the intro, for example. The choice of horns in 1969 seems like a bizarre choice, but it is clearly the right one. The orchestration is unique. There really is a lot going on under the vocals. Diamond’s vocals don’t get mentioned enough. They are great. His voice sounds raw on the record—like it was the 50^th take. The song does not require a dynamic vocal range, so it requires someone with a unique voice to pull it off. It is a great sing-along.

Sweet Caroline Lyrics

Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing.
But then I know it’s growing strong.
Was in the spring…
And spring became the summer.
Who’d have believed you’d come along.

Hands, touching hands,
Reaching out, touching me, touching you.

Sweet Caroline,
Good times never seemed so good.
I’ve been inclined,
To believe they never would.
But now I…

Look at the night and it don’t seem so lonely.
We filled it up with only two.
And when I hurt,
Hurting runs off my shoulders.
How can I hurt when holding you.

One, touching one,
Reaching out, touching me, touching you…

Sweet Caroline,
Good times never seemed so good.
I’ve been inclined,
To believe they never would.
Oh no, no…

Sweet Caroline,
Good times never seemed so good.
Sweet Caroline,
I believe they never could.
Sweet Caroline,
Good times never seemed so good.

Written by Neil Diamond

2010s songs, couples songs

#154 Outer Space- John Grant

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I think you must be extraterrestrial/
‘Cause you can open up the heavens for me.

John Grant’s “Outer Space” is a great concept for a love song. There are only so many times you can say “you’re special” and “I love you” before the words start to lose their meaning from repetition or because we use those words to describe other things that we “love” like granola bars or reality tv.

John Grant has met someone who is life-changing. He wants to tell her(him?) he loves her in a unique way. He says, “You must be from outer space”, because no one has made him feel that way before. The new feeling is almost otherworldly compared to the past. It is such a touching sentiment, and a beautiful, quirky way to say “I love you”.

The reason the lyrics of John Grant’s “Outer Space” don’t come off as cheesy is because he sings them with such earnestness. We believe that he is in genuine awe and he is running out of words to describe the way he feels.

But it isn’t just the lyrics. “Outer Space” sounds amazing and borderline groundbreaking. The sound he creates with the keyboard to sound like outer space sounds celestial. It is genius. It kills.

This space-like vibe, coupled with a great melody and vocals make “Outer Space” a candidate for all-time great song. You May also like Space Oddity by David Bowie.

Outer Space Lyrics

I still don’t know what I’m looking at,
‘Cause I’ve never seen anything like this before.
I have a friend who’s an astronomer,
And he says he cannot help me,
‘Cause he doesn’t have a clue.

I think that you must be from outer space-
Maybe from somewhere beyond the stars.
I think you must be extraterrestrial,
‘Cause you can open up the heavens for me
With just one smile, just one smile, just one smile.

What is that sound coming out of your mouth?
(Cause I’ve never heard anything like that before).
It sounds like a language from another galaxy.
I wanna thank you ’cause you opened the door.

Written by John Grant

1990s songs, heartbreak

#153 Foolish Games- Jewel

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This is my heart bleeding before you/
This is me down on my knees.

“Foolish Games” is one of Jewel’s amazing songs from her first album. Of her three hits from that record, I think “Foolish Games” is the one that stands the test of time. But there still may be one that is even better coming later in the list. Stay tuned.

The strength of “Foolish Games” is that it is played all on the piano, so it provides a clearly different sound than the rest of her first album. In the song she discusses her current love. Notice the attention to detail she provides about him. She is very into him. But she is starting to get the sense that he is not as into her. And it hurts. It’s tearing her apart. Breaking her heart. While she adores the man, she is starting to see that he is not treating her well, and a breakup will be on the horizon.

If you haven’t seen her perform this on the VMAs, you must. It is the most iconic VMA moment in my mind. She was angelic and you absolutely knew she was going to be a superstar. She must have been only 19 at the time.

Foolish Games Lyrics

You took your coat off, stood in the rain,
You’re always crazy like that.
And I watched from my window,
Always felt I was outside looking in on you.
You’re always the mysterious one with
Dark eyes and careless hair,
You were fashionably sensitive
But too cool to care.
You stood in my doorway, with nothing to say,
Besides some comment on the weather.

Well in case you failed to notice,
In case you failed to see,
This is my heart bleeding before you,
This is me down on my knees… and

These foolish games are tearing me apart.
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart.
You’re breaking my heart.

You’re always brilliant in the morning,
Smoking your cigarettes and talking over coffee.
Your philosophies on art, Baroque moved you
You loved Mozart. and you’d speak of your loved ones
As I clumsily strummed my guitar.

You’d teach me of honest things,
Things that were daring, things that were clean,
Things that knew what an honest dollar did mean.
I hid my soiled hands behind my back,
Somewhere along the line, I must have gone off track with you.

Excuse me, guess I’ve mistaken you for somebody else,
Somebody who gave a damn
Somebody more like myself.

These foolish games are tearing me
You’re tearing me, you’re tearing me apart.
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart.
You’re breaking my heart.

And you took your coat off, stood in the rain.
You’re always crazy like that.

written by Jewel

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