Tag Archives: featured

1960s songs, love songs

#500 And I Love Her- The Beatles

You’d love her too
And I love her…

It is only right that we start off a list of the best 500 songs of the past 70 years with The Beatles. You may be seeing them often on this list. The Beatles may or may not be your favorite band of all time, but it is hard to argue that they are one of the most prolific bands. Perhaps the best. So good, in fact, that I think some of their songs get left off the list just so that this isn’t a “list of greatest Beatles songs”. They are that good.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We have 500 songs to evaluate.

“And I Love Her” is a McCartney song from A Hard Days Night. For those who don’t know- most Beatles songs primarily originated with either Lennon or McCartney and that person would sing lead. This is the one of the songs that marked their transition from their early work to their middle period. The other is “If I Fell”, which is also on this list. It was released as the B-side.

There are a couple interesting aspects about this song. The intro guitar riff really sets the song up well. The lyrics of the second verse are also interesting:

She gives me everything
And tenderly
The kiss my lover brings
She brings to me
And I love her

Is “she” a different person than “my lover”? It sounds like it to me. It also makes the song a lot more interesting. Rather than a simple song stating, “I love my girlfriend” this seems to be saying “I love someone other than my girlfriend.” When I was young, I always wondered if the girlfriend in this scenario freaked out when she heard the song on the radio for the first time. Perhaps I just had an active imagination.

And I Love Her Lyrics

I give her all my love
That’s all I do
And if you saw my love
You’d love her, too
I love her

She gives my everything
And tenderly
The kiss my lover brings
She brings to me
And I love her

A love like ours
Could never die
As long as I
Have you near me

Bright are the stars that shine
Dark is the sky
I know this love of mine
Will never die
And I love her

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

party songs

#450 Liability- Lorde

admin Leave a comment

The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy/
‘Til all of the tricks don’t work anymore.

“Liability” discusses Lorde’s wild life and wild nature and how it isn’t conducive to long-term relationships—both sexual and friendships. How can she be a strong woman who loves her life, while also being self-loving? It appears it just leads to relationships ending, and friends and partners discarding her frivolously.

Those are a lot of disparate ideas to reconcile. Can she remain wild (a “storm”, a “forest fire”) without being viewed as a liability? Because she loves who she is but apparently doesn’t love the pattern of her relationships. They seem to be short-lived, and that isn’t what she wants. She seems to be viewed as a liability. Is it better if she were alone? She seems to be choosing that–for now.

The piano arrangement is about as simple as it gets. What makes it work is that Lorde’s voice and the lyrics are strong. The sound is haunting. There is an emotional presence that she brings to this song that I haven’t heard in her other work. It sounds more personal and relies less on post-production and effects and relies on a great voice and concept.

Liability Lyrics

Baby really hurt me.
Crying in the taxi,
He don’t wanna know me,
Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm.
Says it was poison.

So I guess I’ll go home
Into the arms of the girl that I love,
The only love I haven’t screwed up.
She’s so hard to please
But she’s a forest fire.

I do my best to meet her demands
Play at romance, we slow dance
In the living room, but all that a stranger would see,
Is one girl swaying alone,
Stroking her cheek.

They say, “You’re a little much for me,
You’re a liability.
You’re a little much for me”.
So they pull back, make other plans,
I understand, I’m a liability.
Get you wild, make you leave.
I’m a little much for
E-a-na-na-na, everyone.

The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy
‘Til all of the tricks don’t work anymore:
And then they are bored of me.
I know that it’s exciting
Running through the night, but
Every perfect summer’s
Eating me alive until you’re gone.
Better on my own.

They say, “You’re a little much for me.
You’re a liability.
You’re a little much for me.”
So they pull back, make other plans
I understand, I’m a liability.
Get you wild, make you leave,
I’m a little much for
E-a-na-na-na, everyone.

They’re gonna watch me
Disappear into the sun.
You’re all gonna watch me
Disappear into the sun.

Songwriters: Ella Yelich O’connor / Jack Antonoff

love songs

#400 The Promise- Tracy Chapman

admin Leave a comment

If you think of me/
If you miss me once in a while/
Then I’ll return to you/

This is a beautiful love song by Tracy Chapman. What is “The Promise”? She promises her lover that if he/she thinks of her and holds a place for her in his/her heart she will return and they can be together again. What is amazing about this song is how simple it is, but how moving it is.

Chapman infuses so much meaning into each phrase. We feel this is a personal song to her. Also, she is an incredibly talented singer. The simplicity of the arrangement is also amazing. The light finger-picking backed by strings is such a great choice. Sometimes less is more.

Chapman’s voice doesn’t vary much more than half an octave in this song, but she is still able to convey more emotion than some of the soulless divas who sing several octaves and have various runs on every word. To all the up and coming singers, study Tracy Chapman and how she conveys emotion without vocal gymnastics. It can be done.

The Promise Lyrics

If you wait for me,
Then I’ll come for you.
Although I’ve traveled far,
I always hold a place for you in my heart.

If you think of me,
If you miss me once in a while.
Then I’ll return to you,
I’ll return and fill that space in your heart.

Remembering,
Your touch,
Your kiss,
Your warm embrace.
I’ll find my way back to you,
If you’ll be waiting.

If you dream of me,
Like I dream of you-
In a place that’s warm and dark,
In a place where I can feel the beating of your heart.

Remembering,
Your touch,
Your kiss,
Your warm embrace.
I’ll find my way back to you,
If you’ll be waiting.

Oh, I’ve longed for you,
And I have desired,
To see your face, your smile.
To be with you wherever you are.

Remembering,
Your touch,
Your kiss,
Your warm embrace.
I’ll find my way back to you,
Please say you’ll be waiting.

Together again;
It would feel so good to be
In your arms.
Where all my journeys end.
If you can make a promise,
If it’s one that you can keep-
I vow to come for you,
If you wait for me.

And say you’ll hold
A place for me
In your heart.
A place for me in your heart.
A place for me in your heart.
A place for me in your heart.

Songwriters: Tracy L Chapman

Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All-time