"Silly Love Songs" rates as one of Paul McCartney's greatest songs. Indeed, it may be considered his ultimate philosophical treatise as well.
For starters, you've got a model pop song melody. It's uber catchy. It flows. It has that gentle love feeling. It's Beatle worthy.
Then listen closely to the bass line. He's practically got a great whole second counterpoint melody going on underneath.
He also whipped it up into an expertly made RECORD as well. It has a gentle, but deep and smooth groove and a unique sound.
On top of which, the lyric seems to be actually one of his most substantial as well. Take the lyric and by extension the song and recording as the best and most direct retort to Frank Zappa's famously negative outlook on pop love songs, best expressed creatively through the classic satire of Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets.
"Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs
And what's wrong with that, I'd like to know"
I'm just saying that the gentle love and romance of such songs as this rate just as legitimate as topics of art as any existential angst or anger. "Silly Love Songs" has at least equal emotional and philosophical legitimacy to the work of, say, Eminem.
Paul McCartney makes like Mr El Senor Love Daddy, spreading the love song vibe across the world. Yeah, hearing this you have to think the world is a little better place for it. The sublime musical presentation of his argument for the defense here should convince any wise and discerning listener of the merit of his position.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Agentsmith
Please tell me this is a joke. Personally I think it belongs to the 100 worst songs department. Not the worst one, but up there.
Just my personal opinion, of course.
2 - Ed Driscoll
Hate the lyrics, but as Al says, it does indeed have one bitchin' bassline. I'll bet James Jamerson enjoyed it.
3 - Al Barger
Why do people hate this lyric? It's actually an outstanding lyric. It says something. Even besides music, this is a far better lyric than most of the meaningless strings of words clumped together. This is a much better lyric than, say, "Smells Like Teen Spirit." What does that crap mean?
This song came up on Christopher Barger's worst songs list. This shows, naturally, that he's a doo-doo head.
But I've noticed this particular song come up as a pet anti-fan song from other people over time.
Now, you wouldn't hate the song on grounds of not being good. It's extremely effective pop music.
I suspect that some people find the song somehow philosophically offensive. This of course only re-inforces my longstanding praise of this beauty.
Cole Porter or Smokey Robinson either one would have been proud to have written this.
I'd sure love to hear Smokey take a crack at singing it. Wouldn't that be perfect?
4 - Nick Jones
You're real name's Patrick Bateman, isn't it.
5 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Lol nick. yes, this reminds me of the great whitney houston analysis.
6 - JR
I like how McCartney introduces three different melodies, then at the end puts them all together. It's a simple exercise in counterpoint, although probably a bit dumbed down (the song is a minute or two too long, in my opinion); but it shows that McCartney is interested in the music.
While certainly not my favorite tune, this song is good for separating the people who love music from the people who are just looking for some kind of fashion statement to validate their own coolness. I don't care much about romantic love, but I like good music and I like when a pop tune is composed with some genuine craftsmanship.
7 - godoggo
I'm with Al, except maybe I'd lose the superlatives, tone the hyperbole down a notch. I'm sort of a liberal reactionary, musically. The truly great silly love songs were written during the great depression, give or take a decade.
8 - Dan
I'm with ya Al. I overlooked this song when it was first released because there seemed like so much better stuff out there then. I used to change the frequency immediately when it came on my radio. Then, years later, I listened to it.
It's a little ironic that Paul would write this defense of the silly love song since he was the Beatle who seemed most likely to complicate songs. I think he's havin' a little fun with us by deliberately choosing the most sickeningly saccharine lyrics to expose our silly love song phobia.
JR alluded to the three part melody weave, but I also like the double thump walking bass line.
McCartney's songs almost always make me think that he's an artist who begins with a very rudimentary version of his vision, then just layers the melody, lyrics, and instrumentation around it without changing the original conception much. Whatever, he's got a pretty good system.
9 - Nick Jones
I hate the song simply because I have a low tolerance for SAP (don't get me started on "Titanic"...). Then again, my taste runs toward Charles Ives, Throbbing Gristle, Edgard Varese, John Cage, Fred Frith, John Fahey, Captain Beefheart, John Coltrane, The Residents, Brian Eno's early rock albums, and any other artists that ignore, subvert, or stand outside the mainstream of "pop", so there you go. I'll take the equivalent amount of time listening to Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" over Madonna's entire output any day.
10 - CW Fisher
Silly Love Songs proves McCartney was the real genius behind the Beatles. I lost all respect for John the moment I saw him naked. Al, God bless you for setting the record straight. Finally we can bury this idea that Lennon had any talent whatsoever. The interloper! What's HIS name doing on all those songs McCartney wrote? Who gave us Maxwell Silver Hammer? Who was the genius behind Your Mother Should Know? Who pushed and pushed to get the guys to go along with Til There Was You? The Walrus. That's who.
11 - BB
I buried Paul, er I mean Cranberry Sauce. CW sometimes it's hard to know the difference when your tongue is in your cheek or your foot is in it. :)
Silly Love Songs has got to be one of the suckiest tunes ever. It's a parody of Paul at his hammiest self - and a bad one at that. I was a fan until after his McCartney solo albums. Wings? Good God let us forget -- please! Like Ed Driscoll said it has a "bitchin' bassline" but that's about it.
12 - Al Barger
So what, you bunch of tough guys are too tough and manly for pussy little love songs?
13 - Nick Jones
Um, yes, as a matter of fact, I am.
14 - BB
Ditto!
15 - Eric Olsen
It's a very good melody, clever arrangement, I could do without the strings, and the problem with the lyric is the "some people want to fill the world with silly love songs" part, because what's wrong with that is that they have.
Bravely argued, however.
16 - JR
"Till There Was You", now THAT has some fine guitar work!
"Your Mother Should Know" first taught me the power of the dominant 7 chord - he sings the arpeggio and it drives the melody right back into the next verse with the line "sing it again". Very effective wedding of words to music.
Isn't there a scene in Let It Be where McCartney is showing "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" to rest of the band? I think he didn't have all the words yet, so he was singing the chord changes instead. As someone who never learned to sing and play at the same time, that just blew me away.
17 - Mark Saleski
yea, no matter how much i dislike an artist, i've gotta give respect if they can sing and play.
i've done it (poorly) and it's fricken' hard.
18 - Eric Olsen
I was never all that good it it either, but the success I have had comes from thinking of the singing and playing as two halves of the same whole, as if from outside yourself, and then make it happen. Or something.
19 - CW Fisher
I can! I can! I can sing and play at the same time! Yay for me! However, if you're talking about playing bass and singing at the same time.... let's just say I can handle about any bass line. No way could I sing at the same time. Guitar, yes.
So we all play guitar then, do we? Is the BC Band far behind? We can use my garage. I'll even bring out the hallowed Les Paul goldtop. Which I really should be selling, since it weighs a ton.
Two bands, we'll have a battle. McCartney on one side, Lennon on the other. We'll see who wins.
Btw, seeing Yoko naked didn't help either.
20 - BB
Hey I want in too. I can actually play and chew gum simultaneously but not necessarily in the same rhythm. Makes for interesting listening though. Chomp, chomp, chomp... "sing it again."
Let's face it, the Beatles were genius collectively, but the parts somehow never measured up to the sum of the whole.
21 - Mark Saleski
we'll do a version of "Allison"...but in the style of Nirvana, just to piss Barger off.
22 - CW Fisher
I'm all for pissing off Barger. What else does he hate?
23 - Al Barger
Mark and Curt- I don't think so. It's going to take a lot more than doing a crappy cover of Elvis Costello for you fellas to get MY goat- though that would be a high crime against Geometry and Theology.
24 - Mark Saleski
Purple Rain done in the style of Public Enemy?
25 - Al Barger
No Mark- No PE style Prince covers. I FORBID YOU.