3 Emotional Rock Lyrics From 1966 That You’ll Never Forget, No Matter How Old You Are

Emotional lyrics come in many forms. Some offer a detailed account of a particular situation. While others are abstract, leaving plenty of room for interpretation. Yet many find the sweet spot between these two poles. Plenty of details for the listener to comprehend the moment. But written in a way to allow one to insert themselves in the story. Like these emotional rock lyrics from 1966 that you’ll never forget, no matter how old you are.

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“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones formed after adopting the sound of American blues. But on Aftermath, the band looked to another part of the world and incorporated Eastern classical music into their songwriting. “Paint It Black”, the most striking example of the new approach, finds the song’s narrator overcome by despair. Everywhere he turns, he either sees black or wants to paint it so.

Mick Jagger’s character wallows in hopelessness as Brian Jones repeats a sitar riff that spirals and swirls in dizzying psychedelia. Jagger describes the source of his pain as he sings about a funeral scene, with flowers and his love “never to come back.”

I see a line of cars
And they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love
Both never to come back.

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys

Brian Wilson, who famously suffered from paralyzing depression, delivered happiness to the world in the form of pop masterpieces and summertime poetry. It’s as if he wanted to create something beautiful to keep others from feeling as bad as he often did. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, written by Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love, follows a young couple who dream of living together. However, the title offers no guarantees. Wouldn’t it be nice? There’s always a chance the romance won’t survive.

So the couple imagines future bliss while hinting at being outcasts. Part of Wilson’s genius was the underlying sadness that accompanied his upbeat tunes. Where there’s joy, grief soon follows.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn’t have to wait so long.
And wouldn’t it be nice to live together,
In the kind of world where we belong?

“California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & The Papas

“California Dreamin’” is a song about longing—the desire to be anywhere but here. History is full of people hitching their dreams to the hope of California, and The Mamas & The Papas’ sugary tune gives the aspiration its own anthem. But this is really a song about returning. For John and Michelle Phillips, California represented a different escape. Michelle, a California native, was miserable enduring a New York winter and missing home. Why would anyone want to live somewhere so cold, she must have thought.

My favorite verse is the one about the church. Denny Doherty takes the lead. In an act of desperation, he steps into a church and pretends to pray. He sings it with a kind of Bob Dylan snarl: “Well, I got down on my knees.” But he was only pretending to pray. An incantation won’t do; better get to the sun.

Stopped into a church
I passed along the way.
Well, I got down on my knees (got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray (I pretend to pray).

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