Don’t knock the Top 10, especially when it comes to 70s music. Here are a few hits that were just shy of making it big, with lyrics that are still solid.
“#9 Dream” by John Lennon
“So long ago / Was it in a dream, was it just a dream?”
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If you’re a Beatles fan, you likely know that this song isn’t the first to be inspired by a dream. “Let It Be” was notably written about a dream that Paul McCartney had about his mother. Lyrics of “#9 Dream” were also taken from a dream of John Lennon’s. He told BBC, as shared by Beatles Bible:
“That’s what I call craftsmanship writing, meaning, you know, I just churned that out,” he explained. “I’m not putting it down, it’s just what it is, but I just sat down and wrote it, you know, with no real inspiration, based on a dream I’d had.”
“Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” by Electric Light Orchestra
“And I can’t get it out of my head / No, I can’t get it out of my head / Now my old world is gone for dead.”
Most Electric Light Orchestra fans are likely familiar with the song “Don’t Bring Me Down”, but this one is fun too. “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” was actually Electric Light’s first Top 10 song in the United States. The goal for this one was to prove band member Jeff Lynne’s father wrong. Apparently, he thought that none of his songs had a solid melody. If you think about it, the name of this one is honestly pretty tongue-in-cheek.
“Carefree Highway” by Gordon Lightfoot
“Carefree highway / Let me slip away on you / Carefree highway / You’ve seen better days.”
This song really is a mindset. In this song, Gordon Lightfoot sings about seeking refuge on the road to avoid thinking about a relationship that didn’t work out. The girl in this song’s name is Ann, which was the name of a woman Lightfoot was involved with at 22.
“It [was] one of those situations where you meet that one woman who knocks you out and then leaves you standing there and says she’s on her way,” he explained in the Songbook liner notes.
Photo by: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
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