Even the greatest songwriters have been known to throw a curve or two at their audience. That certainly pertains to their occasional tendency to give titles to their songs that don’t really appear in the lyrics.
Videos by American Songwriter
The five songs below represent some of the most momentous musical moments in rock and roll history. And each one of them might have you scratching your head when it comes to the title.
“Positively 4th Street” by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan gave us a couple of mysteries in this Top 10 hit. First, there’s the question of who the intended target of this song might have been. Speculation has fallen on more than a few suspects, ranging from an old girlfriend to the folk music leaders who had spurned Dylan because of his move to electric music. As for the title, we can only guess that the location is somewhere that Dylan doesn’t believe is “where it’s at,” to borrow a phrase that he uses during the song. But there’s no mention of this place within the lyrics at any point.
“A Day In The Life” by The Beatles
John Lennon wasn’t afraid to go off-book for his titles. Consider “Tomorrow Never Knows”, a phrase that he borrowed from Ringo Starr. At least “A Day In The Life” references what’s going on during the song. And, since there’s not what you would call a chorus, there aren’t really any other obvious choices for a title. Anyway, “I’d Love To Turn You On” wouldn’t have had quite the same ring to it, right? “A Day In The Life” makes it seem like it’s just your run-of-the-mill 24 hours. At least until the wondrous music takes everything into the stratosphere.
“Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones
Perhaps because they were trying to keep up with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones somewhat abandoned darker themes for a while there in the mid-60s. When they got back to doing what they did best, i.e., groove-based rock and unflinching, sometimes bleak, topics, they elevated to rarefied air. “Sympathy For The Devil” exemplified that return to shadowy glory. Although they mention “sympathy” in the lyrics (along with “courtesy” and “taste”), at no point does the word “Devil” ever enter the picture. It was a wise move because the thrill of the song is how the protagonist’s identity is so well concealed.
“For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield
OK, we need to put a bit of an asterisk on this one. You will find this song often listed with a subtitle of “(Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)”, which you’ll hear in the refrain. That was tacked on by the record company. They were worried that the title might cause folks looking to buy the single to miss it completely. Why did Stephen Stills, who wrote the song for Buffalo Springfield, hang that moniker on it? Well, he wasn’t all that sure about the commercial prospects of the song. When he handed it in, “For What It’s Worth” represented his self-deprecating way of indicating that.
“Baba O’Riley” by The Who
Of all the songs on this list, this one possesses the most obvious contender within the song for the title. And it’s a pretty good one at that. Had this song been called “Teenage Wasteland”, none of the listening audience would have thought twice about the choice. Pete Townshend was, after all, referring to the general state of degradation inhabited by many of the younger fans he saw at The Who’s gigs. However, he decided to use the title to pay tribute to two people who meant a lot to him. “Baba” comes from his spiritual guru, Meher Baba. “O’Riley” is based on Terry Riley, a musician whose work had influenced Townshend.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.