Sometimes, a one-hit wonder will come along as the pure embodiment of David Byrne’s “Psycho Killer” sentiment: “Say something once, why say it again?” If you’re going to get your point across, then you might as well do so succinctly. After that, what purpose does repetition serve?
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Across multiple decades and just as many genres, these five one-hit wonders topped the charts for a singular moment, said what they had to say, and then faded out of the charts and into a more nostalgic musical rotation.
“MMMBop” by Hanson
I’ll start this list of one-hit wonder lyrics by getting the obvious joke out of the way: no, I’m not including Hanson’s 1997 hit song, “MMMBop”, for the chorus. If you get past the infectious earworm “mmmbops” and “ba duba bops”, the verses are actually surprisingly sentimental.
“You have so many relationships in this life / only one or two will last / You go through all the pain and strife / then you turn your back, and they’re gone so fast,” the song begins. “So, hold on the ones who really care / in the end, they’ll be the only ones there / when you get old, start losing your hair.”
“Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” by The Korgis
Full disclosure: I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at a formidable time in my life, and for a long time, I thought Beck’s version that plays at the end of the movie was an original. But it was first a hit for British one-hit wonders The Korgis, whose lyrics reflect on self-transformation and improvement in a simple but effective way.
“Change your heart / look around you / change your heart / it will astound you / and I need your lovin’ like the sunshine / Everybody’s got to learn sometime.” The lyrics aren’t verbose by any means, but they get rather grandiose ideas of reflection and discernment with just a few phrases.
“Float On” by Modest Mouse
Before any Modest Mouse fans protest, I’d like to remind you, dear reader, that I compile these one-hit wonder lists using the pinnacle of mainstream chart success: the Billboard Hot 100. And “Float On” was, indeed, the only Modest Mouse single that charted on the non-genre-specific list. I digress. The point is the timelessness of the band’s darkly optimistic lyrics that remind us things aren’t all that bad, and frankly, it could always get worse.
“Bad news comes, don’t you worry even when it lands / Good news will work its way to all them plans / We both got fired on exactly the same day / Well, we’ll all float on, good news is on the way.”
“San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”
Few songs have presented such a compelling argument—or guidebook—to visit a city like Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco”. Written by The Mamas and the Papas’ John Phillips, the quintessentially late-60s folk tune has all the gentle, peace-loving demureness of the happiest, sunshiniest corners of the counterculture movement. The song evokes images of smiling hippies passing out flowers in the park. In the bridge, it becomes almost anthemic.
“All across the nation, such a strange vibration / People in motion / There’s a whole generation with a new explanation / People in motion.” McKenzie’s convincing vocal performance makes it hard not to want to drop everything and travel to the West Coast “love-in” full of “gentle people.”
“Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley
Finally, closing out this list of incredible lyrics in one-hit wonder tracks is Jeannie C. Riley’s storytelling song, “Harper Valley P.T.A.” Technically, the beauty of this 1968 single is the lyrical content in its entirety. As the daughter of the woman the Harper Valley P.T.A. is berating in a note, Riley describes all the things the association dislikes about her. Her skirts, her boyfriends, her drinking. “Signed by the secretary, Harper Valley P.T.A.”
The mother attends the association’s meeting that night and lays into the group for their hypocrisy, citing their own infidelity, addiction, and indecency. She ends the song with one final K.O., wrapped up by her onlooker daughter.
“Then you have the nerve to tell me you think that as a mother, I’m not fit / Well, this is just a little Peyton Place, and you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites,” the mom’s tirade ends. Riley concludes, “No, I wouldn’t put you on because it really did happen just this way / the day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.”
Photo by Steve Azzara/Corbis via Getty Images
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