7 Pop Songs From the 1970s That Made the Ugly Parts of Life Sound Beautiful

Life is hard, but music makes it easier. So often, we use songs as ways to cope with the uglier parts of life, like grief, loss, anger, despair, and even the end of life itself. Songs from the 1970s, in particular, seemed to capture these aspects of life even more keenly, at a time when the world felt incredibly tenuous amid war, political tensions, and civil unrest.

This existential awareness permeated the mainstream music market multiple times, including in the release of these seven pop songs from the 1970s, which helped make the ugly parts of life feel a little less painful by sounding so beautiful.

“Diamonds And Rust” by Joan Baez

Joan Baez’s ode to her former colleague and lover, Bob Dylan, is an incredibly beautiful and poignant song about lousy relationships we’ve all found ourselves in at one point or another. This might have been among the pop songs of the 1970s, but people dating in the 2020s can recognize the type of pretentious boyfriend who calls their girlfriend’s poetry “lousy.” C’mon.

“At Seventeen” by Janis Ian

Anyone who had to endure the intense experience of being a conventionally unattractive teenager will be able to relate to Janis Ian’s heartbreaking song “At Seventeen”. Our teen years reveal some of the worst aspects of humanity at a time when our brains and hearts are still too underdeveloped to fully process it, and this 1970s pop song reflects that paradox.

“Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin

One of the heaviest tracks on this list of 1970s pop songs is Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven”. A universally loved track about a universally feared subject, the heavy rock band managed to make a song about existentialism, materialism, and fatalism marketable. (An honorable mention we’ll include here for the same reason is “The Great Gig In The Sky” off the 1973 Pink Floyd album, Dark Side Of The Moon.)

“You Make Loving Fun” by Fleetwood Mac

If there were anyone who understood how ugly breakups can get when they happen at work, it’s the members of Fleetwood Mac. “You Make Loving Fun” was a Christine McVie-penned tune about an affair she was having with the band’s lighting director, which, when thought about in the literal sense, is pretty messy and tough. Yet, the song sounds light, breezy, and, well, fun.

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” by The Temptations

The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” has become a standard in the years since its release. But if you really listen to the lyrics, this beautiful, airy song is actually incredibly sad. As the song suggests, the narrator is only imagining a life with the woman he sees walking outside his window. “I hear a tender rhapsody, but in reality, she doesn’t even know me.” Ouch.

“American Pie” by Don McLean

Don McLean released the folk anthem to end all folk anthems when he put out “American Pie”. A sprawling magnum opus jam-packed with Americana imagery, this classic track details some devastatingly sad moments in U.S. (and global) history in an incredibly tender, moving way. If someone listened to the chord progression alone, it would suggest a totally different story.

“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor

Few breakup anthems are as empowering as “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. Despite how awful it feels to be unwillingly confronted with an ex after you’ve parted ways, Gaynor’s powerful vocal delivery and her band’s rocking groove make this idea an opportunity to speak up for oneself, not suffer through their ex’s excuses and shoddy behavior. Breakups can be some of the nastiest things we experience in our lives. But “I Will Survive” makes them sound good.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns