You’d think that any song with the word “sun” in the title would immediately give off warm, radiant vibes. Well, you’d be wrong about that. Songwriters understand the art of upending expectations. They also know that the absence of the sun, or perhaps even being somehow betrayed by it, can be quite powerful.
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We dug up these four songs, all with some derivation of the word “sun” in the title. And we found that they actually give off vibes that are lusciously gloomy.
“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” by The Walker Brothers
They weren’t brothers, and none of them had the last name Walker. Even though they hailed from America, Great Britain generally proved a more receptive audience for their songs. And although Scott Walker eventually became an acclaimed songwriter when he went solo, the trio enjoyed huge success with their spin on the material of others. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” was written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, who dutifully delivered it to their Four Seasons’ frontman Frankie Valli. But Valli’s version didn’t do anything on the charts. When The Walker Brothers got ahold of it, it served as the ideal vehicle for their trademark formula of lush production combined with Scott Walker’s brooding vocals.
“Sunny Afternoon” by The Kinks
Ray Davies was generally ahead of the British Invasion pack when it came to using pop music as a way of delivering somewhat subversive, downbeat messages. “Sunny Afternoon” offers excellent evidence of the Kinks’ frontman’s skill in this department. The arrangement nods to antiquated British Music Hall sounds, a strategy The Kinks would use often in subsequent years. Meanwhile, the picturesque weather suggested by the title only hides a mountain of misery for the titular character. He’s used to a “life of luxury,” but British taxes take it all away from him. His girl, who liked the lush life as well, leaves him as a result. All he has left in the end is a cold beer and a sinking feeling.
“Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” by Elton John
Here’s a great example of an artist being a poor judge of their own work. Elton John didn’t like “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. He suggested after recording it that it be sent to an easy listening artist instead of it coming out under his own name. And he disliked his vocals on the track, which is now considered one of the finest of his career. As usual, Bernie Taupin’s lyrics aren’t something that can be easily parsed. On the whole, the effect of the words and music is one of someone standing at a kind of turning point in life. He reaches out for salvation at the last moment, which is what the “sun” seems to represent. And he’s willing to be selfless to get it: “I’d just allow a fragment of your life to wander free.”
“Blame It On The Sun” by Stevie Wonder
Talking Book, released in 1972, was already studio album No. 15 in Stevie Wonder’s career. But many heard it as the dawning of an era of artistry for him, one earmarked by lyrical maturity and musical ambition. The hits from the record (“Superstition” and “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”) capture Wonder’s extremes, one fiery and prickly, the other swooning and romantic. “Blame It On The Sun”, meanwhile, finds him in heartsick mode. Like much of the album, it owes a lot to the use of synths, spearheaded by associate producers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff. As for the words, Wonder, who co-wrote this with then-wife Syreeta Wright, wants to take the sun to task for a failed romance, unwilling to accept his own part in it.
Photo by Rino PetrosinoMondadori Portfolio by Getty Images
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