Saint Valentine's Day and that means a particular type of song doing the rounds, doesn't it?
I'm not a song writer but I imagine it must be blimmin hard to write a great song on a Valentine's day theme. Too sentimental? Not heart felt enough? Too smaltzy? Rock guitars!! Are you insane? Well clearly Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park are!!
Macca has just had a crack with a song on his latest album (Kisses on the Bottom) - mainly standards but it also contains a couple of new songs, including My Valentine. And if he can't do it - what hope is there?
To celebrate SVD here is the best love song I know. John Lennon's love song to Yoko - Don't Let Me Down.
Some of the best Valentine's songs are actually those that use aspects of the celebration to embellish a story of another hue altogether (definitely not pink fluffy hearts).
Here are two that go that root successfully.
Billy Bragg's bitchy, acerbic Valentine's Day Is Over contains his usual drop dead gorgeous wordplay (in this song drop dead gorgeous is an appropriate phrase): For the girl with the hour glass figure time runs out very fast.
Tom Waits is of a similar talent. As with Billy, I much prefer his early work (generally before Swordfishtrombones, although I do love Rain Dogs). Blue Valentines is a great song. It uses the idea of a Valentine from a stalker like ex lover to create a darker mood.
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