Which popular songs are the most lyrically basic?

[Stumpy Pepys]

By which I don't mean songs that are essentially instrumentals (like Tequila), or novelty songs (for example Surfing Bird). Rather standard 3-4 minute songs with a conventional verse-chorus structure and maybe a middle-eight.

I write this, as I heard Let's Go to San Francisco by the Flower Pot Men on the radio and it just dawned on me how lyrically primitive it was. I even put the lyrics into an analyzer, only to find out 48% of the words where "let's", "go", "San" and "Francisco" and that there were only 54 unique words in the entire song.

[Jah Womble]

What You Do To Me by Teenage Fanclub, perhaps?

This 1992 #31 (very much vocal) hit contained just twenty unique words overall, with its title repeated at least sixteen times. Great record, though.

[diggedy derek]

“From Me To You” by The Beatles is remarkably simple.

[Stumpy Pepys]

What You Do To Me by Teenage Fanclub, perhaps?

This 1992 #31 (very much vocal) hit contained just twenty unique words overall, with its title repeated at least sixteen times. Great record, though.

Norman 3 was pretty basic as well.

[Sits]

“I Know But I Don’t Know”, by far the weakest track on Blondie’s Parallel Lines, and AFAIK the only one written by Frank Infante. Very basic song.

Various Artist DYSWIDT?

[treibeis]

“From Me To You” by The Beatles is remarkably simple.

"All You Need Is Love" as well.

[Jon]

Your mention of Blondie made me think of The Ramones, Sits.

It might not count as it doesn't have a verse/chorus structure but still, it's delightfully basic, as many of their songs are, of course.


I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna go out with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you, alright
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you
So why you wanna walk around with me?
I don't wanna walk around with you
I don't wanna walk around with you, yeah

[Antepli Ejderha]

The Dead Kennedys 'I Love Short Songs', the preface contains more words; "Rick Wakeman eat your heart out" iirc.

[DPDPDPDP]

George Harrison’s ‘Got My Mind Set On You’.

I knew a guy who used the same tune to do a piss take entitled ‘This Song Only Has Six Words’

[Patrick Thistle]

Possibly the greatest song of the 90s, The Man Don't Give a Fuck by the Super Furry Animals.

[ale]

Lennon Imagine. And worse than being trite & banal it was hypocritical & bore no resemblance to the way he really living his life.

[Janik]

Mah Na Mah Na. But then, that is the point.

[Janik]

Ian Curtis was capable or writing stuff that was impactful whilst also being lyrically spare (I wouldn't term his work basic - just stripped down). For example They Walked In Line, which only has 11 unique lines to it and 63 unique words. The chorus is the line 'They walked in line' repeated eight times, which was a common technique Curtis used (see Isolation - the chorus there is just the word 'Isolation' repeated three times). 'They walked in line' is also the last words of the opening verse. The song structure is verse, chorus, half-length verse (just two lines rather than four), chorus, verse, chorus, outro (which is the chorus repeated twice in a row!).

[Janik]

Radiohead were also often sparse lyrically. Karma Police gets by on 68 unique words, making substantial use of repeated lines. Electioneering makes do with just 45.

[Various Artist]

“I Know But I Don’t Know”, by far the weakest track on Blondie’s Parallel Lines, and AFAIK the only one written by Frank Infante. Very basic song.

Various Artist DYSWIDT?

Um, no sorry Sits I have to confess I don't SWYDT. Like, I can't see what I got tagged in for. Can I have a clue, please??

[Sits]

Um, no sorry Sits I have to confess I don't SWYDT. Like, I can't see what I got tagged in for. Can I have a clue, please??

I didn’t use italics for the song title. I did use inverted commas though, which may be just as bad.

[irony towers]

Stand By Me (52 unique words) was recorded on this day in 1960. 'Stand,' 'by' and 'me' comprise 36% of the lyric.

I recall an interview in which Ben E. was asked to recite the lyrics and explain their meaning. It didn't have the feel of a mickey-take, though I did wonder.

[gjw100]

Steely Dan's 'Bodhisattva' has just 24 unique words in its four verses (with verses three and four a repeat of verses one and two). Not exactly Donald Fagen's most complex set of lyrics, although (particularly live where they really stretch it out) the song does function more as a jazz/blues jam.

[Various Artist]

I didn’t use italics for the song title. I did use inverted commas though, which may be just as bad.

Ahh! I wondered what I wasn't seeing. Turned out it was because it wasn't there to see, as it were. I'll let you off the quote marks around the title, as I like you.

[Jah Womble]

Steely Dan's 'Bodhisattva' has just 24 unique words in its four verses (with verses three and four a repeat of verses one and two). Not exactly Donald Fagen's most complex set of lyrics, although (particularly live where they really stretch it out) the song does function more as a jazz/blues jam.

Ditto The Fez, from 1976's The Royal Scam - also a mere 24 words therein.

The Dan rather ill-advisedly issued that as the album's second single in the US. It stiffed at #59.

[diggedy derek]

Ian Curtis, of course. “She’s Lost Control” the one that sticks in the mind for me

[Snake Plissken]

By which I don't mean songs that are essentially instrumentals (like Tequila)

Eh?

Oh. Wrong song called "Tequila".

[Jah Womble]

(This'll be another OTF Terrorvision moment..?)

[danielmak]

For me there is sparse but engaging. I posted Codeine's song, "D" a few weeks back in the earworm thread, or I think I did. Then there's sparse and empty. I've mentioned this one before. Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby." It's unclear to me why the subject of the song would tell her friend that "She's got to be somebody's baby" and I have no idea how the the cars and signs and streetlights that light up the town have anything to do with the lyrics that precede or follow that line. It's a song that relies strictly on (dumb) repetition and a good melody. I admit that last part. But, man this is a stupid song.


Well just look at that girl with the lights coming up in her eyes
She's got to be somebody's baby
She must be somebody's baby
All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by
She's got to be somebody's baby
She must be somebody's baby
She's got to be somebody's baby 'cause she's so fine
She's probably somebody's only light, gonna shine tonight
Yeah, she's probably somebody's baby alright
I heard her talking with a friend when she thought nobody else was around
She said she's got to be somebody's baby
She must be somebody's baby
'Cause when the cars and the signs and the streetlights light up the town
She's got to be somebody's baby
She must be somebody's baby
She's got to be somebody's baby 'cause she's so fine
She's gonna be somebody's only light, gonna shine tonight
Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight
I try to shut my eyes but I can't get her out of my sight
I know I'm gonna know her, I gotta get over my fright
Well I'm just gonna walk up to her, I'm gonna talk to her tonight
She's gonna be somebody's only light, gonna shine tonight
Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight
She's gonna be somebody's only light, gonna shine tonight
Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight
Well just look at that girl with the lights coming up in her eyes

[Kevin S]

Surprised that neither of The Beatles' songs mentioned yet was Love Me Do:

Love, love me do You know I love you
I'll always be true
So please
Love me do
Whoa, love me do
Love, love me do
You know I love you
I'll always be true
So please
Love me do
Whoa, love me do
Someone to love, somebody new
Someone to love, someone like you
Love, love me do
You know I love you
I'll always be true
So please
Love me do
Whoa, love me do
Love, love me do
You know I love you
I'll always be true
So please
Love me do
Whoa, love me do
Yeah, love me do
Whoa-oh, love me do