The Cure
A meditation on grief and memory in which a narrator clings to photographs of a lost lover, unsure whether the images preserve…
grief and loss memory versus reality idealization of the dead or departed
The Beach Boys
A love song that opens by admitting its own limits "" the singer won't promise permanence "" and then spends the rest of its…
conditional devotion dependence and identity uncertainty as a form of honesty
Led Zeppelin
A slow-building folk-rock epic that follows a mysterious woman convinced she can purchase spiritual transcendence, using her as…
spiritual materialism vs. authentic enlightenment ambiguity of language and meaning pastoral/mythic imagery as escape
Betty Davis
Betty Davis takes a lover's insults—bitch, witch, alley cat, dirty dog—and turns them into a badge of honor, staging a…
sexual autonomy and shame reclaiming derogatory language power reversal in a relationship
Harry Nilsson
A short set of declarative lines about escape and entrapment dissolves into a chant that repeats itself into…
entrapment disguised as freedom codependency compulsion and addiction
Blondie
"Denis" is a girl-group pastiche dressed up in new wave attitude: a breathless, repetitive crush song built almost entirely…
infatuation teenage devotion nostalgia/pastiche
Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan opens his own name into someone else's -- the title alludes to the noir novelist James M. Cain -- and uses that…
self-transformation the writing process as detective work impermanence and mortality
Gang of Four
Gang of Four fuse a breakup song with the language of consumer transaction, treating a relationship as a defective purchase to…
commodification of relationships desire versus love alienation under capitalism
Yes
A breakup narrated in the language of instability rather than closure, where the title word does double duty as both diagnosis…
breakup and disillusionment emotional numbness self-reflection vs blame
Wire
A terse breakup-or-betrayal song built around a single ominous refrain, in which the speaker recalculates a relationship that…
disillusionment recrimination risk and consequence
Judee Sill
Judee Sill's 'The Kiss' fuses erotic and devotional language until they become indistinguishable, imagining spiritual union as a…
sacred and profane love transcendence death as release
Roxy Music
A deadpan monologue delivered by a wealthy consumer who has replaced human intimacy with a mail-order inflatable doll, framed as…
consumerism alienation artificiality vs authenticity
Nina Simone
A traditional African-American spiritual rebuilt by Simone into a ten-minute chase sequence: a sinner runs from judgment on the…
judgment day futile flight refused sanctuary
Patti Smith
A duet between erotic urgency and something closer to faith: the speaker asks a lover to take her as she is, and then defends…
erotic desire as sustenance night as sanctuary from harm doubt and belief
Steely Dan
A slick, self-satisfied loser moves onto his aunt's couch and develops a leering fixation on his younger cousin, pitching his…
arrested development delusional self-regard taboo desire treated as comedy