Song #30: "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" by Connie Francis

Date: June 27, 1960
Weeks: 2

So after I reviewed that Bee Gees song and said breakup songs should be sadder, along comes a poppy and happy and bouncy breakup song. I guess my randomizer enjoys pointing out the contradictions in my tastes in pop music.

The song starts with a cheery organ, and maintains a cheery, danceable beat throughout. It's vaguely country, but there was another sound that I couldn't quite place until I went looking for writing credits and discovered that Connie Francis was deliberately trying to invoke polka. And she succeeds. It's a country polka hit. How many of those do you see on the pop charts? If we can just successfully add a rap break, we'll have created a pop music emulsion. Somebody call DJ Alton Brown.

What sets this song apart from the usual breakup fare is this sentiment expressed in this verse:

I told myself it's best that I forget you.
Though I'm a fool at least I know the score.
Yet darling I'd be twice as blue without you.
It hurts but I come running back for more.

There's an appealing self-awareness in that verse. Knowing that the relationship you're in isn't good for you but not wanting to deal with the pain of trying to move on is a fairly complex notion that doesn't get expressed in a lot of pop songs. Heck, it doesn't get expressed in a lot of movies or TV shows. When it does, it stands out. If you've seen Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you know what I'm talking about.

I think most breakup songs are centered around one of the five stages of grief. Most go for Anger because that's the phase when a person wants to lash out at their ex by dedicating angry songs to them on the radio. The Bee Gees song "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (#258) is aiming for Depression. This song is planted firmly in Denial, hoping that the relationship can be saved, yet being clever enough to say that it probably can't be.

My verdict: Like it. It's not a sentiment you hear in a lot of popular music, and it's a catchy tune. That said, Loretta Lynn did a pure country version that I liked a little bit more.