Song #106: "Can't Buy Me Love" by The Beatles

Date: Apr 4, 1964
Weeks: 5

I wondered how long it would take me to get to a Beatles song. The Beatles have more No. 1 songs than anybody else. They have 20 which makes up a full 2% of the list. And that's just as the Beatles. If I count up solo hits from all four members of the band, plus Paul McCartney's time in Wings, I count 16 additional No. 1 hits. And that doesn't even count covers or writing credits, of which I'm sure there are a few, but those are harder to turn up by looking at data in a spreadsheet. Given all that, I'm surprised it took my randomizer this long to get around to a Beatles song. And not just any Beatles song, but one of my favorites.

I've never been a huge Beatles fan. I've certainly respected their influence on rock and pop music, especially recently after reviewing some pretty lousy songs from the early 60s. But so many people who talk about the greatness of the Beatles seem to want to talk about their later music, particularly the soft, the experimental, and the just plain weird. I never connected to any of it. Eventually I heard "Can't Buy Me Love" used in a clip on The Simpsons, and I heard what had previously been missing from my understanding of the Beatles: plain old rock and roll. And while I still wouldn't call them my favorite band ever, I definitely like their music more than I used to, now that I understand the rock and roll aspect of it better.

This is a great song all around, but by far my favorite part of it is the bass. The bass is the main thing happening through the song, but the sound is always full and warm and never feels like any other accompanying sound is missing. When the lead guitar does come in, it's to provide accents and then a great guitar-solo in the bridge. The instrumentation through the whole song is top-notch. It's a great song, and most of that can be attributed to the strong and super fun bass line.

I also really like the way John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing together in most of the early Beatles work. I don't think they're showing off any great vocal talent, but they are exuberant and enthusiastic. Maybe that's the quality that separates the Beatles music I like from the music I don't much like: the energetic singing from a couple of kids who can't believe they get to do this for a living, compared to their later years when they felt a drive to create "art." Anyway, their enthusiasm is infectious.

The lyrics are a bit weird. The title line is "Can't buy me love," but the song seems to be full of examples of buying love. "I'll buy you a diamond ring, my friend, if it makes you feel all right." I'll spend money on you, because I don't care about money, because money can't buy love. That's a weird sort of logic. And yet it makes a kind of sense. Why not spend the money if you have it, when the love between two people is about more than money? I guess. I don't know, I honestly only know the lyrics well enough to sing along and rock out to the song. This is a case where I would like the song just as much if the lyrics were "blah blah blah blah."

My verdict: Like it. One of the best songs by one of the objectively best bands in history. And it's just plain fun. It makes me want to run around in a field like the Beatles do in that clip from A Hard Day's Night.