Why is it that so many songs in the world have the themes of love or sex at their core?
Movies and t.v shows cover all sorts of topics from adventure, espionage, politics, war, history, sport, technology and all the rest.
And so it is with books. As you wander round a good bookshop, (or do the virtual equivalent,) you can find something written on pretty much every subject you can imagine. And some you can’t.
Even newspapers focus on current events and human-interest stories and try to ensure a broad range of content across their daily offerings.
But not songs. For some reason, (I would suggest laziness) songwriters seem to be preternaturally obsessed with love and/or sex.
Just think about if for a moment.
I would suggest, conservatively, that 99% of the world’s songs revolve around the following topics -
Picking up a girl/guy.
Trying to get into their pants.
Offering them undying protestations of love with multiple cheesy and nausea-inducing cliches.
Telling them that your life is now complete since their addition to it.
The gradual dawning of the fact that perhaps you were slightly over-claiming when you told them they were your “everything.”
The drifting apart phase, endlessly mined by songwriters to extract every last skerrick of heartache.
The break-up. Usually, but not always, with particular emphasis on being at the receiving end of it.
Assuring the departed love of your life that you are fine, in fact, better than fine without them.
And finally, meeting someone who is better than them in every respect.
Second verse same as the first. The cycle repeats.
This then, seems to be pretty much the whole oeuvre of the songwriters’ art.
To give them credit, they have been remarkably single-minded about it and have stuck to it for thousands of years.
And I guess that is my point. I dunno about you guys, but I’m a bit “loved out.”
Could not the songwriters stretch themselves just a teensy bit and deviate from the norm?
Wouldn’t it be great to see Ed Sheeran do a song about how proud he is of his tool shed, or hear a pleasing duet between Drake and Rihanna about learning to ice skate or mastering a Sunday roast.
And what if One Direction tried another direction entirely and started singing about passing their driving tests?
Over the years, there have been artists that deviated from the norm. But these free spirits almost inevitably became characterised as “Comedy singers.” Think Weird Al or the Wurzels.
I know, in the end, it all comes down to relatability. But surely, all of us are multi-dimensional beings who can relate to more than one type of emotion?
Why can’t Adam Levine write a song of annoyance about his mate dinging his Lambo? Or not being able to find a parking space anywhere?
And couldn’t Beyonce, just once, write a beautiful ballad about the prohibitive cost of her daughter’s school fees or Jay-Z’s stubborn refusal to bag his dog’s poops?
These are all topics that we, (the ordinary folk) deal with on a daily basis. And, yet, no one ever seems to want to write about them.
But I say the world is ready for a sea change. And should Chris Martin decide to pen a catchy hit about getting an all clear on his prostate exam, then I, for one, will happily buy it, or, at the very least, illegally download it.
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