La Musica, La Musica

So, I went to the Rolling Stone list of the Top 500 songs, just to see how many of them were love songs. I won't list them all, but here are the top hundred:

1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan

2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones

3. Imagine, John Lennon

4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye

5. Respect, Aretha Franklin

6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys

7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry

8. Hey Jude, The Beatles

9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana

10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles

11. My Generation, The Who

12. A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke

13. Yesterday, The Beatles

14. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan

15. London Calling, The Clash

16. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles

17. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix

18. Maybellene, Chuck Berry

19. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley

20. Let It Be, The Beatles

21. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen

22. Be My Baby, The Ronettes

23. In My Life, The Beatles

24. People Get Ready, The Impressions

25. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys

26. A Day in the Life, The Beatles

27. Layla, Derek and the Dominos

28. (Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding

29. Help!, The Beatles

30. I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash

31. Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin

32. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones

33. River Deep - Mountain High, Ike and Tina Turner

34. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers

35. Light My Fire, The Doors

36. One, U2

37. No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers

38. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones

39. That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly and the Crickets

40. Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas

41. The Weight, The Band

42. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks

43. Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard

44. Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles

45. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley

46. Heroes, David Bowie

47. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel

48. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix

49. Hotel California, The Eagles

50. The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

51. The Message, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

52. When Doves Cry, Prince

53. Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols

54. When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge

55. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen

56. Long Tall Sally, Little Richard

57. Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum

58. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson

59. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan

60. Let's Stay Together, Al Green

61. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On, Jerry Lee Lewis

62. Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley

63. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield

64. She Loves You, The Beatles

65. Sunshine of Your Love, Cream

66. Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers

67. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley

68. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan

69. Crying, Roy Orbison

70. Walk On By, Dionne Warwick

71. California Girls, The Beach Boys

72. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown

73. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran

74. Superstition, Stevie Wonder

75. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin

76. Strawberry Fields Forever,The Beatles

77. Mystery Train, Elvis Presley

78. I Got You (I Feel Good), James Brown

79. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds

80. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye

81. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino

82. You Really Got Me, The Kinks

83. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles

84. Every Breath You Take, The Police

85. Crazy, Patsy Cline

86. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen

87. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash

88. My Girl, The Temptations

89. California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas

90. In the Still of the Nite, The Five Satins

91. Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley

92. Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones

93. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2

94. Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard

95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins

96. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis

97. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry

98. Love and Happiness, Al Green

99. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival

100. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

A quick hit, by my count: Sixty some-odd are love songs. A few more are less about love than about sex. Some are hard rockers, about no more than the the dance beat. A few are social commentary. A few are psychedelia, or offbeat counterculture things whose meanings are foggy at best. What is The Weight about? According to Robbie Robertson, it's about how hard it is to be a saint. Go figure that one.

Or what happened with Louie, Louie and the FBI ...

I make it that twenty or so of them are about lost love, and while not all of those are sparklers in this regard -- Hound Dog, for instance -- the most recorded song ever, Yesterday, is about as sad a lament over lost love as any.

Looking at the rest of the 500, the percentages seem to be about the same.