Does the world need more songs?
Jeff Tweedy once said: “The world certainly doesn’t need more songs.”
He wasn’t being cynical. He wasn’t dismissing song-writing. He was asking a harder question: why we write, and whether the world actually needs what we’re adding to it.
If the world doesn’t need more songs, then it certainly doesn’t need more easy songs. And most easy songs, let’s be honest, are love songs.
That’s not because love is unimportant, but because love songs are structurally simple, emotionally broad, instantly relatable. You can write one in an afternoon if you’re willing to lean on familiar shapes and sentiments. That’s why the vast majority of commercial music is built on them - they’re easy, quick, and universally digestible.
When Love Songs Are Worth Writing
It’s important to say that some love songs are difficult, but that’s because the songwriter chooses a unique angle; something that hasn’t been flattened by repetition.
Take “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc. A love song built entirely on denial. The narrator spends the whole track insisting he isn’t in love, while the production quietly betrays him. Commercial, but psychologically intricate.
Or Elvis Costello’s “Good Year for the Roses”. A love song written from the ruins of domestic life - resignation, emotional collapse, the quiet violence of a relationship falling apart.
Or Tom Waits’ “Martha”. A love song about regret and aging - a phone call to a woman he loved decades ago. Tender, but heart-breaking.
These songs are interesting because they’re not built on clichés. They’re doing the kind of work that takes thought, patience, and emotional honesty. And that’s the point, they’re worth listening to because they give us something different - a fresh perspective - a different angle.
So, when I say love songs are easy, I’m talking about the other kind - the ones that fill the airwaves because they’re simple to write and easy to digest but, arguably, not worth paying too much attention to.
If the world does need more love songs, I’m not sure it would really miss those.
