Since this is the first post on this blog, allow me to introduce myself and the concept behind this site. Songs for Social Distancing is a pet project I created to fill some time with a creative outlet while attempting to do as much social isolation as possible during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. I am a musician, but it is not my day job and I never really studied music officially. This won't be the place for you to come and read critical song analysis. Basically, I've heard of a Picardy third...but I can't really tell you anything else about it.
I am mainly just a music fan who likes to sing with an a cappella group called Th!s and play a little guitar and trombone in my spare time. In this blog, I plan to share my favorite songs with you and maybe talk about their history, influence, and why I like them. My hope is this entertains you and maybe even introduces you to a few songs you've never heard before - I have a wide variety of genres to discuss. Please feel free to comment with thoughts on the songs I share. I would love the interaction during this whole social distancing period.
Now, let's get started with a song that will let you know a lot about who I am, one which combines two of my favorite musical things: the blues and the Beatles!
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| Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay |
Why Don't We Do It In The Road
Listen to the song on Spotify: Why Don't We Do It In the Road by The Beatles
Inspiration: The story behind this song might be one of my favorite song inspiration stories in the history of The Beatles...or music period. According to Barry Miles in his 1997 biography, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, on one of Sir Paul's trips to India, he saw a male and a female monkey in the road while in Rishikesh. The two monkeys were...well, let's just say they were not practicing social distancing whatsoever. The stark contrast between physical connection in the animal world and human world struck a chord in McCartney's mind, who would go on to say, "We have horrendous problems with it, and yet animals don't." Thus, the simple, two-line song was born.
Recording: John Lennon would claim in his 1980 interview with Playboy that, while he liked the song, he was frustrated with the recording. Lennon implied that sometimes Paul McCartney would go off on his own and just record something without the rest of the Beatles and "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" was one such time. However, to Hunter Davies in his 2006 book about the Fab Four, McCartney maintained Ringo was also a part of the recording and they just knocked it out while John and George were busy one day. The most widely accepted story is that one night Sir Paul recorded himself playing all the instruments and the next day, Starr added in percussion while McCartney added some lead guitar, bass, and vocals.
The Song and My Reaction: Regardless of the recording specifics, the result is nothing short of a brilliant, simple song. Structured as a 12 bar blues number, "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" kicks off with hand claps and a drum fill before launching into a driving eighth note pattern by the bass and piano. Gradually you begin to notice the most subtle lead guitar - a bluesy note that I missed the first couple of times I listened. The understated nature of the guitar allows McCartney's vocals to take the lead.
The first two sets of 12 measures are fairly repetitive, with the bass and piano driving and McCartney belting out the same two lines over and over. However, things get a little more interesting in the third time through. First McCartney switches his vocals, going up an octave at first and giving a more manic sound to his voice, as if you aren't understanding his plea for the simplification of human interaction and he wants you to really hear his message now. In the measures following, something like the second and third bars of the third set of 12 bar blues, the bass switches it's repetitious drive to a tasty, funky lick. This minor detail is something you may miss if you aren't listening to the song for the fifteenth time, but it is what makes the track (and the band in general) special.
The first time I heard "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" I immediately fell in love. I was driving in my car and the song appeared on a random Spotify list and it just hit me as different and fun. I played it over and over until I got home, by which time it was memorized (not exactly hard to do in this case). It's nonsense, it's frantic, it's...a release. And I think that's exactly where McCartney was going with it. His message is, beyond the obvious, we overthink and complicate everything as humans. Sometimes life can be just as simple as a couple of animals forgetting about social distancing for a moment in time.
That being said...for now I'll keep listening to music in my socially distanced apartment. Stay tuned for more of my favorite songs!
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