March 03, 2010

What A Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers (1979)

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[1975-1979 Best Songs]

Billboard Top 100, 1979 - #19 The Doobie Brothers - Minute By Minute - What a Fool Believes

Want to learn how to write songs? Study this one - it gets everything right. Start with the hook:

She had a place in his life. He never made her think twice

The long, powerful high notes demand attention. The lyric is efficient - just fourteen syllables to perform a setup ("aww, how romantic...") followed by a knock-down ("Damn, that's harsh.")

The rest of the lyrics are just as effective. You can almost have a conversation with this song. A friend is telling you a story. He starts with the setting and the main characters, all in one line:

He came from somewhere back in her long-ago...

Really? Who is he?

A sentimental fool can't see - tryin' hard to recreate what had yet to be created.

Ah, did it work?

Only to realize, it never really was.

She wasn't into him?

He never made her think twice.


As for music, the cool jazz sounds is a nice foundation, but the real instrument here is Michael McDonald's booming, rangy vocals. Only that kind of voice really could justice to such impeccable lyrics.

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