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Over the course of my career, I became adept at writing a particular kind of lyric . . . the “I love you” song, the “I want you to love me” song, the “I love everybody” song and the “boo-hoo, nobody loves me” song. My songwriting roots, however, were in the socially conscious folk music of the 50s and 60s, but I wasn’t being very successful writing in that genre and, when Neil Sedaka came along and offered me the opportunity to write lyrics for his music, I jumped, albeit reluctantly, at the chance. I learned that I was pretty damned good at writing love songs and that writing love songs was where the money was . . . and the rest, of course, is history.
But not entirely.
Fast forward to present day Southern California. I’m sitting in the den with my wife, Barbara, and we’re watching the Tea Party movement gathering momentum on TV and Barb is yelling at the screen, saying stuff like, “What’s the matter with these people? Don’t they understand that ya-da-ya-da . . . blah, blah, blah” and, in the middle of her diatribe, I have a light bulb moment and I say, “What these tea bagger folks need is their very own love song!”
So, I dashed on off to my dark little writing cubby, sat down at the piano and introduced my social consciousness to my love song guru and started spinning out “Love and Understanding” for the tea baggers of the world. I was planning to write many, many verses but, halfway through the song, I ran out of love.
Be that as it may, I hope the Tea Party people like the song and appreciate the love, because, as the Beatles once reminded us, “Love is all you need.”
Lyrics
The natives are restless
They are burning down the night
You can bet your life there’ll be some hell to pay
The story of humanity
Is bloody with insanity
And punks like us, we just get in the way
If some days you wake up and wonder what’s in store
If some days it doesn’t even matter any more
These are the days
You could use some love and understanding
Madness and mayhem
Are everywhere you turn
Fear and doubt are tearing us apart
Maybe it’s the climate change
And maybe we are all deranged
Baby, it’s enough to break your heart
If some days the bad news is more than you can bear
If some days you struggle and don’t get you anywhere
These are the days
You could use some love and understanding
In time of doubt
When you’re in distress
A knowing smile
And a little tenderness
Can make your day and warm your nights
Someday it may even save your life
And if some days it feels like you’re up against the wall
If some days it’s hard to feel anything at all
These are the days you could use some love
These are the days you could use some love
These are the days you could use some love
And understanding