Who doesn’t love a good rock ballad? Even the most vapid of operatic rock love songs are still quite good songs in their own right. However, there’s something so emotional and raw about a song that was written about the real-life love lives of the rock stars. Let’s dive into five rock love ballads that are real-life reflections of the musicians who wrote them.
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney
He’s a master songwriter with a real gift for expressing the more complex of human emotions. “Maybe I’m Amazed” is a love song that McCartney wrote for his then-wife, Linda Eastman, in 1970. The pair were married and had three children together. They remained married until Eastman passed away from breast cancer in 1998.
[See Paul McCartney Live In Concert]
2. “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt
A lot of ska-punk pop band No Doubt’s music was written about their actual lives. One notable example is their hit track “Don’t Speak” from the 1995 album Tragic Kingdom. The song was written by Gwen Stefani and was initially supposed to be your typical love song. However, after her relationship with No Doubt bassist and ex-boyfriend Tony Kanal fell apart after seven years together, she decided to revamp the track into a breakup song. You can hear the tragedy in Stefani’s voice on this track; it’s clear that the breakup really hit her hard.
3. “Songbird” by Oasis
“Songbird” was the very first Oasis song written (allegedly) by Liam Gallagher. Released in 2002 on Heathen Chemistry, “Songbird” is a love song about Gallagher’s then-fiancee (then wife, then ex-wife) Nicole Appleton. It is a sweet love song, and even Liam’s often critical brother Noel considered the hit single to be “the perfect song.”
4. “Maps” by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The song “Maps” from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2003 album Fever To Tell is quite a moving track. The subsequent music video is also pretty emotional. According to singer Karen O, the rock love ballad was based on her failed real-life relationship with Liars’ lead singer Angus Andrew. Some fans even believe that the title “Maps” is an acronym for “My Angus, Please Stay”, though that has never been confirmed.
“They were real tears,” Karen O said of her role in the song’s music video. “My boyfriend at the time was supposed to come to the shoot. He was three hours late and I was just about to leave for tour.”
5. “Something” by The Beatles
Depending on which era of The Beatles you’re listening to, much of their music was based on real-life experiences. One example of real-life emotions making their way into the Fab Four’s music would be the 1969 song “Something” from Abbey Road.
The song was written by George Harrison as a love song for his then-wife, Patti Boyd, whom he eventually divorced in 1977. The promotional video for “Something” actually features each of The Beatles’ wives at the time, including Boyd.
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