The Game of Love
The Game of Love written by Greg Alexander and Rick Nowels and performed by Michelle Branch with Santana is a quintessential pop song. It has a catchy melody, a professional arrangement, an energetic performance, and totally throwaway lyrics.
The official video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKLnmMacEB4. (There are some excellent live versions on YouTube as well.) I love the song.
But oof, those lyrics:
Tell me
Just what you want me to be
One kiss
And boom you're the only one for me
So please tell me
Why don't you come around no more?
'Cause right now
I'm crying outside the door of your candy store
There’s a lot to parse there. The guy owns a candy store, and he doesn’t ‘come around’ anymore. So, is the candy store business booming, and he’s really busy? And, why is she crying outside the store? If you’re going to make a scene, go big and definitely go inside. And Candy Store guy, are you not getting this? The girl is really into you. She’s begging you to make things work.
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
It started with a kiss
Now we're up to bat
A little bit of laughs, a little bit of pain
I'm telling you my babe
It's all in the game of (love…)
It started with a kiss and now we’re up to bat? Up to bat is a baseball metaphor. It translates to something like: this is your moment to make something good happen. Growing up, I played a lot of baseball and I don’t remember any of it starting with a kiss. (That might explain a lot, but this post is about pop songs and The Game of Love.)
Now, up to bat might just be there just because it rhymes. (You think?) So, how about any of these:
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
When I met you you were buff, but now you’re getting fat
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
I would like a dog, and you just want a cat
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
I'm singing hymns, but you're just singing scat
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
Your Daddy is a judge, my Mom’s a diplomat.
It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that
You used to be a geek, but now you joined a frat.
I know it’s hard to believe, but I didn’t work very hard on any of those. So, what do you think? Would you change the lyrics or are they fine the way they are? And what about the overall characterization: what is your quintessential pop song?