If You Could Have Written Any Song Ever…

What would it have been?

I listen to some songs in awe. There is always a song that I think…oh I wish I could have written that. There are many more than one that I wish I could have written… but for this question I’ll just ask for that one song and one runner up.

A song you wish you could have written the music and lyrics to…or at least the lyrics.

There are songs that come to mind like Silent Night, Amazing Grace, and those classic songs. No style or era is out of bounds. With my songs I’m going to stick with Rock/Pop.

My runner up song is by my favorite band…The Beatles… Strawberry Fields Forever

Now for my number 1 pick…an unknown song by the masses but a great one nonetheless.

For people who follow me you might not be surprised. My song would be “The Ballad Of El Goodo” by Big Star. The song is inspirational to me and the melody is great. Now if you don’t mind…what song do you wish you could have written???

The Ballad of El Goodo

Years ago, my heart was set to live, oh
And I’ve been trying hard against unbelievable odds
It gets so hard in times like now to hold on
But guns they wait to be stuck by, at my side is God

And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round

There’s people around who tell you that they know
And places where they send you, and it’s easy to go
They’ll zip you up and dress you down and stand you in a row
But you know you don’t have to, you could just say no

And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round

I’ve been built up and trusted
Broke down and busted
But they’ll get theirs and we’ll get ours if you can
Just-a hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on

Years ago, my heart was set to live, oh
Though I’ve been trying hard against strong odds
It gets so hard in times like now to hold on
Well, I’ll fall if I don’t fight, and at my side is God

And there ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round
Ain’t no one going to turn me ’round

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on

…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

50 thoughts on “If You Could Have Written Any Song Ever…”

  1. That’s a great but nearly impossible question to answer, Max, since they are so many great songs out there.

    I think I’ll mirror your approach and go with one of my favorite Beatles songs of all time as the runner up: “A Day in the Life.” It’s almost like a Pink Floyd type opus.

    Who knows, if you had asked me tomorrow, I might have gone with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” or “If I Needed Someone” (as simple as it is), or “Strawberry Fields Forever,” for that matter!

    Since at the end of the day, the genre I like the most is rock, my favorite song of all time would be “Stairway to Heaven.” That tune to me is rock perfection. I love the built. I love the acoustic part. I love the heavy rock ending, which ironically I used to hate when I heard the tune for the first time. I love Bonzo’s drumming. I think I’ve said this before, if I would ever learn the drums, that would be the part I would strive to master. I could just listen to the drums part. It’s so cool!

    Unlike Led Zeppelin, I wouldn’t have had any issue whatsoever to give credit to Spirit and their 1968 instrumental “Taurus.”

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    1. Yes I would change daily I have to say. The drums to Stairway really make it. That is when the song kicks into gear.

      Won’t Be Fooled Again is a song that has crossed my mind…it’s epic and I love the lyrics. Meet the new boss…same as the old boss…great great lyrics.

      No me either…you give credit where credit is due.

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  5. Fantastic question but fantastically difficult to answer. Off top of my head, I’d kind of say ‘Driver 8’ by REM since I really like it and have it as a pseudo-anthem, and then maybe ‘Something’ by the Beatles… but I wouldn’t be able to write lyrics as pristinely or effectively opaque as the masters did. I’d probably have a new answer an hour from now if I kept pondering it

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    1. Thank you Bruce I was going to ask you about this post…you are one of the people I thought of when I wrote it.
      I know the Carole King song well…my sister had this album… I’ve never heard the Roger Whittaker song before…cool.

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      7. She had a great look and voice…and still does. They should have made it much bigger. Petty gave them their biggest hit.

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      9. I do also. She did some good things solo but they always lose their edge when they leave their band.

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  15. Impossible question really. I think I’d have to pick the song that has literally followed me around the world wherever I’ve been, on holiday in the Far East? Australia? California? Florida? Spain? Yup. Pops up on the radio, and it’s my all-time fave track, a masterpiece.

    Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, it never doesn’t give me goosebumps, and Ive never got sick of it no matter how often it turns up unexpectedly.

    In terms of a flawless eternal song God Only Knows has to be up there, but nobody can sing it like The Beach Boys so it’s not one that can easily be sung by buskers on street corners….

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