This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Everybody wants something, just a little more
We're makin' a living, and what we're livin' for
A rich man or a poor man, a pawn or a king
You can live on the street, you can rule the whole world
But you don't mean one damn thing
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got someone, you're afraid to lose
Everybody needs just one, someone to tell them the truth
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I still believe
I believe in hope, I believe the change can get us off our knees
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doing it for
I don't wanna have to talk about it
How many songs you gotta sing about it
How long you gonna live without it
Why does someone somewhere have to doubt it
Someday you'll figure it out
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doin' it for
Woah, I ain't got, if you ain't got
What do you got if you ain't got love
What do you got if you ain't got love
What do you got if you ain't got love
We're makin' a living, and what we're livin' for
A rich man or a poor man, a pawn or a king
You can live on the street, you can rule the whole world
But you don't mean one damn thing
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got someone, you're afraid to lose
Everybody needs just one, someone to tell them the truth
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I still believe
I believe in hope, I believe the change can get us off our knees
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doing it for
I don't wanna have to talk about it
How many songs you gotta sing about it
How long you gonna live without it
Why does someone somewhere have to doubt it
Someday you'll figure it out
What do you got, if you ain't got love
Whatever you got, it just ain't enough
You're walkin' the road, but you're goin' nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreamin' of
If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doin' it for
Woah, I ain't got, if you ain't got
What do you got if you ain't got love
What do you got if you ain't got love
What do you got if you ain't got love
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Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This song is so true.
This song takes me back to ever since I was younger. Me and my friends and anyone else would get asked the question what do you want more than anything else? And while others want nice cars, or fame and fortune I would always respond with love. 'Cause what's the point of success if you have no one special to share it all with?
A rich man or a poor man A pawn or a king You can live on the street, you can rule the whole world But it don't mean one damn thing What do you got, if you ain't got love?
couldn't be better said.