The Friday Five: Songs About Fools

Welcome to The Friday Five! It sounds like an action movie, but it's not; rather, it's a weekly series where bloggers are given a topic and assigned to come up with a five-song list fitting that topic. This Friday, the topic/question is: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SONGS ABOUT FOOLS?

(Unlike other Friday Five-ers, who know how to follow rules, only two of my songs mention the word 'fool' in the lyrics. These are more songs about people who do foolish things.)

"Fools Rush In" - She & Him

"Fools Rush In" is just one of the many impeccable songs to spring from the pen of Johnny Mercer. Basically, that means that it's a song that's almost impossible to mess up. I like every version I've listened to, from Frank Sinatra to Etta James to (probably most famously) Ricky Nelson. My favorite has to be this unplugged cover by She & Him, though; Zooey Deschanel's interpretation of the lyric feels the most emotional. This tune is great no matter what, though; it describes exactly what it feels like to develop a crush on someone.

"Ooh Baby Baby" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

In my mind, there's no more foolish act than cheating on one's spouse or significant other. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles's "Ooh Baby Baby" is a great song about a guy who has just realized how foolish he was and wants to rectify his mistake. (The song is also pretty brave in that it states that the girl may not be blameless, either.) The song leaves us hanging; we never do learn if the girl decides to take him back. However, the arrangement is so lush and the vocals so beautiful that we don't care that we're left to wonder.

"Glory Days" - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen built an amazing career on songs about fools. From men who run out on wives ("Hungry Heart") to guys to turn to crime to impress their girls ("Atlantic City") to people who drag out loveless relationships ("I'm Goin' Down"), The Boss has often turned to foolish acts for inspiration. Out of all those songs, however, "Glory Days" feels the most poignant to me. The lyric does a fine job of painting two characters who foolishly live in their memories: a former high-school baseball star and a former homecoming queen. Those verses are melancholy, but the saddest verse is the final one, where the singer recognizes that he'll probably become the exact same fool someday.

"Waist Deep In The Big Muddy" -  Pete Seeger

"Waist Deep In The Big Muddy" is probably one of the most controversial songs of the past fifty years. It's a haunting anti-war song that tells the story of an ill-fated military maneuver in Louisiana. It makes its point VERY bluntly, and that irked a lot of people in 1967, when the song was first released. I think that part of the song's history is interesting, but it resonates with me on a more personal level. I'm guilty of the same kind of foolishness the the Captain displays in this song: marching on when everything around you tells you it's a bad idea. (I'm particularly guilty of this with romantic relationships.) This song is a vivid, powerful reminder to me that such a course of action is a dangerous one.

"I Won't Say I'm In Love" - Susan Egan (from Hercules)

I wouldn't say that Hercules is my favorite Disney musical, but "I Won't Say I'm In Love" is definitely one of my favorite Disney songs! David Zippel's lyrics are really clever in that they depict Megara (Susan Egan) foolishly denying her heart while trying to not foolishly run into another relationship. (Sounds like Meg might have heard "Fools Rush In" a couple of times.) However, she soon comes to learn what Master Oogway says in Kung Fu Panda: "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." Meg (and we) eventually come to learn that love can't be denied. If there's one kind of foolishness that it's okay to indulge in, it's falling in love!

What about you? What are your favorite songs about fools?