The Innocent Beatles Song, Co-Written by George Martin, That Paul McCartney Defended
Getting to the top of the charts is easy compared to the second challenge waiting just on the other side of this accomplishment: staying there. The Beatles were discovering how difficult this follow-up hurdle was in 1964, months after “I Want To Hold Your Hand” hit No. 1 in the States. Beatlemania might have been in full swing, but the band was responsible for keeping that fire going.
Eager to recreate their success and linger on the charts a little longer, The Beatles followed up with “Can’t Buy Me Love”. With George Harrison on a jangly twelve-string guitar, the song fit perfectly in the musical zeitgeist. And indeed, it was a hit. “Can’t Buy Me Love” topped charts worldwide, cementing itself among the most ubiquitous early Fab Four tunes.
Interestingly, producer George Martin played a significant role in the writing process, adding the intro and outro tag and essentially framing it as a 12-bar blues number. But lyrically, neither Martin nor anyone else involved thought to double-check the track for any double entendres. No, “Can’t Buy Me Love” Wasn’t About That.
The “my love is free” trope has become commonplace in modern pop music, but even a seemingly innocent idea like that could be taken the wrong way in the ultra-conservative world of 1964. Some critics accused The Beatles of singing about sex work in “Can’t Buy Me Love”, despite the very nature of the line “money can’t buy me love” directly negating that business model (but we digress).
Source: americansongwriter.com/Melanie Davis
