That’s Entertainment – one of the greatest songs ever written. It took Paul Weller about 20 minutes to scribble it down while sat on the last bus home.
Two lovers missing the tranquillity of solitude
What does that mean? I haven’t got a clue. And I don’t really care – because it just sounds good. And the same goes for the chorus:
That’s entertainment. La-la-la, la-la-la
Why spend weeks torturing yourself, trying to construct elaborate lyrics with multi-layered meanings, when you can express yourself with a simple noise? And for some reason, that noise usually comes out as a ‘la’.
It’s the sound my 80-year-old granddad used to make as he was washing the dishes; riffing on random fragments of long forgotten melodies. It’s the music that babies make before they learn how to form words.
It’s pure – a simple noise which isn’t big or clever.
So to celebrate, here’s a list of the 10 greatest songs which contain some la, la, la’s.
PS: The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ is disqualified because the idiots sang ‘na’, not ‘la’.
10. Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl
It’s no wonder Van Morrison’s such a miserable git. Despite releasing about 7,000 albums during his life, Van is still best known for just one track – Brown Eyed Girl.
It’s one of the most played songs in the history of recorded music, recently racking up its nine millionth radio play. But here’s the good bit; Van the Man has never received a penny in royalties from it, thanks to a dodgy contract he signed as a youngster.
It might explain why he appears to hate the song so much. He has said, “I’ve got about 300 songs which are better”. Still, it’s a cracking tune from one of the masters of the la, la, la. Check out Caravan as well.
Lyric:
Do you remember when we used to sing?Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-te-daSha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-te-daLa-te-da
9. Lancashire Cricket Fans: Lanc-y-shurr…La, La, La
There’s no better sound on a summer’s afternoon than a couple of hundred fat, sun-burnt supporters bellowing out this joyful refrain. It’s the bacon sandwich of the la, la, la song.
They’ve stripped it down to the raw components: name of county, la’s and booze. That’s all it takes. Simple. Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
If it was sung by anyone else it could easily sound moronic. But filtered through the high-pitched nasal drone of the Lancastrian, it’s transformed into the la, la, la equivalent of theHallelujah chorus.
Lyric:
Lanc-y-shurr… la, la, la. Lanc-y-shurr… la, la, la
8. The Faces: Ooh La La
Bit of a cheat this. Despite the title, you’ll only find a paltry five la’s in this tune. But fuck it, it’s a cracking song.
This was recorded just as the The Faces were starting to fall apart. Ronnie Lane wrote it for Rod Stewart, but the mullet-haired dickhead refused to sing it – he didn’t like it, apparently.
It was left to a pre-Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood to do the vocals on the album version. But it’s this later version, sung by Ronne Lane, that does it for me.
Lyric:
Ooh-la-laOoh-la-la-la, yeah
7. Half Man Half Biscuit: Venus in Flares
Trust those loveable Birkenhead scallywags. They couldn’t just do a nice song with some la, la, la’s. Oh no, they had to be all postmodern and smart arse about it.
In Venus in Flares they deconstruct the use of la, la, la in popular music. They put forward the theory that it’s a device used by lazy songwriters who can’t be arsed to write any more lyrics.
Cheeky scamps.
Lyric:
And I went la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-laI went la-la-la-la-la-la-laJust like everyone else does when they can’t think of any more words.
6. Wolfgang Reichman: Himmelblau
What do you need to know about Wolfgang Reichman? Well, he was German, he dressed like an accountant, wore blue lipstick and was stabbed to death by a random stranger just a couple weeks before his only album was released.
Himmelblau is nine minutes of bubbling, shimmering electronic joy. It’s what Kraftwerk would sound like if they left the autobahn and started tootling around country lanes in an open top Fiat Punto.
It keeps you waiting a while before the la, la, la’s kick in, but stick with it – it’s corking.
Lyric:
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
5. Iggy Pop: The Passenger
This has to be included, I suppose. It’s a shame because I’d like to see Iggy Pop surgically removed from the annals of rock history. I can’t stand the bloke. Can’t stand the majoirty of his music. Can’t stand his scrawny torso. Can’t stand his car insurance adverts.
But his one saving grace is a genuinely classic la, la, la song: The Passenger. And yes, Bowie did do some of the backing vocals. Now, let’s move on.
Lyric:
Singin’ la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la- la-la-la-la-laLa-la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
4. The Jam: Saturday’s Kids
You can chart the decline of Paul Weller by the number of songs he wrote featuring a la, la, la. Back in the 80s, just about every Jam song seemed to include a burst – That’s Entertainment,Going Underground, Man in the Cornershop – all class.
But the height of the Weller of his la, la, la phase came with Saturday’s Kids. After that he started getting all jazzy and writing sensible lyrics about emotions and stuff. And the next thing you know, you’re stood in a field surrounded be middle-aged men watching the UK’s dullest musician.
Lyric:
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
3. Elvis Presley: I’m Leavin’
This was a commercial flop for 70s Elvis. It showed its face in the Top 40 before scuttling off into obscurity. But it remained one of Presley’s personal favourites, a song he continued to perform right up until his death.
It’s not your usual Presley fare – it’s a song about loneliness and depression. The la, la, la’s here sound like they come from somewhere deep inside – fragile and haunting.
Lyric:
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laI’m, I’m leavin’
2. Joe Raposo: Sing
You might not have heard of Joe Raposo’s name but if you’re of a certain age you’ll be familiar with his tunes. He was a Portugese musician who used to write most of the music for Sesame Street, including the classy theme tune. He’s also supposed to have been the inspiration for the Cookie Monster.
Raposo wrote Sing as something that kids on the show could join in with. But it was adopted by the likes of The Carpenters and Barbara Streisand and turned into a crooning classic.
Fuck you Muse. Listen to this, turn off your amplifiers and find gainful employment as supply teachers.
Lyric:
La-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-laLa-la-la-la-la-la-la
1. Meic Stevens: Y Brawd Houdini
If you hang around the pubs of Cardiff for long enough, you’ll eventually meet a cantankerous old man with ca pint of wine. This is Meic Stevens – the creator of the best la, la, la tune ever.
These days Meic looks and acts a bit like Father Jack but back in the 60s he was a fresh-faced young folk singer, touted as the Welsh Bob Dylan. With fame and fortune calling, Meic heroically slammed the door in its face.
He insisted on continuing to write and record music in his native Welsh language. And he’s carried on doing it ever since.
Y Brawd Houdini is one of his earliest records – a song about going for a beer with the brother of a famous escapologist. This is the greatest terrace chant that never was.
Lyric:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la