3 Songs From the 60s That Were Written About Real Relationship Drama

How lucky are songwriters to have such an easy outlet for expressing complicated feelings? Here are a few 60s songs that take inspiration from real relationships.

“For No One” by The Beatles

This song, from The Beatles’ Revolver album, takes inspiration from Paul McCartney‘s relationship with Jane Asher, whom he dated for five years but didn’t feel it was right to wed.  

“It’s a song about rejection,” McCartney explained to The Lyrics. “The breakup, or marking the end of a relationship that didn’t work, has always been quite a rich area to explore in a song. Having been through it a few times – as I suppose a lot of people have – it was an emotion I could relate to, and it seemed like a good idea to put into a song because probably a lot of other people could relate to it too…”

“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was inspired by his relationship with Suze Rotolo when he wrote this song. She moved to Italy to study at the University of Perugia and left him behind, but he puts a twist on their departure in this tune.

“A lot of people make it sort of a love song—slow and easygoing,” Dylan once said of this song, per Songfacts. “But it isn’t a love song. It’s a statement that maybe you can say something to make yourself feel better. It’s as if you were talking to yourself.”

“I Had A King” by Joni Mitchell

This song is about Joni Mitchell’s first marriage to Chuck Mitchell, whom she would sometimes escape to coffee shops from to write. Mitchell has described their union as a “marriage of convenience.”

A champion of Mitchell’s, Tom Rush, once said of her first husband, “Chuck was a good guy, but he didn’t share the enthusiasm about her songwriting. He was more interested in sticking with the traditional folk stuff. She was more interested in creating new stuff.”

The lyrics of “I Had A King” sing about two people that don’t seem to be compatible, despite the love they may share.

I had a king dressed in drip-dry and paisley
Lately he’s taken to saying I’m crazy and blind
He lives in another time
Ladies in gingham still blush
While he sings them of wars and wine
But I, in my leather and lace
I can never become that kind.

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