Crushes can be, well, crushing when they don’t work out the way you hoped. But in those moments before the heartache, when your heart is going double time, and your stomach is in knots just thinking about them, having a crush is exhilarating.
The 1960s had plenty of songs that captured this butterfly-filled, rosy-cheeked, giddy-puppy-love mindset of having a crush. Here are some of the sweetest.
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“Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It” by Buffalo Springfield
Are crushes exhilarating? Yes. Are they also a little embarrassing? Yes. Getting to the point where you feel comfortable enough to bare your feelings to another person who might not reciprocate your affection is tough. Vulnerability can be hard. Buffalo Springfield’s “Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It”, written by future solo star Neil Young, captures these feelings perfectly.
“Do I have to come right out and say it? Tell you that you look so fine? Do I have to come right out and ask you to be mine?” Ugh! Why can’t our crushes just know that we like them?
“You Baby” by The Mamas & The Papas
Crushes have a way of taking over our entire waking and non-waking life, and The Mamas & The Papas’ mid-1960s track “You Baby” from If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears illustrates this kind of all-encompassing obsession. (Obsession of the nice and non-threatening variety.) Sometimes, going to sleep can be even more exciting than waking up because you can dream about that person.
“From the time I fall asleep, till the mornin’ comes I dream about you, baby / And I feel alright ‘cause I know tonight I’ll be with you, baby / And who makes me feel like smilin’ when the weary day is through? / You, baby, you.”
“If I Fell” by The Beatles
Having a crush can be especially difficult when a special someone has burned you in the past. The Beatles’ 1964 track, “If I Fell”, is a tender plea of a ballad that’s as human as it gets. Who can’t relate to falling in love with someone and hoping and praying that they won’t treat you like your last lover did? This sentimental ballad is one of the finest (and earliest) examples of John Lennon’s ability to write romantic songs.
“If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true and help me understand? / Cause I’ve been in love before, and I found that love was more than just holding hands.”
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys captured the childlike innocence that goes along with high school (and earlier) crushes in “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. But you don’t need to be under eighteen to appreciate the sentiment behind this quintessential 1960s song about a crush. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older” could transfer over into anything, like “richer” or “living somewhere else” or “if we had more free time”, and on and on.
This classic song even touches on how painful it can be to dream about a life with someone special when you know it can’t happen (at least not right away). “You know it seems the more we talk about it / It only makes it worse to live without it.”
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