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Song Stories

“How Soon Is Now? ”

The Smiths | 1985

Morrissey cribbed the opening lyrics of this track from George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch, but co-composer Johnny Marr has cited a different yet equally unlikely reference point for the music: Derek and the Dominos. “I wanted an intro that was almost as potent as 'Layla,'” the guitarist said. “When [it] plays in a club or a pub, everyone knows what it is.”

Find out which legendary female singer-songwriter Morrissey criticizes in person for eating meat and smoking.
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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

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