In reading Todd Burns’ Playing God piece on The White Album, I can’t help but ponder for a moment: is “Martha My Dear” the very best that one-half of the best songwriting duo in pop history had to offer? Yes, it’s about his sheepdog. Yes, it’s decidedly the most non-life-changing trifle imaginable. But is it also life-affirming? Because, when I think about that chorus, “Hold your head up/You silly girl”—and particularly the falsetto-busting “See what you’ve DUUUUHHN,” as it leads into the “Find yourself in the thick-of-it” section—I almost feel guilty over the degree to which I am rejoicing in that little slice of unencumbered pop heaven — that something that means nothing in the world to anyone means everything in the world to me.
Anyway, just a thought.