Paul Simon was probably right, but he definitely let us down when he sang “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.” The song actually only mentions four or five ways to get out of a relationship, like Jack sneaking out the back, Stan finding a new plan, or Lee leaving the key.
I’ve always wanted to hear the other forty-something shapes that Simon had in mind when he wrote the hit. Of course, it probably wouldn’t be exactly fifty, since Simon probably just rounded it down to a nice easy number. After all, a song titled “46 Ways to Leave Your Lover” wouldn’t be that catchy, even if it were mathematically correct.
However, an artist doesn’t have to round up to a catchy number to make a good song. Some really memorable songs are based on seemingly random numbers, either in the title or in the verses.
Here are some of the seemingly random numbers of popular songs, accompanied by a viable explanation as to why that particular number was chosen.
“35 Sweet Goodbyes” by Steely Dan
This sum appears in the first line of “My Old School” and, according to a Rolling Stone interview with Donald Fagen, represents oral sex (half of 69). The “Dad G”. in the last verse, incidentally, it belongs to G. Gordon Liddy, who was dean when Fagen was attending Bard College.
“14 joys and desire to be happy” by Bob Welch
The line here from “Sentimental Lady” refers to the Seasons of Joy, fourteen passages in which the risen Jesus wished to transform sorrows into sorrows. Therefore, the final half of the line cites the desire to be happy instead of sad.
“73 Men Sailed Out of San Francisco Bay” by Blues Image
In an interview, the band claimed that the number was unimportant and that they had chosen it at random to open their hit “Ride Captain Ride”. Some fans still feel the number is a Biblical reference.
“21 Reasons Why” by Frank Black and the Catholics
This song from the former Pixies frontman refers to the 21 missions that were used to establish California, hence his mention of Berkeley, Monterey and the Rocky Coast.
“99 Luft Balloons” by Nena
This anti-war song was more popular in its German version, but the number is the same in any language. She describes various other nouns in the song, culminating in 99 dreams. Why 99? The only reasonable explanation is that physically that number looks more like a balloon. Since there are two people in the song buying the balloons, it would make sense for the title to have two nines, meaning one balloon for each.
“96 tears” by? and the mysterians
This title probably uses 96 because it’s the largest of the five “untouchable” numbers under 100. The lyrics reveal that the singer can’t touch the girl, but that he will eventually end up crying a lot more than he currently cries.
“Obviously Five Believers” by Bob Dylan
Some Dylan fans believe that the quintet here represents the number of people who, however silly the words of their songs, always insist on finding deep interpretations. To further complicate the song, Dylan throws in “fifteen jugglers”.
Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4”
Singer Peter Cetera revealed that the song was written while various band members were trying to stay up all night, “Sitting cross-legged on the floor” and “Getting up to wet my face”. After one asked what time it was, the other replied that it was 25 or 4 minutes to 6 (o’clock). The best question was asked a few years earlier by the band in their song “Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?”
“Seven Nations Army” by White Stripes
Stop trying to figure out which septet of countries is being referred to in this title. I once wrongly assumed it was the United Nations Security Council powers plus some emerging ones like Korea or Greece, but Jack White dismissed that idea. The name, according to the song’s creator himself, comes from his misinterpretation of the Salvation Army’s childhood.
