Several critics have described "Love in Song" as having a melancholy quality.[2][4] The first and third verses express a degree of sadness, as the singer cries out to his lover in the first verse and he sings of sadness that resulted from a misunderstanding in the third.[4] In contrast, in the second and fourth verses the singer sings of how everything is fine when he has his love.[4] In the bridge, the singer remembers a time when he and his lover were happier.[4] McCartney biographer Peter Carlin describes the song as a "portrait of heartbreak," claiming it "traced the thin line between love and obsession."[5]
Author Robert Rodriguez describes the song as a "delicate ballad."[6]Beaver County Times critic Bob Bonn described the melody as "mysterious sounding."[7] Music professor Vincent Benitez describes the song's keyasG Aeolian, a melancholy key.[4] Author John Blaney describes the arrangement as "measured," claiming that contributes the singer distancing himself from the subject, although he believes that McCartney's warm vocal "more than compensates for the song's guarded tone."[2]
Rodriguez considers "Love in Song" to be one of McCartney's "better efforts," although he claims that it is neglected today.[6]Rough Guide to The Beatles author Chris Ingham considers it a "luxurious acoustic ballad."[8]Rolling Stone critic Paul Nelson found "Love in Song" to be one of several "banal ballads" on Venus and Mars.[9] Music critic Richard Tozier described the song as a "formal, yet easily palatable ballad."[10]
Helen Merrill covered "Love in Song" on the 2005 album Love Is Song.[11]The Judybats covered it on the 2001 album Listen to What the Man Said: Popular Artists Pay Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney.[12]
^ abcdefBlaney, J. (2007). Lennon and McCartney: together alone: a critical discography of their solo work. Jawbone Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN978-1-906002-02-2.
^ abcMadinger, C. & Easter, M. (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You. 44.1 Productions. p. 203. ISBN0-615-11724-4.
^ abcdefBenitez, V.P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. pp. 63–64. ISBN978-0-313-34969-0.
