The classic song Patti Smith could have “never written”
The original punk poet Patti Smith is a wordsmith of the highest calibre. However, she knows her limitations as a songwriter and instead plays to her strengths. With artistry, it’s essential to be authentic and never pretend to be somebody else — an accusation that could never be thrown at the feet of the uncompromising Smith.
Her approach to writing music consistently comes from the heart, but the idea of crafting a song with the intention of it being a commercial hit has always been an alien idea to Smith. It’s not in her DNA to pen a track built around a gigantic stadium-ready chorus, but that doesn’t prevent the singer-songwriter from enjoying that brand of rock.
Smith has rarely troubled the chart throughout her career, but that hasn’t impacted her legacy in the slightest. ‘Because The Night’ remains the most successful track of her career, which was penned by Bruce Springsteen, who gifted it to Smith after producer Jimmy Iovine heard ‘The Boss’ had no plans to release the song and asked if she could have it.
The Patti Smith Group turned ‘Because The Night’ into their own creation, and it became an anthemic creation for the ages. Of her version, Springsteen said when inducting Iovine into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that it was “something I could never have done, because I didn’t have the guts to turn it into a love song”.
Meanwhile, Smith feels similarly about Springsteen’s contribution to the track and once claimed writing a song of this nature was out of reach. However, she knew ‘Because of the Night’ was made for her voice and wasn’t prepared to miss the opportunity to record the song. “I have been at many crossroads in my life where I’ve been offered really big things, a huge amount of money or some kind of contract I’ve turned down because it wasn’t right for me,” Smith told Billboard in 2018.
“It’s not strange that I would have to think about it. But in this instance, we made the right decision. In the end, we were a good match for that particular song. I could have never written a song like that. I’d never write a chorus like that,” she continued.
“All I’m saying is he gave us a gift … I would’ve loved (to have) written a song that captured the imagination of the people or the pulse of the people or the beat of the people — but one isn’t good in everything. I have my gifts. That’s a special gift,” Smith added of the song.
She also said of those capable of writing hit songs: “I really admire pop singers, people that make our hits. I love listening to hit songs. I dance to them; I listen to them. Sometimes people think that because I don’t write them that I’m snobby about it. It’s not that. If I knew how, I would. I haven’t written one. But we did write that.”
Following the success of ‘Because The Night’, Smith could have gotten a taste for chart superstardom and attempted to bend her career to create more similar moments. However, it simply wouldn’t have been true to her artistry, and instead, Smith followed her heart.
