Things Your Lover Wouldn’t Know

The Verve “Drive You Home”

The Verve defaulted to an extremely high level of drama and romanticism in their songs, but even by that standard the emotion in “Drive You Home” is so potent and undiluted that it can be taxing as a listener. You can’t listen to a song like this casually; you have to go into it understanding that you’re probably going to have your heartstrings ripped right out of you. Even if you tune out the vocals and lyrics, Nick McCabe’s lead guitar is so saturated with feeling that you can’t escape its gravitational pull. He makes you feel every little ache, as well as a heartbreak so sweeping and grandiose that it’s almost majestic. And he does this while making every move sound loose and improvised.
 
“Drive You Home” is a song from the perspective of the losing corner of a love triangle. Richard Ashcroft is the other man in this scenario, and he’s hopelessly in love with someone he feels he’s made a profound connection with, but he doesn’t seem willing to fully act on it out of respect to her existing relationship. There’s a nobility in his point of view through the song, but also a deep frustration. He’s not angry or bitter, and his jealously only comes through in a few moments. But he is overwhelmed by the enormity of his feelings for her, and the reality that he can’t have what he wants so badly without potentially blowing up the lives of everyone involved. This is a song where it’d be easier if his feelings were unrequited, if it was all just one-sided infatuation. But the agony of this music is in this incredible romance they’re sharing, what sounds like an intense emotional affair. It feels like he’s trying to pour out all this love in the hope that he runs out of it, to get it out of his system before they can move on with their lives. And while the song does seem to taper off at the end, his passion is present until the last note rings out.

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