JUKEBOX: Mr. and Mrs.

Since before the days of the minstrel shows and “Mr. Bones and Mr. Interlocutor,” common honorifics have been used to address particular (generally imaginary) men and women in song. It’s the kind of thing that lasts through the present day, with songs like “Mr. Jones” and “Mr. Brightside.” So this week, let us take a good, hard look at these tuneful couples.

The great thing about Mr. and Mrs. songs is that they generally fall into one of two categories, and neither category is “love songs,” so they’re usually a pleasant change from the other 90% of music.

One category is “the metaphorical man we can put our hopes into,” represented here first by ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” (bonus, Jeff Lynne actually has eyes under all that hair and sunglasses!).

“Mr. Blue Sky” has been compared to Beatles tracks “Martha My Dear” and “A Day in the Life.” It’s no wonder that it’s influenced more recent tracks, including another “Mr.” song, “Goodbye, Mr. A.”

Much like “Mr. Blue Sky,” its predecessor “Mr. Tambourine Man” has a similar appreciation for the Mr. in question.

I put the Beatles’ “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” into this same category, although it’s not quite the same.

But then there’s the other category: the story songs.

Harry Nilsson was a master of the story song, using a number of imaginary protagonists. Not surprisingly, he has a couple of “Mr.” songs, both befitting this category: “Mr. Tinker” and “Mr. Richland’s Favorite Song” (performed darkly below as a medley with “One”).

The Chordettes, of course, give us a very famous Mr. — “Mr. Sandman.”

And note: that’s the same Mr. of not only the aforementioned “Mr. Tambourine Man,” but also of “Mr. Spaceman.”

There’s a slight twist on the story song for tunes like “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” and “Mr. Pleasant,” which don’t tell dark life stories so much as give us glimpses into the problems of characters we don’t even know by first names. Maybe no one knows Mr. Pleasant’s first name — he seems to live that kind of life.

For a few more introductions without first names, check out the playlist below!

Emma Sedam

Emma Sedam is a music enthusiast from Marion, Ohio with a knack for fashion, pop-culture, and storytelling. She runs a weekly local radio show and an all-eras music blog. You can find her on most social media outlets.