I wrote this one with my early Beatles hat on, askew though it may have been. It starts off quite brightly, with the nice major chords and self-deprecating lyrics. As the song progresses, however, the lyrics become slightly more grounded. I wanted to reflect this maturation process in the song structure, too, which is why the good listeners among you may detect a lone minor chord marking the pivot point in verse three. By the time the final verse rolls around, the character is questioning whether he has been a good partner. Instead of the youthful, cocksure I-IV-V chords that we started out with, major and minor seventh substitutes now serve to underscore the singer’s moments of self-doubt. Only at the very end of the song, after his resolve returns, do the sunny intro chords retake their place to bring us home.

Lyrics

Can I love her enough to keep her happy / Can I love her enough she’ll keep me ‘round / Will she tolerate my shenanigans when we’re old and grey / Can I love her enough she’ll let me stay / Yeah I know I’m not the catch a woman dreams of / I’m kinda closer to frog than handsome prince / Somewhere in between model citizen and rotten so-and-so / Can she love me as just an average joe / What a girl like her would want with a guy like me is something I will never know / And can I be the provider she’s expecting / Does she have all the things a love deserves / Even though it takes both our salaries just to make ends meet / Can I give her enough she feels complete / What a girl like her would want with a clown like me is something I will never know / Can I love her enough to keep her happy / Even after the autumn leaves are gone / Will she beat herself up by wondering was this meant to be? / I can only hope I can make her see / That I can give her enough, and I can hold her enough, yeah I can love her enough that she loves me