I’ll be honest – the main reason I like this song is because it’s featured in Notting Hill. Aside from imbuing me with images of Portobello Road, the Ritz, the escapism of a romantic love story and the frankly laughable notion of ever being able to afford to live in London, it’s a great song.
Love isn’t complicated. Yes, it creates hurricanes within us, but that’s the side effect. You realize how you feel and suddenly your mind goes into overdrive with worries, insecurities, excitement, nerves. Meanwhile, love is just sitting there, filing its nails and watching the fireworks.
Ain’t No Sunshine distills the experience of love and heartbreak down to its basic fundamentals. There is no climactic point in the song. No melismatic scale-climbing typical of many soul or blues artists. Sometimes, understated is more effective. It almost mirrors the famous scene from Notting Hill – Julia Roberts stands in a bookshop with a creaky wooden floor in front of Hugh Grant and simply states “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Sometimes the soft, uncomplicated declaration can more deeply convey what we feel. Someone smiles at you and your sun comes out. See? Simple.