At lucky number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 is One Direction, with ‘Steal My Girl,’ a power pop ballad that shamelessly steals its opening piano riff from Journey’s ‘Faithfully.’
Or if you grew up in the 00s and not the 80s, you might think they shamelessly ripped off the opening riff of New Found Glory’s ‘It’s Not Your Fault,’ blissfully unaware that NFG ripped it off from Journey first.
The musical plagiarism aside (and really, how many chords are there in the world… this is bound to happen sometimes), this is a pretty catchy song. I’ve been mildly impressed with a lot of what I’ve heard from One Direction.
Since we were sixteen
We want the same things,
We dream the same dreams,
Alright (alright)
I got it all
’cause she is the one
Her mum calls me ‘love’,
Her dad calls me ‘son’,
Alright (alright)
I know, I know, I know for sure
[2x]
Everybody wanna steal my girl
Everybody wanna take her heart away
Couple billion in the whole wide world
Find another one ’cause she belongs to me
Na na na na na na (oh, yeah)
Na na na na na na (alright)
Na na na na na na
Na na
She belongs to me
Kisses like cream,
Her walk is so mean
And every jaw drop
When she’s in those jeans,
Alright (alright)
I don’t exist
If I don’t have her
The sun doesn’t shine,
The world doesn’t turn,
Alright (alright)
But I know, I know, I know for sure
[2x]
Everybody wanna steal my girl
Everybody wanna take her heart away
Couple billion in the whole wide world
Find another one ’cause she belongs to me
Na na na na na na (oh, yeah)
Na na na na na na (alright)
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
She knows, she knows
That I never let her down before
She knows, she knows
That I’m never gonna let another take her love from me now
[2x]
Everybody wanna steal my girl
Everybody wanna take her heart away
Couple billion in the whole wide world
Find another one ’cause she belongs to me
Na na na na na na (oh, yeah, alright, yeah)
Na na na na na na (alright)
Na na na na na na
Na na
She belongs to me
Na na na na na na (oh, yeah)
(She belongs to me, yeah)
Na na na na na na (alright)
Na na na na na na
She belongs to me
Meet Me In Montauk 
Yes, there are only so many chords, but at least the band freshens up the progression with a nice poppy anthem spin here. I too have been mildly impressed with what I have heard from One Directoon.
I was just talking to Laura about originality in music when there are only so many combinations of notes and she was giving me some musical theory explanation of why the variations are nearly infinite. Then there it is in your blog. I am psyched that Laura Nyro’s farmer Joe song is listed in related…going there now. 🙂