Bus Stop

This was written by Graham Gouldman, who went on to form the band 10cc, best known for their hit "I'm Not In Love." Gouldman was just 19 when he wrote "Bus Stop," but he had already written three Yardbirds songs: "For Your Love," "Heart Full of Soul" and "Evil Hearted You."

This song is about a couple who meet one rainy day at a bus stop. Love blooms when they share an umbrella. In a Manchester newspaper, Graham Gouldman said he wrote it whilst riding on the No. 95 bus, which ran from East Didsbury - the route went through Manchester city centre, to Sedgeley Park, Cheetham Hill, Prestwich, and on to Whitefield near Bury. Gouldman was living with his family on this route in Broughton Park Salford at the time.

Graham Gouldman's father was a talented and creative writer who often helped his son with song ideas. Graham had the idea for bus stop setting, and his dad came up with the first line: "Bus stop, wet day, she's there, I say, 'please share my umbrella.'" From that starting point, he was able to finish the song. In a Songfacts interview with Gouldman, he explained: "He gave me those words and I immediately, as I was reading them, heard the melody in my head, and it just kind of wrote itself. And then the middle part of the song I wrote - I got the melody and the words all in one chunk."