When I was young, Herman’s Hermits were quite popular. I liked them well enough, in large part because the song I knew best was silly and easy to remember. Back then I didn’t know that songwriters weren’t always part of the musical group that performed a piece,1 so I likely assumed the band had written “I’m Henry VIII, I Am.”
I’d also heard their other big hit, “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” which I liked more for the unusual guitar sound than the wistful lyrics. As I matured and started thinking more about music—melody, rhythm, lyrics, vocals, and how they all fit together to create a cohesive piece—I discounted Herman’s Hermits as being more fluff than substance, and the band faded from my mind.
So it stayed for several decades, until I happened on a greatest hits album in my music library, no doubt acquired from a piratical friend. Thinking it would be some nice, light music to have as background while I did household tasks, I put it on. The familiar strains of “Mrs. Brown” started up, and I was transported back to my youth and the glories of the British Invasion.
Then today’s featured song began. The second line made me sit down and focus on the lyrics. And tears started rolling down my cheeks.
“No Milk Today” is such a deceptive song! The music and Peter Noone’s clear voice are fairly light; and even the lyrics mislead a bit unless one’s listening closely. The story spools out: he and his love lived in a small house (“just two up, two down” referring to the number of rooms on each floor) in a rough part of town, but they were happy in their home. Then she left, and now he needs to set out a note reading “no milk today” so that the milkman won’t leave any, because he’s alone. The note reminds him of how much he’s lost, but for the milkman and passersby, it’s an innocuous, everyday thing of little significance.
This song made me reevaluate everything I thought I knew about Herman’s Hermits. Sure, they had a lot of hits with lighter fare, but there is also substance in their music. “No Milk Today” is a great example: the music is exquisite and shifts tonally between the melancholy verses and more upbeat chorus; Noone varies his singing beautifully as well; and the chimes and strings add lovely texture. Today I learned that the song was written by Graham Gouldman, later of 10cc fame.
I think my being a little down today brought Herman’s Hermits back to mind. “No Milk Today” has not lost any of its power over me in the nearly two decades since I first heard it. And knowing that similar emotional landmines are waiting for me if I listened to all of Herman’s Hermits — Their Greatest Hits, I just can’t listen to anything else on it this evening. But I expect that I will soon.
I don’t think I’d encountered multiple covers of a piece, either
Really enjoyed your write-up on this. I never listened closely to the lyrics and didn't know what it was about. Very affecting.
Wow, this does change my perspective a little on Herman’s Hermits. What a lovely, simple, yet deeply affecting song which I’d never heard before. Thanks for sharing!