Bee Gees Barry and Robin Gibb (Steven Lovekin/Getty Images)

I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I wanna feel you in my arms again.
– “How Deep Is Your Love” by the [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Bee Gees[/lastfm]

Taken out of context, the lyrics to the Bee Gees’ 1977 Saturday Night Fever hit “How Deep Is Your Love” are, at best, trite, and at their worst, nauseating: “living in a world of fools,” “how deep is your love,” blah blah blah. But, when taken within the context of history, the lyrics act as an antidote to the current events of the world. Which at the time, weren’t always pretty.

Consider these historical happenings, all of which happened in January of 1977: There was an air disaster in Stockholm; serial killer Gary Gilmore was executed in Utah; and the worst railway disaster in Australian history killed 83 people. And that was just during the first 30 days of the year.

It’s fair to say that, in light of the world’s events at the time, that “How Deep Is Your Love” was actually a poignant, escapist salve designed to soothe the anxiety of the times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpqqjU7u5Yc