"Passion Is No Ordinary Word" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour.
[2] Lyrically, the song was described by writer Geoff Cabin as "rail[ing] against artificiality and false emotions".
"[5] Parker later joked that, because of the loss of sharpness that comes with aging, he "will never again grasp those effervescent wraiths of pure cosmic intangibility that forged the almost impossibly profound 'Passion Is No Ordinary Word'".
[6] "Passion Is No Ordinary Word" was first released on Parker's fourth studio album, Squeezing Out Sparks, in March 1979.
I was doing 'Passion Is No Ordinary Word', promoting the Rhino boxed set, and for some strange reason I just nailed that monkey.
[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic describes the song as one of the two "centerpieces" of Squeezing Out Sparks, alongside "You Can't Be Too Strong".
Erlewine writes that the two songs "indicate that [Parker's] traditionalist musical tendencies are symptomatic of a larger conservative trend.
Guitarist Mike Gent recalled, "My dad bought those records, Howlin' Wind and Heat Treatment, when they came out, so I've been listening to this music almost my whole life.