Inspiration for song lyrics can come from an infinite number of places, but sometimes the ambiguity of their meaning is the best part. Here are 10 well known songs that fans have misinterpreted over the years. Of course there are many more (and perhaps some with better stories), but these songs were chosen simply because of their widespread popularity.
Misconception: A song about drugs
As evidenced in the movie Dangerous Minds, this song has widely been speculated to be an ode to mind-altering drugs, with Mr. Tambourine Man supposedly representing Dylan’s drug dealer. The song’s abstract, surrealistic imagery has fueled the idea that LSD was responsible for some of the lyrics, although Dylan claims to have been introduced to the drug after the song had been written. Dylan insists the song was never about drugs, but rather the search for inspiration. He claims the title character of Mr. Tambourine Man was actually inspired by musician Bruce Langhorne, who played a large Turkish tambourine during many of Dylan’s previous recording sessions.
Misconception: Autobiographical band story
In the summer of 1969, Bryan Adams was 10 years old. That should be enough to quell the idea that this song had anything to do with 1969 being the year he learned guitar, played in a band, and fell in love, yet the rumors persist. The upbeat nostalgia of this song wasn’t inspired by an actual year, but rather Mr. Adams’ fondness for a certain sexual position. According to Adams, the lyrics detailing a fondly remembered musical summer were mostly filler, because the song was actually about “making love in the summertime.”
Misconception: Describes singer’s struggle with AIDS
Queen’s classic was once rumored to reference Freddie Mercury’s battle with AIDS. The fatalistic lyrics about a man who has killed someone and his subsequent judgment supposedly chronicle Mercury’s feelings about his illness and impending death. The members of Queen have been intentionally vague over the years about the true meaning of the lyrics, but Mercury had been quoted as saying the words were simply “random rhyming nonsense” that were just written to fit the music. Furthermore, the AIDS epidemics of the early 80s took place years after this song had been completed.
Misconception: Sweet love song
Arguably the Police’s most popular song, Every Breath You Take has been played during countless weddings and on request lines due to the widely held belief that it is a gentle love song. According to Sting, the song is about love, but it’s quite a bit more “sinister and ugly” than people think. Sting wrote the song during the collapse of his marriage, amidst feelings of jealousy and obsession over his lost lover. He claims the stalker-like vibe of the lyrics were inspired by the desire for surveillance and control he was feeling during his divorce.
Misconception: Sexy love song
This lighthearted tune has solidified itself as a classic love song about longing for that special someone. Matthews’ soft and sincere delivery seem to distract some listeners from the lyrics that are actually kind of creepy. Matthews has admitted it is, indeed, a love song, but one that has been written from the perspective of a peeping tom. On close inspection, the song is definitely a celebration of women, albeit from a voyeuristic point of view, with the narrator at one point literally standing outside of a woman’s window watching her. Matthews has jokingly stated this song was written as an alternative to getting arrested.
Misconception: Song about devil worship
The ominous and abstract nature of Hotel California’s lyrics have led to numerous interpretations through the years. One view that was widely held during the 80s was that the song referred to a hotel purchased by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. The spooky imagery in the album cover art along with lyrics like, “they just can’t kill the beast” contributed to this myth. Don Henley and Glenn Frey have stated the song is really metaphorically describing excess in America and the Los Angeles high life that the band experienced.
Misconception: Patriotic song
Most people won’t be surprised to hear that despite many people (including politicians) having used the song for patriotic uses, the lyrics are actually extremely critical of the US. Many fist-pumping beer-drinking Americans, myself included, would proudly sing the chorus at ball games without giving a second thought to the lyrics contained in the verses. The song was written in response to the negative impact the Vietnam war had on Americans, but the catchy patriotic refrain is apparently just too… well, catchy. Similarly, the Australian band Men at Work’s song Down Under has been widely considered a patriotic song, while the authors maintain it was meant to be critical of their country.
Misconception: Song is about a suicide
Legend has it that Tom Petty wrote this song about a University of Florida student that commited suicide by jumping from her dorm room balcony. Petty is from Gainesville where UF is located, and Highway 441 (mentioned in the lyrics) does pass by the school, lending credibility to the story. However, Petty himself has insisted that this story is an urban legend, and the lyrics were actually inspired by the sounds of the freeway near his apartment in Encino, California, several years after he’d moved away from Florida.
Misconception: Witnessed a preventable death
The dark, accusatory lyrics of this song lent themselves to one of the most well known incorrect meanings. The story says that Phil Collins saw someone drowning once from far away, and that a third person, who was close enough to help, either ignored or refused to help the drowning person. Appalled by this, Collins penned this tune as an anonymous condemnation of the person’s cowardice and/or apathy. Some versions of the story have Collins finding this person at one of his shows and even singing it directly to them. Of course Collins says that story is incorrect, and the lyrics actually arose from the bitterness and anger he felt while going through his divorce.
Misconception: Girlfriend died in plane crash
The sad refrain and apocalyptic lyrics of one of James Taylor’s most famous songs gave rise to a belief that the song dealt with him losing his girlfriend, “Suzanne”, in a plane crash after friends bought her a ticket, trying to surprise Taylor with a visit while he was out of town. If interpreted in this manner, the line “sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground” supposedly references the crash. According to Taylor, however, the song was written over time, with each of the three verses dealing with a different aspect of his life: from the death of a friend, to his frustration in music, to his brief time spent in an institution. The lyric mentioned above actually referred to a band of Taylor’s that had failed, which left him deeply depressed. The name of that band was The Flying Machine.
Misconception: song is about LSD
John Lennon claimed this song was inspired by a drawing made by his son, and that he had no idea that the first letters of the words “Lucy,” “Sky,” and “Diamonds” were a reference to LSD. The lyrics certainly sound like some sort of drug-induced hallucination, but Lennon insisted that was never his intention.
Interesting list
More to come I hope
I believe Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was stated (by John Lennon) to be about a picture his son Julian drew at school.
From Beatleswiki [http://beatles.wikia.com/wiki/Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds]
While Lennon and the Beatles were often frank about their drug use, for decades they denied that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" had anything to do with LSD. In a 2004 interview, however, Paul McCartney spoke openly about his Beatles-era drug use, revealing that songs such as "Day Tripper" and "Got To Get You Into My Life" were written directly about LSD and *****. When questioned about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," he noted that Julian's painting had inspired the song, but that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was about an acid trip.
i never knew bohemian rhapsody was just plain nonsense… i liked the song though
i like it better now that i know its a bunch of rhyming nonsense.
i like meaningful songs as much as the next guy, but it always ticked me off that i couldnt figure outwhat the hell they were talking about.
now that i know that *they* didnt either, makes me feel a little better.
'the algebra has the devil for a sidekick"
"scare a moose, scare a moose, will you do the banned tango"
"standing in line for his poor sausagery …. ich bin la *no!* –will not pet your goat"
im actually torn as to which version makes more sense.
Mate, you should seriously do a Top Ten Misheard Songs list, that would be great. My number one: Precious and Few..the first line, "Precious and few are the moments we two can share…", which I heard growing up as, "Beshus and too ada moda si toucan cherrrrr…."
Or "Blinded by the Light… (…revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night"), which I misheard as "Ripped up like a douche on the roller in the night."
Seriously, weren't there a lot of songs you've misheard? You could do a great top ten list on this one!
Jimi Hendrix – "scuse me while i kiss the sky" as "scuse me while i kiss this guy" the most widly known i think…
bluesman — i lost your comment (about hendrix) — it was on my fone, then vanished. knowing you, you were probably making a crack about 'purple haze' being the only ultra popular song that the artist purposly sang the wrong lyrics…
i dont know where that started, but it is common knowledge that noel redding and jimi played with this 'misheard' lyric on occasion, pointing at each other, while singing ''scuse me while i kiss this guy'.
–ive even seen one old concert from nyc or d.c., where hendrix walked over and kissed redding after singing that.
but there are tons of misheard lyrics
– go-go's 'our lips are sealed' ('alex the seal') ………..
– the misfits 'i turned into a martain' (i had a friend named ed marshall, and always thought glen danzig was saying 'i turned into ed marshall')………
–what was that robert palmer one 'addicted to love? — ive heard people belting out 'might as well face it, youre a dick with a glove'
– 'here we are now, in containers' teen spirit — nirvana (which i think is actually what tori amos said in her cover of the song)
–theres a wino down the road — out of stairway to heaven
–joe strummer singing 'sherise dont like it — rock the cat's butt– rock the cat's butt'
–my little sister always sang another brick in the wall as 'no dogs or cats are in the classroom'
you could make several "top 101" lists with all this crap, but more times than not, i think its just in misunderstanding the words —- what would be cool as a list would be when these misunderstood lines directly changed the percieved meaning of the song. i dont think anyone thought the troggs were really saying 'wild thing……you make my horse sing'……because it doesnt make any sense. but im sure there are some cases that would change meaning
.
i used to think there really was a wino down the road til i opened the record sleeve. A dick with a glove ? ?hah that cracks me up……
There are so many ……,
For years I was singing the wrong words to The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," as "Isn't it good, knowing June Wood?" I never understood where they got the weird title for the song.
Summer of ’69 opening lyrics- I got my first real ***** dream…
try kissthisguy.com pretty funny and what you're asking for
There's this song, I forgot what it was called, but the lyrics were: It's like my iPod stuck on replay. I misheard it as: It's like my eyeballs stuck on a plate
That would be "Replay" by Iyaz. And thank you very much for that misheard lyric, I'll never hear the song the same way again! LMAO.
As a kid I was told the song "Lemon Tree" was written about a lesbian. "Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat" meaning that the pretty girl who was the subject of the song was gay and therefore not accessible to the male singer. Anyone else heard this rumour? Great list too.
ii've heard that rumour, but only in the context that it was incorrect.
i have an old old british import version of ledzep ii, and this song is listed as 'killing floor'.
what ive always understood is that the lyrics came from about 4 or 5 different blues tunes. as much as i hate to admit it, i cant even remember some of the songs with same lyrics, although i do remember a couple.
'traveling riverside blues', by robert johnson is one of em — zep covered that tune a lot (or so ive heard — i wasnt alive) — and a version finally appeared on their 1990 box set.
from robert johnson:
"we can still barrelhouse, baby, 'cause it's on the river side
now you can squeeze my lemon till the juice run down my…
(spoken: till the juice run down my leg, baby, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout)
you can squeeze my lemon till the juice run down my leg
(that's what Im talkin about now)
but i'm goin' back to friar's point, if i be rockin' to my head "
and, of course howlin wolf was responsible for some other lyrics, from his song 'killing floor'.
he even was eventually given composer credit on some versions of this album (if you see c. burnett credited, that's wolf's real name)
from howlin' wolf:
"i shoulda quit you, baby, long time ago.
i shoulda quit you, and went on to mexico."
back to you cqsteve — im not sure this song really has an underlying meaning, other than page-plant-bonham-j.p.jones all loved blues, and wanted to pay tribute, somehow (remember those are only like, two of the 5 songs that they pulled lyrics from)
that one line you cited? sounds lesbiany to me — but im just as curious as to *who* wrote it, than *why*
*
Im confused……. is CQsteve is talking about that 90's song "lemon tree" – by fools garden maybe?
i think he was — i went on a completely different tangent thinking about a rumour i heard about 'lemon song' by led zepplin, since i had heard the same rumour —-
computers and lack of sleep
do
not
mix
just think of it as this week's unprovoked lesson in zepplinology
you will be quizzed tomorrow
Actually that reference was a 60's folk song by Peter Paul & Mary
true.
bwmyers18 – you're right, it was the PP & M song from the 1960's I was referencing. (Sorry about the delay in answering but I have been out of town for a couple of days).
O-meister…i have a question for you that always bothers me…in R Johnsons -"Sweet home chicago" -why does he say – "baby dont you wanna go ,back to the land of california to my sweet home ,Chicago" ?
Isnt Chicago faaar from California ?
yeah man — its like, 1750 miles (2815 km) — and that didnt make sense to me for a long long time.
down here — near the mississippi delta — at the time (1935, or so) the geography of the midwest wasnt real well known, and a lot of early accounts attributed to the nonsensical geography as robert johnson simply not knowing what he was talking about
the song was thought by some to be metaphorical of the american north and west, in that the rascism and biggotry werent as prevalent in chicago or cali.
here's another take — during the depression, california and chicago were the places people most wanted to go to escape financial problems, both thought to be much better for maintaining life and family (although, in reality, it was more of a case of 'the grass is greener on the other side')
turns out —– johnson had a relative in port chicago, california (which is somewhere near oakland/san fran) and was referring to a time in his childhood where he would visit this family member — that sentence is from a delta blues historian
the other thing i have figured out over the years, is that many covers switched the words chicago and california because it made no geographical sense. clapton's version is different than robert johnson's, different than buddy guy's, different than fleetwood mac's, different than stevie ray vaughn's etc etc)
love the song though!
Oh ok thought it might be a duplicate name place-yeah i seen it been changed, check out the version with buddy guy, robert cray ,clapton , hubert summlin and jimmy vaughn at crossroads fest no.1 it also awesome (best part is buddy guy yelling _come on yall!!!! hand me down im walking- OH SHeeiT!!!!)
"johnson had a relative in port chicago, california (which is somewhere near oakland/san fran) and was referring to a time in his childhood where he would visit this family member"
but that doesn't quite work either, as port chicago california wasn't named that until 1931, until the middle of 31 it was officially baypoint, california. so unless johnson's "childhood visits" occurred between his 20 birthday and death at 27 he would have referenced "baypoint" not "chicago"…….
also, is there any evidence that johnson, as a black child from mississippi, had the means and opportunity to visit the california coast? would his mother have sent him by train for a summer (was that even possible in a segregated society?)? it seems unlikely.
so it seems most probable that "chicago" meant chicago, IL and "california" meant the state. perhaps they weren't meant to be linked, just two different placed that were known to be "better than here".
ok —- i have put a little more time and effort into checking this out as i normally might —
a) i love robert johnson
b) bluesman asked the original question, and, for him, i want the answer to be right
and
c) you have one very interesting point
allow me to start with a quote from martin scorcese:
—–"the thing about robert johnson was that he only existed on his records. he was pure legend." (said in the intro after much research for greensburg's film love in vein about r.j.)
ok—additionally, a well known and well respected blues historian, mac mccormick, alluded to the fact that the research is almost as much of a legend as the man is — in 'the search for robert johnson'.
– having said that, i really didnt want to say "a delta blues historian told me" 35 times, so i used it as a blanket in my post. that was a man who worked at the delta blues museum in clarksdale, miss. (where you can find the crossroads , where state 61 and highway 49 intersect).
cont'd…………………………….
……………..cont'd
i have come to believe that if he went there it was likely after 1931 –read on — thats my fault —
the story about the california town being named chicago, ca., while interesting, doesnt mean that tthey never referred to it by that name until it was re-named. there is a town north of biloxi, miss., called d'iberville. it was incorporated in 1988. — a lady that says she was born in d'iberville (and shes 57 — the town of d'iberville didnt exist) isnt full of *****.. was chicago, cali referred to as that prior to 1931? i dont know…..
.
people who know way more about this than i do, seem to think thats what the reference to the song is. including, but certianly not limited to delta blues experts, researchers, and eric clapton (who told a very similar story in new orleans when i saw him on the tour after his album 'me & mr. johnson'. — again go back and check out the thing about most of the stories being legend, and not provable.
in fact, i'd like to take this one step further — the accounts of his death have him in a bar after playing, and being offered a bottle of whisky, which unbeknownst to him, was laced with strychnine. sonny boy williams told him not to take an opened bottle from someone, johnson told williams never to knock a bottle out of his hand. johnson was dead within the week.
truth be told — while i do believe this account — i cant prove it any better i can for the story behind this song.
**random r.j. trivia: on his death certificate, cause of death is listed as: "no doctor".
cont'd…………………….
…………………………cont'd
another quote (i think what you were looking for):
—quote from alan white (robert johnson, his life his music his legacy) —– ""robert, described as a sulky person, would disappear for weeks at a time, giving no reason, even deserting fellow artists during a session. he was a very widely travelled man, travelling around the mississippi delta, to chicago, detroit, new york, texas, kentucky, indiana, and even as far as windsor, ontario, canada, earning his living solely through music.""
as for him travelling there as a child — you actually make a fantastic point. i will readily admit that when i said childhood visits, it was incorrect semantics. and i apologize. however, if you get over my mistake of the word childhood, then it appears he may very will have been there — and after 1931, at that.—::
one anecdote i did read somewhere this afternoon, was that his first wife (virginia) died (along with johnsons unborn child) while she was giving birth. he heavily mourned, and it is consistent with one of his 'disappearences".
like everything else, this seems to be a heavy dose of speculation, and faith in the myth and legend that robert johnson's life (and death) has become in the last 75 years.
I've always thought "Every breath you take" was sinister. I used to call it the stalker's song.
same here.
I've been pointing it out to my friends for years. How can the line "Every breath you take, every move you make I'll be watching you" not be considered creepy? I'd usually give my friends a creepy smile while I recited that line.
Actually led to the discovery of my friends "Molester smile" and pilosophical thoughts about how molesters would never look like molesters but I digress.
dude, someone should make a list concerning song lyrics. Most interesting, most impactful to the lister, or just a favorite.
I can't believe Elvis Costello's Alison isn't on this list. Love song or murderous ode?
The list writter said he would sing “born in the USA” at a football game…why the hell would you sing that when the opposing team will blatantly be from america aswell?!?
well both sides can be proud of being american and a symbol of unity. its not actually an anthem and americans arent great fans of international famous games
Perhaps it has something to do w/ being drunk, as he mentioned? LOL
Why are the links to usmarketgid removed? I kinda like it removed though.
Can anyone tell me what Bruce Springsteen's song "i'm on fire" was about?
"Hey little girl is your daddy home did he go away and leave you all alone mmmm mmmm I got a bad desire oooohhh oooohhhh oooohhh i'm on fire"
What?
When he says "Daddy' I don't believe he means Father. Daddy is sometimes a blues type slang for a woman's husband/boyfriend. Also when he calls her "little girl" he isn't talking to a child. Little girl is sometimes a term of affection to a woman. There was a video made of this song that shows him as a auto mechanic lusting for a wealthy, unattainable, and most likely married woman.
I have a Puerto Ricain friend who will say, "Aye Mommie!" when he sees a hot girl. It's got nothing to do with "Mother" believe me!
Right, Italian guys also sometimes say "mamma mia" when they see a hot chick… I bet they're not thinking about their mothers at that moment
I must say Awesome list jamie although i feel tha you should have included Bob Marley ‘s No woman no cry. most people ‘s misconception is dat “when one doesn’t have a woman he is highly unlikely to cry”
Whereas in the song Bob Marley is Consoling a certain woman who he loves not to cry!
Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World would fit nicely next to Springsteen's Born in the USA.
I heard people say Van Morrison's "Brown-eyed Girl" is about ***** *****. I'm not sure if it's true.
Oh Lord I hope not, I really like that song
when i was 7 or 8 me and my bro thought it was about a guy who would go around showing his ***** to girls – "you know ….i , I brown eye girls…"
"was originally called "Brown Skinned Girl," and was about an interracial relationship. Morrison changed it to "Brown Eyed Girl" to make it more palatable for radio stations."
Some of these are not that hard to interpret if you actually listen to the lyrics ( ie weird stalkersong: every breath you take) and for some others you have to know the stories behind them to understand…..
What *****es me off is that in most mainstream music today nobody listens to/ actually gives a crap about the lyrics. Whenever someone says milo’s hey yo technology is romantic I seriously consider shaking them whilst shouting the lyrics until they understand that it is not….
You don't need decent lyrics to be successful in mainstream music these days. You'd be hard pressed, I think, to find a popular recent song that actually has halfway meaningful lyrics. *****es and hos in abundance, of course, but no actual meaningful lyrics. So yeah, you're right — no one gives a crap about the lyrics anymore, because unfortunately, they don't have to. People don't listen to "music" anymore — they're only listening to "beats."
HEY! What about THE BEATLES' song "Strawberry Fields Forever"? It's misconcepted as a relaxing song but it's truly about the time that The Beatles were on weed! So the "strawberries" were actually the drugs!
Strawberry Fields was an orphanage in Liverpool as well as the name of a garden/park near it that Lennon used to love going to as a boy.
Yes, that's true, but look! yes but the orphanage was a farm, crop was there, not strawberries! and its a park near a field.
yeah I think weed is relaxing unlike crack or x which rev u up so I say relaxing strawberries works
yes thats what i thought kim, strawberries are like the drugs, and "forever" in the lyrics means like wearing a heavy ray-ban shades and having a peace sign on your hands whilst singing "strawberry fields foreveeer, lemme take u down, cuz i…"
I totally agree with you Julius. So few people listen to the lyrics. I tried to tell a friend of mine when I was in high school that "born in the USA" is anything but patriotic. She refused to believe me, even after I told her the lyrics.
Brilliant list, I second the call for a mishear lyrics list, that has the potential to be lots of fun!
Meatloaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love" is about ***** *****.
i once wasted an entire recording session in studio , discussing just what "that" in the line "i wouldnt do that" is… thank you…meat loaf dosent seem like he could be too picky with the squirrels , so i thought it was something much more heinous…..
The last lines explain it – he would do anything for love – except cheat on her.
"And sooner or later, you'll be screwing around
[Boy:] I won't do that! No I won't do that!
Anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that "
@Moonbeam that's what I've always thought too, I'm always pointing it out to others lol
source please
Interesting tidbit:
Lucy in the Skies… was the inspiration for naming one of our most famous hominid ancestors: the australopithecus Lucy! It seems the song was playing on the radio when the team discovered her…
"Every breath you take….I'll be watching you"
Kinda creepy now I know the meaning.
The Lucy who inspired the song died last year. There were several articles about her then.
Yes a music list! So I suspect a couple of these may not be misconception but misdirection from the artist. Dylan, for example, is apt to lie for the fun of it. Lennon, too, as far as the bonus goes. I’ve heard/seen John make the claim that LSD was about a drawing that Julian made about a girl from his school. I think I’ve seen the drawing and read interviews of the girl. I still think it’s a less than veiled drug song.
Interesting list. I knew some but not all of these. I was expecting "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane to make the list. Probably should have been included as a bonus.
why, don't people get the Alice references?
Yes. That was obvious. I'm talking about the drug reference. Did you miss that? Many people believe that is what the song is about, but it's nothing of the sort.
For the Meatloaf song–The girl sings, "I know the territory, I've been around. It'll all turn to dust and we'll all fall down. Sooner or later you'll be screwin' around…" Meatloaf–"I won't do that. No, I won't do that."
If it is about ***** ***** as cited above why on earth would it turn to dust? I guess I can understand the "fall down" part but really… dust?
Lennon didn't actually write "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", it was Sir Paul McCartney, however, I still have a sneaking suspicion that it is aboud LSD.
I've always heard that it was Lennon who wrote it.
Do you have a citation reference for this claim? It’s credited in the liner notes to “Lennon/McCartney”, as were most of their songs including ones that were penned individually, but by this point on their careers it would be unlikely that John would sing a song that was written exclusively by Paul.
Here is a link that includes quotes from both John and Paul about the song's back-story and the fact that it was a collaborative writing effort, but that the inspiration was from the Julian drawing (a photo of it is included) and also Alice in Wonderland imagery:
http://www.the-beatles-history.com/sgt-pepper-exp…
(btw, another page on this same site has a photo of John’s handwritten lyrics to LITSWD as well)
Are we going to see a world cup list anytime soon?
Didn't ALL of the Beatles' post-India songs sound like drug-induced hallucinations?
I love "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"!!!
Hilarious list! Educational!
I just remembered "My name is Lucca" by Suzanne Vega… Is that song really about domestic abuse?..
Yes, "Luka" really is about domestic abuse. Back when I was in university, I ran the campus womens' centre, and for one of our events, we got ambitious and decided to try and get Suzanne Vega to perform at the event. We were shocked when she accepted (pleasantly so) and she confirmed for us that it is, indeed, about domestic abuse. Apparently it was based on someone she knew personally who was going through it.
I understand the real meaning of ‘In the Air Tonight’, but listening to the lyrics while thinking about the fake meaning of the drowning etc really makes it a lot more powerful.
It does make it creepier lol. Yay my oldest son was concieved to this. mainy for the kick ass drumming, take that either way. lol
You missed "The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult.
I love this song, very few people will believe you when you tell them this song is about love transcending death, and not about suicide.
You forgot "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary.
Yo, top list, some great stories and a nice beatles reference. Some day I’ll write a sequel to the Beatles stories list – but not today.
More good lists!
my mother loved Fleetwood Mac, so my childhood was filled with the lyrics of Stevie Nix. As a child, and still very true today, my favorite FM song is "Second Hand News". unfortunately, it wasn't until I was 15 that i learned that the lyrics say :I'm just second hand news" instead of "I'm just sitting here nude"
seriously. he's singing about "laying down in the tall grass and let me do my stuff…"ow else is an 8 year old to interpret those lyrics????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHQCC4TMZB4
my mother loved Fleetwood Mac, so my childhood was filled with the lyrics of Stevie Nix. As a child, and still very true today, my favorite FM song is "Second Hand News". unfortunately, it wasn't until I was 15 that i learned that the lyrics say :I'm just second hand news" instead of "I'm just sitting here nude"
seriously. he's singing about "laying down in the tall grass and let me do my stuff…"ow else is an 8 year old to interpret those lyrics????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHQCC4TMZB4
Add R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" to this list. It's often requested as a love song, but listen to the lyrics: "This one goes out to the one I love… A simple prop to occupy my time." Nice sentiment.
HA! yeahhhhh right! Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a song about anything else but LSD!! ahahahahaha
Lennon can say what he wants, but that songs only meaning arose form LSD and the ingestion of it!
isnt tamborine man a cover? i thought it was originally done by the byrds but i suppose i was mistaken
Lol…Dylan wrote it, the Byrds covered it.
The Byrds covered it from Dylan. Although it do prefer their version to his.
Great list, very well written.
I have to disagree, however, with many of the artists' arguments about the meanings of their songs. Artistic genius does not necessarily come out of trying to nail a particular metaphor, description or poem. As a writer, I am sometimes amazed that when I look back at stories, songs or poems written years ago, I see meanings that never would have surfaced when I was writing them.
All this to say, there is no TRUE meaning of a song. Even the creator of the art in question can be blind to what from a viewer's perspective is an obvious link. The subconscious mind takes hold during the creation of art, and mumbo jumbo lyrics are packed with meaning.
Guess that explains, "I Am the Walrus…"
I really enjoyed this list. Loved it!
I always knew The Police's song 'Every Breath You Take' was a more stalker-ish song than love song.
Things are just stated a little TOO creepishly to be a love song.
Crowley's occult interpretation of Mother Goose nursery rhymes. I have my suspicions given Dizzy's "schooldays"(the golden rule) and his thanking one "Crowley" on the live Newport recording, Mary Lou Williams appearance/zodiac and the H.Smith connection to Dizzy. Smith haven been a high bishop or something in the O.T.O. and spreading the rumor that he was an illegitimate son of Crowley. Of coarse the A.Anthology is constructed following some sort of magical formula and those musicians that are of the folk america revival era owe their debt to those records… Dylan was part of the connective tissue.. and the disparate evil vibe in rock that slithered about in satanic revelry…Electric amplification through the amp (the devil's box)…the crossroads…the pied piper…churches burning beatles records when they became more popular than jesus…Backmasking…Judas Priest "Do it" trial… *****,drugs and..
okie dokie, i'm done talkin *****.
Woody's full lyrics to "This Land Is Your Land" (his critique on capitalism and a reactionary disgust of the song “God Bless America”) would make a suitable addition to a list of this nature.
in the case of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, also has been said that is Freddie's pact with the devil, in order to give him fame XD
all I have to say about that….is LOL!
Great list for a Monday well done !
Why no mention of Comfortably Numb? It seem 90% of people who hear the song think it's about heroin.
I thought it was about heroin. What is the real meaning?
Isn't it about being put on meds in the hospital to numb the pain of whatever the guy was going through? My dad thinks that it's a great song because he thinks life is better when you are on painkillers.
It's about becoming comfortably numb towards life. Like how you were just in awe over every little aspect of life when you were a kid, but now that you've grown up nothing excites you, and you live in the world as not unhappy but just numb to it all. It has nothing to do with drugs just becoming an adult and losing the wonder of living, for just a comfortable numbness.
In which case it would appear to be completely out of tune (sorry) with the surrounding songs on the album.
Cheers
Lee
I thought it was cocaine
It was about being shot up with adrenaline before going onstage.
Then why does Pink need a 'little pinprick' to 'get you through the show' ?
Cheers
Lee
I still don't buy Lennon's explanation for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Given the era that song was released, I really doubt they were intending to create some nursery rhyme Sesame Street song.
Exactly my thoughts on that one. I think Lennon was just avoiding the controversy by saying he had no idea that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was an acronym for LSD.
Of course the lads were dropping acid during that period which likely would have an effect on their songwriting per se, but John denied the direct LSD link to this song until the day he died, and I can't think of any reason at all why he would feel the need to continue with a false “cover-up” type of explanation so much later in his life.
He probably got the exact idea for the title from the picture and his son, but the actual lyrics and feel of the song from his experiences with drugs. The abbreviation is just a coincidence, methinks.
Well of course it was a cover up. In a 2004 interview by the BBC, Sir Paul McCartney said:"it was "pretty obvious" that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was inspired by LSD". Link included for any doubters. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3769511….
People, just becase these artists say that the songs are random or coincidental or whatever does not mean it's true. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, god damnit its probably a *****in duck
i like the song She Bop by Cindy Lauper, it's about female *****.
And then a few years later, The Divinyls 'came' out w/their one hit wonder, "I Touch Myself". Geez, I can't imagine what this song must be about?! No misinterpretation here! Sometimes, when I hear this song, I still can't believe it made it to mainstream radio. Then again, the crap they are putting on the airwaves today make this song look like a nursery rhyme. HA!
I thought that "in the air tonigth" was about a bird ejaculating on phill collings
jesus thats classic!!!! "i can feel it cumming in the air tonight……."
Well played, explosm network.
Is "Poison," by Alice Cooper, really about someone taking drugs? The-"You`re poison running through my veins," is thought to refer to cocaine or something. Is this true?
I can believe most of these, but I still maintain that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is about LSD. It seems like at this point, everyone in America knows that Born in the USA isn't really patriotic, but it's still played at every event. Guess they can't find another song with any reference to the States in it.
Regarding #7, Queen's Bohemien Rhapsody…"Furthermore, the AIDS epidemics of the early 80s took place years after this song had been completed."
****
Not quite.
I was living in San Francisco in the 70's and early 80's. I remember vividly , in 1975, hearing a radio broadcast about about a new virus attacking gay men of polynesian ancestry, which caused a sort of super-pneumonia and a skin cancer usually only found in the very old. It was preceded, oddly enough, by a nightmare of epic proportions. Within 6 weeks of the nightmare, all of the cancers and/or pneumonias had attacked the men, and all had died.
This was the first incarnation of AIDS.
Later mutations were slightly less immediately lethal, although not one of my University gay friends, or the friends I worked with afterward, survived. I am of that generation which lost it's best and it's brightest.
Not disputing a thing you’ve said here, segue (I’m a native San Franciscan), but adding to it as info with regard to Mercury – though no one knows for sure except Freddie and maybe a few that were close to him, it is generally believed that his HIV+ diagnosis came around 1985 or so. Which is of course a good 10 years after the song was written.
Absolutely. I was only trying to put the beginning of the actual epidemic in the mid 70's, where it belongs. Because it wasn't identified as AIDS/HIV until later, doesn't make the disease something else.
You don't happen to remember that set of circumstances, do you?
I'll never forget the first time I heard about it. I was listening to the news on the radio. I was standing at the kitchen sink, doing the dishes, and when that news article was read, a cold, electric stream went down my spine.
I knew immediately that something horrible was in the works; something earth-changing, life-changing. I don't know how I knew, I just knew.
Over the next twenty years, I lost so many friends to AIDS I stopped counting. This is an issue that deeply hurts me.
You could read a lot into the lyrics of Queens last album though – as Freddie was on his last legs during recording “made in heaven”
Stop talking garbage you old hag.
Very informative list. I only knew about Every Breath You Take being about obsessiveness after a breakup, something I connected with. Good job MikeS.
I can't believe people think "Every Breath You Take" is a love song. Everything about the song screams "stalker". And I always love singing along to the refrain of "Born in the U.S.A.". Regardless of the meaning of the song, it has such a patriotic main lyric. That and "We're Going to America" are two songs I have to hear every 4th of July.
Is it bad of me to listen to "Scar Spangled Banner" whenever the 4th of July comes around?
Oh yeah, I forgot, I also have to hear "God Bless the U.S.A." too.
#5 Hotel California – a song about devil worship
The Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil is another song mistakenly believed to be about devil worship.
Yeah, there was a whole period when people tried to make everything about devil worship.
"play the records backwards! You'll hear them praising satan". It was bizarre.
My addition is 'Blister in the Sun' by the Violent Femmes and 'Pump it Up' by Elvis Costello. Both about *****. I remember the Femmes tune was played at the prom in high school…if the school had only know…
I was always under the impression that Bohemian Rhapsody was about Freddie Mercury admitting he was gay and "killing" the persona he had previously.
How about Magic Bus by The Who?
Segues, I'm a big fan of the 'oo, but I never heard any interpretations of the song and always took it as literal, about a couple dudes bartering over the price of a bus. Would love to hear whatever you got.