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That’s not what it’s about...misunderstood songs

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    That’s not what it’s about...misunderstood songs

    On Spotify, some songs come with a little explanation of the lyrics and a history of the song. Not sure how they pick which songs to do that for, but it’s instructive.

    It made me think about some songs that are often used at weddings or are otherwise thought to be “romantic” when they’re the opposite.

    The quintessential example is The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” That’s one of my all time favorite songs and it is beautiful, but the lyrics are clearly about a very toxic relationship. And yet, it’s played at weddings.

    Another one like that is, apparently, Dave Matthews Band’s Crash. It’s a lovely song and it was used a lot in Lady Bird because Greta Gerwin thought it was romantic, but Dave Matthews said it’s about a teenager spying on a woman through her window.

    REM’s “The One I Love” is an all time banger because of the guitar, but it’s actually a nasty song about somebody who is using their lovers, according to Michael Stipe.

    And, as was widely reported at the time, Reagan’s use of “Born in the USA” was not only copyright infringement, but just dumb. It’s not a jingoistic anthem. It’s about how much it sucks to come home from Vietnam and then lose your job.


    Are there a lot of others like that?

    #2
    Both Springsteen and Reagan benefitted from rednecks misunderstanding Born in the USA a gung ho anthem. Not so dumb?

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      #3
      He objected to the GOP using it.
      It’s not very gung ho. It’s very sad.

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        #4
        It was a originally an acoustic number, kind of like the songs on Nebraska, but the band liked the heaviness, so that's how it went.

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          #5
          Last time we saw it live (2002) he was doing the angry acoustic version. More impactful.

           

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            #6
            Babybird’s You’re Gorgeous is often cited in this kind of discussion. It’s another that used to crop up at weddings (probably less-so now), but, according to Stephen Jones, the misanthropic lyrics allude to a photographer who exploits his models.

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              #7
              There She Goes by the La's was originally thought to be about unrequited love, but then it was thought to be about heroin, but according to the band it isn't. So it's probably about wanking. Ultimately all songs are about love, heroin or wanking.

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                #8
                Eight Miles High by the Byrds was banned from radio airplay on its release due to its drug references, the some is actually about the disorientation they experienced after a flight to London.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by EIM View Post
                  There She Goes by the La's was originally thought to be about unrequited love, but then it was thought to be about heroin, but according to the band it isn't. So it's probably about wanking. Ultimately all songs are about love, heroin or wanking.
                  Sir Cliff Richard? Well Devil Women was about Satan and Wired for Sound is obviously cocaine

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                    #10
                    Most people don't pay much attention to lyrics

                    Trump recently played Fortunate Son by CCR at one of his rallies. That it was a song about a draft dodger didn't seem to matter.

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                      #11
                      Wow. What a stupid dick. (Needless to say).

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by EIM View Post
                        There She Goes by the La's was originally thought to be about unrequited love, but then it was thought to be about heroin, but according to the band it isn't. So it's probably about wanking. Ultimately all songs are about love, heroin or wanking.
                        I think most songs are really about other songs. Most songwriting seems to be about taking established forms and conventions and just adding maybe one or two new ideas.

                        Reminds me...

                        We recently had that discussion about Yacht Rock, where GMan explained how many of the songs that superficially have nautical themes aren’t about that at all. In one of those Spotify info things, I saw that a Christopher Cross said that “Sailing” isn’t really about sailing. It was about an old friend of his that used to take him sailing. He said “If we’d gone bowling, the song would be called “Bowling.””

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                          #13
                          Sail Away by Creedence, from Mardi Gras (where Fogerty forced the others to write songs). SA might as well have been called 'John is an asshole'. TBF it's the best of the rhythm section's efforts, although Stu Cook can't sing

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                            #14
                            "Each an every one " by Everything but the Girl sounds like your typical love song, apparently it's about how the music industry treats female performers.

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                              #15
                              "Roberto De Niro's Waiting" by Bananarama, as recently discussed, is written from the perspective of a rape survivor.

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                                #16
                                Jah has done Babybird, so let me kick in Cockney Rebel's "Come Up And See Me", which is directed to an old bandmate who Steve Harley wishes to gloat at.

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                                  #17
                                  "When A Man Loves A Woman" is about how miserable and abject it can make you.

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                                    #18
                                    Ace's How Long is not about adultery, but is actually about the band's bassist taking a sideline gig with another band.

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by diggedy derek View Post
                                      "When A Man Loves A Woman" is about how miserable and abject it can make you.
                                      That’s a great example. Another one played at weddings and - thread crossover - another reason why weddings are shit.

                                      The Outfield’s “Your Love” is about love, I suppose, but it’s really about adultery. Josie is on vacation far away. Josie is the singer’s girlfriend/wife. Josie is not the girl the song is addressed to.


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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by Stumpy Pepys View Post

                                        Trump recently played Fortunate Son by CCR at one of his rallies. That it was a song about a draft dodger didn't seem to matter.
                                        So he presumably played it as an autobiographical note. Except "I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no".


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                                          #21
                                          Spinal Tap's 'Bitch school' was actually about a dog training school.

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                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by EIM View Post
                                            There She Goes by the La's was originally thought to be about unrequited love, but then it was thought to be about heroin, but according to the band it isn't. So it's probably about wanking. Ultimately all songs are about love, heroin or wanking.
                                            I'd prefer it to actually be about heroin to fan the fires of my hatred for the twee versions that suck all the life from it like musical vampires.
                                            Last edited by S. aureus; 21-09-2020, 01:17. Reason: you fan fire, not fuel

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                                              #23
                                              That’s a great song, but it’s easy for covers to slide into twee. I don’t really mind twee, though.

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                                                #24
                                                Originally posted by diggedy derek View Post
                                                Jah has done Babybird, so let me kick in Cockney Rebel's "Come Up And See Me", which is directed to an old bandmate who Steve Harley wishes to gloat at.
                                                It's about all the former members of Cockney Rebel who quit because of money (not just one*), according to Steve Harley. That may well be the case, but I think it may have been because Steve wanted them to take a smaller share of the money the band made, to his benefit obviously.

                                                *the only original CR member who hung around for SH&CR was Stuart Elliot. Jean-Paul Crocker, Milton Reame-James and Paul Jeffreys were the targets of the song. Paul Jeffreys and his wife died in the Lockerbie disaster whilst flying to their honeymoon.

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                                                  #25
                                                  The Cockney Rebel stuff is the typical story of the main songwriter feeling they are making more than an equal contribution, isn’t it? Great tune and a nasty bit of bullying that tells you all you need to know about the songwriter at the same time.

                                                  Another entry for this would be Good Riddance by Green Day. It makes its bitterness very explicit by its title... which the people misunderstanding it must not know and think instead it’s called by the main lyric “I hope you have the time of your life”. The BBC once used Good Riddance to soundtrack a montage of Steve Redgrave’s Olympic gold medals after his fifth and announced as final one. Maybe that was a sneaky way for a Rowing hater to express themselves... but I doubt it.

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