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?
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?
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