Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

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

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #26
    Originally posted by Gert from the Well View Post
    Sir Cliff Richard? Well Devil Women was about Satan and Wired for Sound is obviously cocaine
    The go-to with Sir Clifford is Honky Tonk Angel - a 1975 single that had to be pulled once somebody quietly explained to the Christian pop baronet that 'honky tonk angel' was US slang for a prostitute. So - he cleaned up his act and instead gave us Devil Woman a few months later...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Honky_Tonk_Angel_(Who%27ll_Take_Me_Bac k_In)

    (This link seems to be playing up, so just link from the page 'pon which you arrive.)

    Comment


      #27
      Originally posted by Janik View Post
      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.
      Similarly it seemed a strange choice for the "tournament exit montage" when England got knocked out in 1998 (on ITV I think), but it could have been a wry joke.

      Comment


        #28
        Another one played at weddings and - thread crossover - another reason why weddings are shit.
        "Band Of Gold" is the big one on this kinda tip for weddings.

        Comment


          #29
          Was just going to mention that. See Also Young hearts, run free.

          Comment


            #30
            They're bangers though. The ecstasy of the music and singing overwhelms the text to the point that it only matters as sound. "Hung up like myy maan and meeeeee..." <fanfare and wiggling>

            Comment


              #31
              If the bass line of band of gold doesn't make you want to dance, you may be dead.

              Comment


                #32
                Originally posted by Janik View Post
                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.
                Yes, a great example (a la Born In The USA) of people latching onto the one lyric and completely ignoring the context. I'm not sure whether the bracketed '(Time of Your Life)' subtitle even appears on the album tracklisting, but was certainly there for the single release – and the single's cover went a big step further by swapping it ahead of the actual title in the sure knowledge that listeners would indeed latch onto it primarily, which will have only solidified the misapprehension:

                Last edited by Various Artist; 23-09-2020, 17:06.

                Comment


                  #33
                  So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright. Art Garfunkle thought he was singing about the architect but, on another level, Simon was writing about the break up of the duo. You can hear the engineer say 'So long already, Artie' in the fade-out.

                  Comment


                    #34
                    Originally posted by Walt Flanagans Dog View Post

                    Similarly it seemed a strange choice for the "tournament exit montage" when England got knocked out in 1998 (on ITV I think), but it could have been a wry joke.
                    It's frequently used for graduations. Apparently, Billy Joe Armstrong has said that he can see how that actually works. There's a lot of bullshit in high school so "good riddance" but also its "the time of your life." I guess that works.

                    It was supposed to be about a girlfriend who moved away.
                    Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 23-09-2020, 22:19.

                    Comment


                      #35
                      Originally posted by Jon View Post
                      So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright. Art Garfunkle thought he was singing about the architect but, on another level, Simon was writing about the break up of the duo. You can hear the engineer say 'So long already, Artie' in the fade-out.
                      Given that the song was called So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, you can’t really blame him for thinking that it was about Frank Lloyd Wright.

                      Comment


                        #36
                        Poor old Art Garfunkel. Simply because his only perceived talent was "singing Paul Simon's songs" he gets to be a punchline.

                        Comment


                          #37
                          Originally posted by Various Artist View Post
                          Yes, a great example (a la Born In The USA) of people latching onto the one lyric and completely ignoring the context.

                          I think another example of this happening is Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi. I've heard people say what a sweet, romantic song it is, oblivious to the verses having references (three blatant and one implied) to the extra-marital flings JBJ is having while on the other side of the world.

                          Although lyrically it's quite a bizarre song overall, he seems to be insisting he needs to have the meaningless boring sex with others, to reinforce how wonderful the sex with Mrs JBJ is. Guess you will hear an affectionate love song if you only hear half that message.


                          Comment


                            #38
                            Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
                            Ace's How Long is not about adultery, but is actually about the band's bassist taking a sideline gig with another band.
                            The first word of this post reminded me that another candidate artist for this thread would Ace of Base. I'm sure some will be aware of why I say this, but for those are thinking 'How badly could Ace of Base's lyrics possibly be misunderstood?' I hope you're sitting down when you read this.

                            Comment


                              #39
                              Originally posted by Sam View Post

                              The first word of this post reminded me that another candidate artist for this thread would Ace of Base. I'm sure some will be aware of why I say this, but for those are thinking 'How badly could Ace of Base's lyrics possibly be misunderstood?' I hope you're sitting down when you read this.
                              You're late to this, Sam. The Awesome Berbaslug!!! already ruined Ace of Base for everyone by dropping the "they're nazis" bombshell a couple of years ago.

                              Comment


                                #40
                                Ace of Bass ruined it for me when they started playing and singing.

                                Comment


                                  #41
                                  Isn't "A Good Year for the Roses" inspired by what was a bad year for the roses?

                                  Comment

                                  Working...
                                  X