The One I Love by REM
If going by title alone, you might be fooled into thinking that this is a sweet love song, when in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Just think about the lyrics “a simple prop to occupy my time.” Lead singer Michael Stipe has even said to Rolling Stone: “I’ve always left myself pretty open to interpretation. It’s probably better that they just think it’s a love song at this point.” He later also added that the song was “incredibly violent [and] it’s very clear it’s about using people over and over again.”
The One I Love By REM
Alive by Pearl Jam
Many believe that this Pearl Jam song is about persevering and letting those around you know that you’re still here, lead singer Eddie Vedder actually shed some light about what the song is really about. It is inspired by when Vedder was a teenager and he found out that his father was actually his step father, while his biological father was no longer alive. He said in Rolling Stone: “He’s still dealing with love, he’s still dealing with the death of his father. All he knows is ‘I’m still alive’ … That’s totally out of burden.”
Alive by Pearl Jam
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
While many have used this ballad as their wedding song and it was even featured in Seinfeld’s series finale, there’s more than meets the ear. Though the lyrics “I hope you had the time of your life” repeat throughout the song, it is actually an angry and spiteful breakup song that Billie Joe Armstrong wrote about a girlfriend that left him and moved to Ecuador. Perhaps before people make this their wedding song, they should think about why it’s called “Good Riddance.”
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day
Closing Time by Semisonic
You most likely have heard this song being played during a last call at a bar, as is so often the case. However, the song is actually about the band’s lead singer Dan Wilson’s girlfriend getting pregnant and his “anticipation of fatherhood,” according to drummer Jacob Slichter. He also said that it’s about “being sent from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar,” making the connection that many others have as well.
Closing Time By Semisonic
In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
There is an urban legend about this song that claims that the lyrics tell the story of a man who was drowning, while someone who was close enough to save him failed to, all while Phil Collins was looking on, too far away to help himself. Collins has denied this, explaining in an interview with the BBC saying: “I don’t know what this song is about. When I was writing this I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it’s obviously in anger. It’s the angry side, or the bitter side of a separation. So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, ‘Did you really see someone drowning?’ I said, No, wrong.’…It’s so frustrating, ’cause this is one song out of all the songs probably that I’ve ever written that I really don’t know what it’s about, you know?”
In The Air Tonight By Phil Collins
American Girl by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Speaking of urban legends, another story follows this song around that claims it’s about a girl who flung herself from a residential tower at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Tom Petty’s home town. In response, Petty wrote in his book: “Urban legend. It’s become a huge urban myth down in Florida. That’s just not at all true. The song has nothing to do with that. But that story really gets around. … They’ve really got the whole story. I’ve even seen magazine articles about that story. ‘Is it true or isn’t it true?’ They could have just called me and found out it wasn’t true.” He explained it’s actually about the time he was living in Encino, California.
American Girl By Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Every Breath You Take by The Police
Here’s another example of a song that has been misinterpreted by many and used as their wedding song. Though many might think it’s a love song, it’s far from it. As lead singer Sting explains, it’s actually about a dark obsession and stalking someone. He said: “One couple told me, ‘Oh, we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!’ I thought, ‘Well, good luck…’ I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly, and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it’s quite the opposite.”
Every Breath You Take By The Police
Blackbird by The Beatles
The meaning behind this beloved song by the Beatles has been debated for quite some time, and Paul McCartney has provided some insight about what it was written about. He has said that it was inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird while spending time in Rishikesh, India, as well as by the Civil Rights movement and racial tensions in the United States. He shared in an interview in 2002: “I was in Scotland playing on my guitar, and I remembered this whole idea of ‘you were only waiting for this moment to arise’ was about, you know, the black people’s struggle in the southern states, and I was using the symbolism of a blackbird. It’s not really about a blackbird whose wings are broken, you know, it’s a bit more symbolic.”
Blackbird by The Beatles
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind
When this song came out in 1997, it became a massive hit thanks to incredibly catchy chorus. While the song is quite upbeat, its lyrics are actually quite dark, with lead singer Stephan Jenkins explaining that it is about addiction, “It’s about a time in my life when it seemed like all of my friends just sort of tapped out on speed…[the song is] bright and shiny on the surface, and then it just pulls you down in this lockjawed mess. … The music that I wrote for it is not intended to be bright and shiny for bright and shiny’s sake.”
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind
Born In The USA by Bruce Springsteen
This stadium anthem has been misunderstood by so many listeners throughout the years. It is often played on the 4th of July, but if you actually listen to the lyrics, they are about a young man being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War along and later of the psychological damage he experiences once he returns home.
Born In The USA By Bruce Springsteen
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
This song became a massive hit and perhaps one of the most popular power ballads to date, appearing on Bonnie Tyler’s album Faster Than the Speed of the Night and clearly being her most famous song. What many might not know is that it was actually a vampire love song written by producer Jim Steinman, who originally wrote it while working on a Nosferatu musical, with the song’s original title being “Vampires in Love.”
Total Eclipse Of The Heart By Bonnie Tyler
Love Song by Sara Bareilles
To most, there’s not much to think about when hearing a song that is literally called “Love Song,” what else could it be about? Well, Sara Bareilles’ song is actually a protest song against her record label, who kept rejecting the songs she was writing. She explained, “I started to get really insecure about it, and then I got really pissed off at myself for caring what anybody thought,” and thus the passive aggressive and very catchy song was born.
Love Song By Sara Bareilles
London Calling by The Clash
Many believe that “London Calling” is a protest song against British politics, and while they’re not wrong, it is also about potentially disastrous effects of climate change. Lead singer Mick Jones included lyrics about world events in general, exemplified by the lyrics “a nuclear error,” at Three Mile Island. Joe Strummer said: “We felt that we were struggling about to slip down a slope or something, grasping with our fingernails. And there was no one there to help us.”
London Calling By The Clash
Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp wrote this song in response to Reaganomics as a comment on how he believed that the idea that “greed is good” was completely wrong. Funnily enough, his lyrics “ain’t that America, home of the free,” meant to be sarcastic and ironic, have been co-opted many times by conservative politicians who take the lyrics at face value, though Mellencamp is very liberal.
Pink Houses By John Mellencamp
Higher by Creed
While this song is definitely one of Creed’s best known ones, the meaning behind it is certainly not so well known. Many might interpret it as a rock band’s ode to getting high on illicit drugs, while others speculated it was about the band’s Christian beliefs, neither is true. Led singer Scott Stapp explained it’s actually about fighting a recurring nightmare of being chased by a gunman by lucid dreaming.
Higher By Creed
Buddy Holly by Weezer
While the most obvious thing to think about this song is that it is about its namesake Buddy Holly, it’s actually a song that Rivers Cuomo penned after his friends made fun of his Asian girlfriend, which explains the lyrics “what’s with these homies dissing my girl?” Initially, he didn’t want the song included on the album, but after being convinced by their producer, they included it and it became a huge hit.
Buddy Holly By Weezer
Always by Bon Jovi
Here is another great example of people misinterpreting a song as a sweet love ballad when in fact it is quite the opposite. Jon Bon Jovi explained that: “It’s a sick little twisted lyric. So many people feel it’s so romantic and so wonderful, but truthfully, this guy is practically a stalker. He’s a sick human being.” The song was originally written for the soundtrack of the 1993 film Romeo Is Bleeding, but ultimately Bon Jovi didn’t like the movie so the song was no longer included.
Always By Bon Jovi
Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan
A lot of people believe that “Mr. Tambourine Man” is a song that Dylan wrote about himself and that there are many references to illicit drugs in the song. However, he has denied that the song is about any substances. Instead, it is highly speculated that the song is Dylan’s call to the muse, searching for inspiration and could even represent Jesus or the Pied Piper.
Mr. Tambourine Man By Bob Dylan
Hotel California by The Eagles
While everyone has their own interpretation about what “Hotel California” is about thanks to its dreamy, fantastical lyrics and feel, Don Henley revealed what it was written about in a 2002 interview. He said: “It’s basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America, which is something we knew a lot about. We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest. Hotel California’ was our interpretation of the high life in L.A.”
Hotel California By The Eagles
Waterfalls by TLC
While many people believe that this song is about taking things slow and appreciating life, it is actually very much a song about the illegal drug trade as well as promiscuity and most notably about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It became the first song that reached #1 to reference AIDS directly.
TLC
Puff The Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul, and Mary
Many people believe that “Puff the Magic Dragon” is a direct reference to taking illicit drugs, but the song’s lyrics are actually based on a poem written by Leonard Lipton, which itself was inspired by an Ogden Nash poem called “The Tale of Custard the Dragon.” Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow while they were at Cornell. Yarrow says that the song is not about drugs but instead about how tough it is to grow up.
Puff The Magic Dragon By Peter, Paul, And Mary
Perfect Day by Lou Reed
While “Perfect Day” has often been interpreted as an ode to heroin, a drug that Lou Reed was addicted to, he has denied this and called it “laughable.” Reed wrote the song after spending the day with Bettye Kronstad, his then fiancee and later wife, at Central Park. He said: “No. You’re talking to the writer, the person who wrote it. No that’s not true. I don’t object to that, particularly…whatever you think is perfect. But this guy’s vision of a perfect day was the girl, sangria in the park, and then you go home; a perfect day, real simple. I meant just what I said.”
Perfect Day by Lou Reed
Like A Virgin by Madonna
Of course, many interpreted this song to be about exactly what the title is, but it was actually written by song writers Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and it references Steinberg feeling vulnerable in the beginning of a new relationship. In an interview with the LA Times he explained: “I wasn’t just trying to get that racy word virgin in a lyric. I was saying … that I may not really be a virgin — I’ve been battered romantically and emotionally like many people — but I’m starting a new relationship and it just feels so good, it’s healing all the wounds and making me feel like I’ve never done this before, because it’s so much deeper and more profound than anything I’ve ever felt.”
Like A Virgin By Madonna
Harder To Breathe By Maroon 5
“Harder to Breathe” is on Maroon 5’s album Songs About Jane, which was mostly a collection of songs inspired by one of Adam Levine’s ex girlfriends. However, this song isn’t referencing the relationship but rather the pressure the band was feeling from their record label. Levine said: “That song comes sheerly from wanting to throw something. It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs. It was the last crack. I was just pissed. I wanted to make a record and the label was applying a lot of pressure, but I’m glad they did.”
Harder To Breathe By Maroon 5
Summer Of ’69 by Bryan Adams
While most people believe that Bryan Adams’ song “Summer of ’69” waxes nostalgic about a beautiful time in his life during that year, it’s important to note that he was only 9 years old in 1969. In a 2008 interview, he revealed that the song was actually quite sexual in nature.
Summer Of ’69 By Bryan Adams
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” gets a lot of recognition for being a critique of a generation. In Kurt Cobain’s own words: “I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band—or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.” Regarding the title, Cobain’s friend Kathleen Hanna wrote the phrase “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” on his wall, and he had no idea that Teen Spirit was a brand of deodorant, thinking it was a revolutionary slogan instead.
Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana
Paper Planes by M.I.A.
M.I.A’s song “Paper Planes” was first inspired by her father’s involvement in the Tamil independence movement in Sri Lanka. It incorporates themes of revolution and conflict. The second layer of meaning of the song is influenced by her experience having her long-term United States work visa rejected due to her criticism of the Sri Lankan government. Once she regained entry to the U.S., she incorporated her experience into the song.
Paper Planes by M.I.A.
Ticket To Ride by The Beatles
We wouldn’t blame you if you thought the song was about a girl getting a train ticket to see her new boyfriend after leaving her last one. However, both Lennon and McCartney have different accounts for what it is actually about. Lennon said it is about cards that indicated a clean bill of health that Hamburg prostitutes carried, and since the Beatles played in Hamburg early on in their careers, this is how he learned about the phenomenon. McCartney said that it is a reference to “a British Railways ticket to the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight.” You can decide what you think.
Beatles Portrait
Slide by Goo Goo Dolls
When “Slide” came out in 1998, it helped launch the Goo Goo Dolls to fame. The song seems to be a typical love song, but Johnny Rzeznik explained on an episode of Storytellers on VH1: “The song is actually about these two teenage kids, and the girlfriend gets pregnant and … they’re trying to decide whether she should get an abortion, or they should get married, or what should go on.”
Slide By Goo Goo Dolls
One by U2
U2 released the song “One” in 1991 and it went on to become one of the band’s most successful hits. People think it’s a love song, but Bono explained in the book U2 by U2: “There was melancholy about it, but there was also strength. ‘One’ is not about oneness, it’s about difference. It’s not the old hippie idea of ‘let’s all live together.’ It is a much more punk rock concept. It’s anti-romantic: ‘We are one but not the same. We get to carry each other.’ It’s a reminder that we have no choice. I’m still disappointed when people hear the chorus line as ‘got to’ rather than ‘we get to carry each other.’ Like it or not, the only way out of here is if I give you a leg up the wall and you pull me after you. There’s something very unromantic about that. The song is a bit twisted, which is why I could never figure out why people wanted it at their weddings. I have certainly met a hundred people who’ve had it at their weddings. I tell them, ‘Are you mad? It’s a song about splitting up.’”
One By U2
American Woman by The Guess Who
While many might be more familiar with Lenny Kravitz’s cover of the song, The Guess Who intended for the song to make a message about the Vietnam War. Randy Bachman explained: “We had been touring the States. This was the late ’60s. One time at the U.S./Canada border in North Dakota they tried to draft us and send us to Vietnam. We were back in Canada, playing in the safety of Canada where the dance is full of draft dodgers who’ve all left the States.” Burton Cummings gave his own explanation, “When I said ‘American woman, stay away from me,’ I really meant ‘Canadian woman, I prefer you.’ It was all a happy accident.”
American Woman By The Guess Who
Just Like Heaven by The Cure
The Cure’s lead singer Robert Smith explained that: “The song is about hyperventilating—kissing and fainting to the floor.” He said that it was inspired b a trip he took to Beachy Head in southern England with his then-girlfriend and later wife Mary Poole. The line “show me how you do that trick” refers to his childhood when he learned to do magic tricks, but also said that: “on another [level], it’s about a seduction trick, from much later in my life.”
Just Like Heaven by The Cure
Imagine – John Lennon
John Lennon explained the meaning behind “Imagine” in an interview: “The concept of positive prayer … If you can imagine a world at peace, with no denominations of religion – not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing – then it can be true … the World Church called me once and asked, “Can we use the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ and just change it to ‘Imagine one religion’?” That showed [me] they didn’t understand it at all. It would defeat the whole purpose of the song, the whole idea.”
Imagine by John Lennon
Cherry Bomb by The Runaways
While “Cherry Bomb” was certainly one of The Runaways best known songs, it was also their debut song that was actually written in haste so that Cherie Currie could audition for the band. Since the band couldn’t perform the song she originally chose, Joan Jett and Kim Fowley quickly penned the song and the rest is history.
Cherry Bomb By The Runaways
Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man
“Feel It Still” was inspired by and samples “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes. Lead singer John Gourley explained in a 2017 interview: “It’s another one of those lyrics that just kind of seeps in. With all the talk right now, of building a wall at our borders and the Berlin Wall, it was so much just like the image that you had in your head growing up that these people are separated by a wall, and why do we need that?”
Feel It Still By Portugal. The Man
Royals by Lorde
Lorde had been writing songs since she was 13 years old and in July 2012, she was inspired to write the song “Royals” after she saw a photograph from 1976 of George Brett, a Kansas City Royals baseball player, signing baseballs with his team name. In a 2013 interview, she said: “It was just that word. It’s really cool.” She was also inspired by her fascination with aristocracy, Marie Antoinette and Henry VIII for both the song and her stage name.
Royals By Lorde
Poker Face – Lady Gaga
While the title “Poker Face” could confuse some people into thinking that it’s about a card game, listening to the lyrics will clue listeners in that it is about something more. Lady Gaga has also revealed that it was an experience she had while she was being intimate with a man, she was actually fantasizing about a woman and how she was trying to keep a poker face in order not to let him know what was going on.
Poker Face Lady Gaga
Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day
When “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was released on album American Idiot, it was not long after the September 11th attacks, and the album itself was a critique against the war in Iraq, which is why some people think that’s what the song is about. However, it’s actually referencing the time of the year when Billie Joe Armstrong’s father passed away. He died when Armstrong was just 7 years old and it left a huge impression on him.
Wake Me Up When September Ends By Green Day
Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s
You might remember this song that seemed to be everywhere during the early 2000s. A lot of people thought that it’s a cute love song dedicated to the lead singer’s girlfriend, while in fact he actually wrote it about a girl name Delilah that he met at a party that he was trying to pursue. She told him she has a boyfriend, and that was it, but he wrote the song anyway and it became a huge hit. In the end, Delilah joined the band at the Grammys.
Hey There Delilah By Plain White T’s
Creep by Radiohead
When asked about the song in 1993, Thom Yorke explained: “I have a real problem being a man in the ’90s… Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you’re in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do… It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it’s not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I’m always trying: To assert a sexual persona and, on the other hand, trying desperately to negate it.”
Creep By Radiohead
