What are the Most Misunderstood Songs?

[Theophilus]

I'm a lit language student, not a music expert, but it occurs to me both music and literature run into a lot of the same narrative difficulties. Namely, that people tend to take the narrator's integrity for granted, or confuse the narrator with the author/singer.

As I reflect on how I saw a lot of songs when I was a child, it's weird to realize just how little I grasped the meaning of popular music.

Let's take two "romantic" songs from the Police--"Every Breath You Take" and "Roxanne". The first sounds sweet enough and it wasn't until I reached my twenties that I realized it was a stalker's anthem. And Roxanne--well, when I was a kid (I think I was around three when it came out) I obviously wasn't briefed on the history of prostitution and the significance of the "red light".

I was around sixteen when "Possum Kingdom" was released by the Toadies, and it took a bit of direction from a friend who was a huge fan before it sunk in that this was a reference to an actual disappearance/murder.

Other examples? "Safety Dance", "The Future's so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades", and "99 Balloons" are all political innuendo about the US/Soviet arms race. But hey, did kids love to dance to them.

There's a difficulty involved in using irony because people often fail to get the darker possibilities being hinted or, on the flip side, feel that anyone who assumes the voice of a psychopath must be sympathetic toward them.

So what are some other songs that might have totally slipped past me?

[Spike-X]

So what are some other songs that might have totally slipped past me?

Maybe these ones? (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=112888)

[Karl J. Barnes]

"Louie,Louie"...I mean, when ever I hear the song, I just make up some of the words. It might not be what you were asking about,but...

[Theophilus]

"Louie,Louie"...I mean, when ever I hear the song, I just make up some of the words. It might not be what you were asking about,but...

No, that's a great example. I heard an interview with one of the band members, and the original lyrics were boring in comparison to the countless invented ones. Part of the difficulty on that one stems from a bunch of American kids trying to sound like a Jamaican bartender, and really bad production quality. There are countless variations--even lyrics putting the story of Moses into the song.

[Valmore]

The Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" has often been rumored to be about love-suicide.

Many in the 1980's didn't realize Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" was a subtle undertone for female self-gratification disguised by a catchy dance beat.

[Phrozen]

The Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" has often been rumored to be about love-suicide.


Rumored? Listen to the lyrics. It is.

[cactusmaac]

Born In The USA.

How that was ever used as a theme song for political rallies is beyond me.

[Jonathan Bogart]

Other examples? "Safety Dance", "The Future's so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades", and "99 Balloons" are all political innuendo about the US/Soviet arms race. But hey, did kids love to dance to them.
On another 80's tip, I suppose everyone by now knows what Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" is about; but they didn't at the time.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Born In The USA.

How that was ever used as a theme song for political rallies is beyond me.

My signature expains this phenomena quite well.

[Valmore]

Born In The USA.

How that was ever used as a theme song for political rallies is beyond me.

They don't listen to the lyrics and only hear the refrain. Much like those who use "Fortunate Son" at war rallies only hear "Born to wave the flag" and don't listen to the rest of the song.

[Valmore]

Rumored? Listen to the lyrics. It is.

Pretty much, though one of the band members once made a flimsy argument that it's just about love everlasting. And a lot of people just think it's about laughing in the face of death - another result of not listening to the lyrics and only hearing a catchy refrain.

[Trucker Belt]

I like Folsum Prison Blues as a misunderstood song because I have met several people that think Johnny Cash actually did hard time for killing a man just to watch him die.

[howyadoin]

How 'bout this for an example?

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/someair.htm

Living proof that many people are too stupid to grasp the concept of metaphor.

[Neil]

I like Folsum Prison Blues as a misunderstood song because I have met several people that think Johnny Cash actually did hard time for killing a man just to watch him die.
Did they also think Elton John was an astronaut?

[Jonathan Bogart]

Did they also think Elton John was an astronaut?
I grew up among people who thought Mick Jagger was claiming to be Satan incarnate on "Sympathy for the Devil."

[howyadoin]

Did they also think Elton John was an astronaut?Next you're gonna tell me Steve Miller wasn't a space cowboy.

[tangentman]

"Strange Fruit"

"Dancing In The Streets"

"Legal Tender"--aren't the B-52's singing about tax evasion?

[howyadoin]

"Dancing In The Streets"What's to misunderstand?

[tangentman]

What's to misunderstand?

Compare the lyrics with the meanings attributed to the song when civil rights activists claimed it following inner-city race riots in the '60's. Fun song turned into revolutionary anthem.

[howyadoin]

Compare the lyrics with the meanings attributed to the song when civil rights activists claimed it following inner-city race riots in the '60's. Fun song turned into revolutionary anthem.Sure you're not talking about "Street Fighting Man"?

[DubipR]

The Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" has often been rumored to be about love-suicide.

Many in the 1980's didn't realize Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" was a subtle undertone for female self-gratification disguised by a catchy dance beat.

As was The Vapors hit Turning Japanese . Its all about rubbing one out.

[Dennis K]

I always wondered if that was the Harry Casey liked it.

[KenK]

As was The Vapors hit Turning Japanese . Its all about rubbing one out.
I can only imagine what the Asian community at large thinks about that one.

[Lubichev]

I can only imagine what the Asian community at large thinks about that one.
The Chinese hate it. That is the last thing they want to turn into.

[CaptMagellan]

Rumored? Listen to the lyrics. It is.

As a BOC fan I hate this rumor, or the equal rumor that they are advocating death or other bullpucky.

The real story is that Buck Dharma (Don Roeser) was once given a diagnosis from a doctor that he might have a terminal disease. While waiting for more specialised tests to come back (which came back negative) he came to terms with his mortality by writing that song. Specifically about how since everything has to die, it's pointless to 'fear' death.

BOC is especially known for a lack of first person, confessional, type songs. So he wrote it as a metaphoric narrative.

Here's what the BOC faq has to say on the matter...
"It is a popular misconception that the song, "(Don't Fear) The
Reaper" is about suicide. The line "Romeo and Juliet are together in
eternity" refers to William Shakespeare's characters Romeo and Juliet,
who were young lovers that had each committed suicide. The song tells a
woman not to fear death (in the first 2 verses), and then tells that she
does die with no fear (in the 3rd verse). Opinions as to the true
meaning of this song are mixed -- some believe that it merely advocates
not to fear the coming of death as it is part of the cycles of nature
("Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind and the sun and the
rain"), while others (including anti-rock zealots) claim that BOC is
advocating suicide (Editor's Comment: Yeah, and in "Godzilla" BOC is
advocating that a big radioactive dinosaur stomp all over Tokyo too.).
Albert Bouchard says that he heard Buck say many times that the song was not about suicide, but merely about not fearing death. Finally, Bolle
Gregmar says that Buck actually wrote the lyrics to "The Reaper" during
a time when he thought he was dying, and the lyrics were Buck's way of
saying that we shouldn't waste our time worrying about dying because it
is inevitable."

Also, the BOC fanzine "Morning Final" from about 10 years back verifies that last motivation with some interviews with Buck.

[CaptMagellan]

Sure you're not talking about "Street Fighting Man"?

Nope. "Dancing in the Streets" was in the US considered a Civil Rights movement song. Whether it was intentionally written that way or just adopted by the movement is a bone of contention among many fans of the song though.