Songs that you thought were about one thing but turned out to be about something else.

[darkandrew]

Just read this on the BBC News app:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47473120

It turns out that Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" isn't about the summer of 1969 but is actually "a sexual reference". There you go, who would have thought that? 

Are there any songs that you thought were about one thing but turned out to be about something else instead?

Edited March 7, 2019 by darkandrew

[lowdown]

Max Romeo fooled us all with his own, penned lyrics, for 'Wet Dream'.

 

"The song gained notoriety due to its lyrics of an explicit sexual nature.. Despite Romeo's claims that it was about a leaky roof."

[DrBike]

1 hour ago, darkandrew said:

Just read this on the BBC News app:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47473120

It turns out that Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" isn't about the summer of 1969 but is actually "a sexual reference". There you go, who would have thought that? 

Are there any songs that you thought were about one thing but turned out to be about something else instead?

I've heard that quite a few newly married couples have requested Run To You as their first dance, despite the fact that the song is about infidelity

[PaulWarning]

my particular favourite is Rocking in the Free World, when the Berlin Wall came down everybody was covering it to celebrate, when in fact, it is an anti free world song

[Hobbayne]

An interesting list here: https://spinditty.com/genres/Songs-That-Dont-Mean-What-You-Think-They-Do

[casapete]

When I was in a function band that played a lot of weddings, there were quite often requests for ‘Band of Gold’ and also ‘Young hearts run free’ , neither of which are exactly the romantic songs the titles lead you to believe.

[Stub Mandrel]

Apparently Ivor Biggun and the Red Nosed Burglars song 'The Winkers Song' isn't about winking at all!

 

2 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

my particular favourite is Rocking in the Free World, when the Berlin Wall came down everybody was covering it to celebrate, when in fact, it is an anti free world song

Hmmm. I would say it's anti-big corporation/pro-socialism not anti-free world. He's kind of being ironic that the so-called 'free world' is not as 'free' as it would like to be.

I won't say anti-capitalism as by his own admission NY is an entrepreneur and likes money.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Stub Mandrel

[tauzero]

'Relax' went through three phases - first as a somewhat lyrically ambiguous song, then it got banned for being about sex, then Holly Johnson revealed it was about gay sex.

[bazzbass]

Bryan Adams explains why Summer of 69 flopped in the UK

 

"coz it's sh!t "

[Delberthot]

12 hours ago, DrBike said:

I've heard that quite a few newly married couples have requested Run To You as their first dance, despite the fact that the song is about infidelity

I the past we've been asked for Always by Bon Jovi despite it also being about infidelity. The song is actually about the fact that he'll never see her again because of what he did

[DaveFry]

The BBC thought " Ebeneezer Goode " was about a person , so they allowed it on Top Of The Pops . 

[Reggaebass]

3 minutes ago, DaveFry said:

The BBC thought " Ebeneezer Goode " was about a person , so they allowed it on Top Of The Pops . 

How wrong were they 😀

[HengistPod]

"Turning Japanese", by The Vapors.

Not having listened too closely to the verse lyrics, I assumed it was a rant concerning the deluge of cheaply-produced far eastern goods threatening to erode good old Britishness at the time.

Seems it's a bit more personal than that.

Edited March 8, 2019 by HengistPod

[EliasMooseblaster]

I was disappointed to find out that Don McLean's most famous song, American Pie, had nothing to do with pastry.

[Oopsdabassist]

Being an impressionable teenager reading shedloads of Sci Fi and listening to Yes, I always apportioned their lyrics to sc fi/fantasy themes (the albums covers helped ofc!)..Nowadays it seems even Jon Anderson didn't know what his lyrics were about!!

He just liked the way they sounded together 😎

[Naigewron]

16 hours ago, DrBike said:

I've heard that quite a few newly married couples have requested Run To You as their first dance, despite the fact that the song is about infidelity

Sting regularly gets freaked out when couples tell him they got married to "Every breath you take" - A song about a creepy stalker.

[Happy Jack]

So what we're saying is that Bohemian Rhapsody has nothing to do with the Czech Republic?

 

[EliasMooseblaster]

9 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

So what we're saying is that Bohemian Rhapsody has nothing to do with the Czech Republic?

 

See also that the insufferably pretentious Dandy Warhols' insufferably pretentious signature song Bohemian Like You is not actually about two blokes befriending each other and realising they both come from Prague.

[burno70]

So, Master of Puppets isn't about the Punch and Judy guy then? Wow!

[Delberthot]

and Black Sabbath's Iron Man had nothing to do with removing creases from clothing

Edited March 8, 2019 by Delberthot

[2elliot]

[tauzero]

14 minutes ago, 2elliot said:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/27/jocky-wilson-other-rock-myths

[Nicko]

Every Muse song appears to be all about Matt Bellamy, irrespective of the lyrics.

[upside downer]

I dread to think what 'Come On Eileen' is about 😲

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, upside downer said:

I dread to think what 'Come On Eileen' is about 😲

It's about making some more money for Kevin Rowland.