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

[Barking Spiders]

Contrary to popular belief  Elvis Costello's Pump It Up isn't about  certain advice to lonely men and their 'partners' 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Barking Spiders

[paul_5]

 

[arthurhenry]

7 hours ago, DaveFry said:

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

It doesn't work though. If (Eben)eezer Goode is menat to mean "E's are good", then what is the meaning of the following line: "He's Ebeneezer Goode"? - E's eben E's are good?

Edited March 8, 2019 by arthurhenry

[arthurhenry]

I thought Pulp's Common People was about someone just wanting a more normal life.

[DaveFry]

57 minutes ago, arthurhenry said:

It doesn't work though. If (Eben)eezer Goode is menat to mean "E's are good", then what is the meaning of the following line: "He's Ebeneezer Goode"? - E's eben E's are good?

Search me .

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, DaveFry said:

Search me .

And can you explain what these are, sir? 👮‍♂️

[Maude]

Slightly different in that the lyrics aren't misunderstood but simply not listened to is EMF's Unbelievable. Several times throughout the song the sampled lyric "What the f*ck (was that?)" is belted out yet no radio or TV station seems to notice. It always gives me a little chuckle that they still get away with it on daytime radio when other far less offensive lyrics get bleeped out. 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Maude
Our own filter didn't like the word though.

[BreadBin]

Mylo's Drop The Pressure contains a quite clear sample of Motherf*ckers Gonna Drop The Pressure, and was played to death in the day.

 

[darkandrew]

2 hours ago, Maude said:

Slightly different in that the lyrics aren't misunderstood but simply not listened to is EMF's Unbelievable. Several times throughout the song the sampled lyric "What the f*ck (was that?)" is belted out yet no radio or TV station seems to notice. It always gives me a little chuckle that they still get away with it on daytime radio when other far less offensive lyrics get bleeped out. 

 

I have often wondered why radio stations, etc, have never seemed to notice that. It's not as though it's a one-off either, the sample is repeated quite a few times (what the f@ck, what the f@ck, what the f@ck was that?). Maybe it says "what the funk?", or at least that's what the radio stations have been told. On a side note, I once saw EMF in concert, downstairs in London's Astoria and they were absolutely brilliant. To this day, it's still probably the best gig I've been to - excellent musicianship, great relationship between the band and audience, great songs; just an absolutely brilliant atmosphere.

[keeponehandloose]

Jackie/Jockie Wison ...

[SpondonBassed]

On 07/03/2019 at 17:39, darkandrew said:

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

Jim Morrison's Back Door Man had me convinced that he'd lost his front door keys for quite a while.

[SH73]

Isn't Man on the Moon about a man landing on the moon?

[SpondonBassed]

2 minutes ago, SH73 said:

Isn't Man on the Moon about a man landing on the moon?

No.

These are Men on the Moon:-

[xgsjx]

On 08/03/2019 at 11:45, HengistPod said:

"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.

For years I thought it was about having a good old Thomas (the tank).  Turns out it’s not. 

 "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."

wait a min...  Maybe I was right.  “I didn’t expect to turn into a w**ker”.

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, xgsjx said:

 "Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn't expect to."

Nah! They're just pulling your plonker 😉

[BrunoBass]

On 09/03/2019 at 09:50, darkandrew said:

I have often wondered why radio stations, etc, have never seemed to notice that. It's not as though it's a one-off either, the sample is repeated quite a few times (what the f@ck, what the f@ck, what the f@ck was that?). Maybe it says "what the funk?", or at least that's what the radio stations have been told. On a side note, I once saw EMF in concert, downstairs in London's Astoria and they were absolutely brilliant. To this day, it's still probably the best gig I've been to - excellent musicianship, great relationship between the band and audience, great songs; just an absolutely brilliant atmosphere.

I think you’re hearing a ‘f***’ that isn’t actually there, the sample goes ‘what the ____ was that...’ The naughty word in question is muted. The stems from the recording are available here 

https://skiomusic.com/contest/unbelievable-remix-contest

i saw EMF a number of times, and yes consistently excellent. Best time I saw them was at Reading Uni in early ‘91 - they’d just broken big and there was a buzz about them. ‘Schubert Dip’ was the album I learned to play bass to.

[cetera]

Turns out that 'Nothin To Lose' by KISS isn't in fact about someone with very few possessions..... who the songwriter is considering robbing (of what little they do have) via their back door....

It's about doing it up the pooper....

[Paul S]

Likewise the JJ Cale ditty 'Travelling light' is not an allegory about Ryanair's cabin bag policy but, rather, about casual sex.

[Stub Mandrel]

And I'm sure that when Ian Gillan sang 'I became a cunning linguist, a master of many tongues' he wasn't referring to his mastery of Mandarin, Swahili and Iroquois. 🙂

[lemmywinks]

 

[TheGreek]

I haven't read the whole thread (I know...shame on me) but has anybody mentioned "My Dingaling" by Chuck Berry?

[PaulWarning]

30 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I haven't read the whole thread (I know...shame on me) but has anybody mentioned "My Dingaling" by Chuck Berry?

I think everybody knew exactly what Chuck was singing about😄

[Stub Mandrel]

Most songs by AC/DC...

[TheGreek]

Showing my age here, and I'm happy to be corrected by more learned Punk fans, wasn't there a song by a band called "Blitz" (I believe) called "Dying for a pint" (suggests somebody was thirsty) which was actually about somebody being killed over a drink...

[Hobbayne]

3 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

I think everybody knew exactly what Chuck was singing about😄

Yes. Silver bells hanging on a string. I had the record. 😊