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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: twosuitsluke on February 05, 2018, 05:10:02 AM
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So I was listening to The Darkness - Growing on Me (https://youtu.be/p-MtY1nRcpU) earlier and it made me think of starting this thread. This song sounds like it's about a love interest he's falling for but is a little bit embarrassed about. However, this song is really about having a genital wart :rollin if you pay closer attention to the lyrics then you will hear it.
It made me think of other songs that have a similar hidden meaning.
The Beatles were great at it, they had 'Got to Get You Into My Life', which sounds like it's written about a girl but it's really about smoking Marijuana. 'Something' sounds like it's about a girl but it's really about George Harrison's love for Hari Krishner (they changed it to something in the way 'she' moves, to avoid a homophobic backlash). Finally they wrote 'Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey', which I'm pretty sure is about masturbation (I'd be very surprised if it isn't).
Some of these could be urban legend but they sound spot on to me. There are probably others by The Beatles, I'm sure.
I'm sure loads of you can name others like this. I find it really clever and it can really change your viewpoint on a particular song.
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"Everybody's Got Something To Hide..." is about John and Yoko. He was "bragging" about how they were willing to live a transparent life and be completely open, as opposed to the more closed, circumspect, even paranoid view of many of those around them (many of whom were deep(er) into drug abuse than John and Yoko).
There are a ton:
"Every Breath You Take", The Police - Love song? Nope. it's about a possessive lover stalking and spying on their partner.
"The One I Love", REM - Love song? Nope. Contemptuous dismissal of a partner.
"Big Ten Inch Record", Aerosmith - Steve is not talking about an old school, 78 RPM blues record. :)
"Pink Cadillac", Bruce Springsteen - Not a song about a car (in fact, Bruce declined to allow Bette Midler to record her own version because he was embarrassed about his original intent - yes, he meant THAT - and didn't want any embarrassment to extend to her).
You can list probably 100's of blues songs in this same vein. If you're really meaning more oblique references, and not just euphemisms to sex, there are still several of those:
"The Ocean", Led Zeppelin - This was a metaphor for the fanbase that exploded exponentially in the first couple years of the band; they went from an experiment ("The New Yardbirds") in 1969 to playing multiple nights in the LA Forum in '72, '73.
"One", U2 - For all his faults, Bono is a MASTER at lyrics that cover multiple bases. A metaphor for Jesus' betrayal by his disciples? An expression of the complicated relationships within his band? An expression of faith to his long-suffering wife Ali? An observation of the amazing reunification of Germany? All of the above, and none of the above.
"The Green Manalishi", Fleetwood Mac - Oringally a "fever dream", this song has alternately been attributed to addressing "jealousy" and "money" (which is the ultimate explanation offered by it's author Peter Green).
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"The Stroke."
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Wynona's Big Brown Beaver sounds sexual, but it's actually literally about a beaver.
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"Hotel California" by the Eagles counts?
B.Lee
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
I tend to think of 'Ram It Down' first but Jawbreaker is a great one :lol
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I Think I'm Turning Japanese is not an appreciation of Japanese culture...
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
That can be done with any Priest song. :lol I've always had fun with Devil's Child and stuff like "Your condition breeds ammunition, shoots me in the face." :lol
I can't come up with any examples for The Beatles, but those are fun in particular. I love the different interpretations of Everybody's got something to hide, because I've never had a clue what it was about.
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This thread would be a lot more interesting/insightful/helpful if, instead of just saying: "Said song is not about X," people would post "Said song is not about X, it is about Y, because [source __ says ___]."
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This thread would be a lot more interesting/insightful/helpful if, instead of just saying: "Said song is not about X," people would post "Said song is not about X, it is about Y, because [source __ says ___]."
I tried to do just that... My explanation of "... Monkey" is from John Lennon himself (though Paul always said it was a veiled reference to heroin).
I'd like to hear more about Devil's Child and ...Japanese. Rob has admitted as much about Jawbreaker (still a great tune).
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
Yeah, Eat Me Alive too is just insane from a lyrical point of view also.
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"Everybody's Got Something To Hide..." is about John and Yoko. He was "bragging" about how they were willing to live a transparent life and be completely open, as opposed to the more closed, circumspect, even paranoid view of many of those around them (many of whom were deep(er) into drug abuse than John and Yoko).
There are a ton:
"Every Breath You Take", The Police - Love song? Nope. it's about a possessive lover stalking and spying on their partner.
"The One I Love", REM - Love song? Nope. Contemptuous dismissal of a partner.
"Big Ten Inch Record", Aerosmith - Steve is not talking about an old school, 78 RPM blues record. :)
"Pink Cadillac", Bruce Springsteen - Not a song about a car (in fact, Bruce declined to allow Bette Midler to record her own version because he was embarrassed about his original intent - yes, he meant THAT - and didn't want any embarrassment to extend to her).
I never knew that. That's really interesting but it just shouts masturbation to me :lol
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
That can be done with any Priest song. :lol I've always had fun with Devil's Child and stuff like "Your condition breeds ammunition, shoots me in the face." :lol
I think that's the only real negative that came out of Halford revealing his homosexuality. Everyone started stretching for gay messages in their songs, and I have a feeling a lot are not true (although I'd be hard pressed to believe anything else about Eat Me Alive).
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Closer by Nine Inch Nails is the first song that comes to mind. Most people think it’s about sex and/or lust, but according to Trent Reznor himself, it’s actually about self-hatred, and he doesn’t like that the song became somewhat of a sex anthem.
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This one might be a bit obvious, but I've seen it misquoted enough times to wonder about it.
The song by Chicago is "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" He's not asking what time it is, or if anybody can tell him what time it is. The song is about people's obsession with time. Different people ask him what time it is, and then he notes how everybody bumping into him on the street seems to be trying to "beat the clock." He wonders if anybody really knows what time it is, and why they care so much. We all have time enough to cry (by the last verse, he says "time enough to die"). On the live version, during the ab-lib vocals at the end, he says "I don't give a shit". First time I heard profanity on an album.
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The Beatles were great at it, they had 'Got to Get You Into My Life', which sounds like it's written about a girl but it's really about smoking Marijuana. 'Something' sounds like it's about a girl but it's really about George Harrison's love for Hari Krishner (they changed it to something in the way 'she' moves, to avoid a homophobic backlash). Finally they wrote 'Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except For Me and My Monkey', which I'm pretty sure is about masturbation (I'd be very surprised if it isn't).
Some of these could be urban legend but they sound spot on to me. There are probably others by The Beatles, I'm sure.
Speaking of The Beatles, "Martha My Dear" is about Paul's sheepdog Martha.
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France Gall Les Sucettes is (sadly also unknown to Gall at the time) not about lollipops :facepalm:
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You all luckily don't know this one, but there's a famous pop song in Italy that is called Chocolate Ice Cream, whose refrain goes:
"Chocolate ice cream,
Sweet, a little salty,
Oh you, chocolate ice cream"...
The song is sung by a relatively famous pop singer, but the writer is a flamboyant dude, another singer / lyricist that today stars in reality shows, that got inspired to write the song after a trip to Africa.
And he's gay.
Go figure the actual meaning of the song. ;D
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I am utterly convinced that Springsteen's The River is about cunnilingus.
Seriously, he goes UP out of the valley, UP to where the air is clean, to go DOWN to the river????
And once he "Acts like (he) don't remember, and Mary acts like she don't care" suddenly he "goes down to the river, even though the river is dry"!
Who's he trying to kid???
And I don't think Led Zeppelin's Custard Pie is about a baked desert either...
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I know there are lots of songs, that are about sex, that use double entendre and euphemisms but that's not necessarily what I was talking about. Now I now my OP may have indicated that WAS what I was talking about (genital warts and masturbation) but it wasn't really. I mean both of those topics are linked to sex and I know there are countless songs that are about sex. I used The Darkness song as an example as I've never known of another song about genital warts, that is so cleverly disguised as a love song.
I was looking for the sort of song that isn't about sex I guess :lol
All the ones people have mentioned are all good ones though.
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'Something' sounds like it's about a girl but it's really about George Harrison's love for Hari Krishner (they changed it to something in the way 'she' moves, to avoid a homophobic backlash).
I've heard this theory before but to be honest I'm a little skeptical. It may be true, but as far as I can tell this explanation comes from one single source (a very minor author called Joshua Greene), who in corroborating his argument merely says that "George told some friends from the Hare Krishna Movement". He doesn't interview these "friends" or quote directly from them. George himself never directly mentioned anything about this (as far as I know - if I'm wrong I'll be happy to be corrected), but - as was usual for him - was evasive, vague and jokey when asked about the meaning of his lyrics.
The other reason I'm skeptical is because, from the little I know of Hare Krishna beliefs regarding love, the lyrics to Something don't seem appropriate at all if he's talking about Krisha, in fact they'd be downright weird if they're addressed to a deity.
The version I prefer to believe (and again, this relies on not taking Harrison's own words entirely seriously - in one interview he says he wrote the song for Ray Charles!) is the standard one - George wrote it with his wife Pattie Boyd in mind, thus making her the subject of 3 of the greatest love songs ever written (Eric Clapton was in love with Harrison's wife and reportedly also wrote Layla and Wonderful Tonight for her, before finally running off with her). It may not be true. The truth is probably much less simple, this is a complicated love triangle after all. Nevertheless it's the one I like to believe.
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Speaking of The Beatles, Paul McCartney has said that Mother Mary from "Let It Be" is his mother, whose name was Mary. Religious folks, especially Catholics, hear "Mother Mary" and think first of Mary, mother of Jesus. No. Paul was remembering when he was young, and when he was upset, his mother Mary would comfort him, saying "Let it be".
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Judas Priest's Jawbreaker.
At face value the jawbreaker is another of the monsters / fantastic creatures Priest sing about. It's actually about oral sex.
Those of you who didn't know already, have fun trying to listen to the song again ;D
That can be done with any Priest song. :lol I've always had fun with Devil's Child and stuff like "Your condition breeds ammunition, shoots me in the face." :lol
I think that's the only real negative that came out of Halford revealing his homosexuality. Everyone started stretching for gay messages in their songs, and I have a feeling a lot are not true (although I'd be hard pressed to believe anything else about Eat Me Alive).
There's a fair number of Priest songs that take on a new meaning when you factor in Rob's sexuality. Raw Deal. Grinder. About 3/4 of Point of Entry. The title of Point of Entry. :)
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For Crying Out Loud... is not just an ardent proclamation of how much the Meat-ster loves his lady. He loves her for being a screamer in the sack.
Because of his big 10" record no doubt. :lol
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'Big Ten Inch'-Aerosmith (hated it when it came out). I do remember the credits, so here's the original
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rws_7mLTqj8
Somehow, Big Two Inch (flash drive) and Big Five Inch (CD or CDr) just don't have the same effect (in more ways than one)