Meanings behind songs that people don't seem to know...

You Are my Sunshine. I remember it being all over mugs and baby grows a while ago and it's about pining for a lost love who has gone off with someone else.

The other night, dear
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you
In my arms
When I awoke, dear
I was mistaken
So I hung my head and cried

Well, this thread was an eye opener!
But then, I still want to hear 'Nights in white satin, never reaching the end' as 'Knights'. That's what I heard for years and I so much prefer the mental image.

For years, I thought “Everything I Own” by Bread was just a fairly so-so love song. Then I read an interview with David Gates (who wrote the song), who said it was written in memory of his late father. It’s completely changed how I respond to the song now.

Who cares what the lyrics "really" mean. As with all art if YOU enjoy it then that's what matters!

And so many people thought Luca was a girl!!

@WinterFrogs I never said all songs/songwriters....

I sang Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ at a wedding once…. I was like, ‘are you sure?!’ Odd choice 😅

Green Days Good Riddance, usually misnamed as Time of Your Life and played at leavers assemblies and graduations, but it’s a break up song - and bitter. I also think Jerusalem is misread as patriotic. I once saw some MAGA types thoroughly misinterpret Born In The USA. Years ago - when Manic Street Preachers supported Oasis at Knebworth (96?) wallies in bucket hats and Engerland shirts singing along joyfully to Design for Life: “we only want to get drunk” when it’s a sharply observed view of British class system. What a bore I am at gigs! And proud.

It does make me laugh that at my old strictly Catholic highschool our choir were allowed to sing The Rhythm Of Life from Sweet Charity and Hallelujah (originally sung by Leonard Cohen) Both absolutely amazing songs. Both on the surface religious but in reality the complete opposite!

I have always thought that BA Robertson's song Bang Bang - Life was in a ruin, she loved Jonny Fruin, was a made up rhyming lyric until I googled it just now.
I would agree with you but actually I think song writers have always been politically more savvy than me 😳

Went to school in the 70’s. Left in 83. I don’t remember sex education or drug lessons. I do remember one mad as a hatter teacher, telling us how to stand at a bus stop and get out of a car.

And that we didn’t need to worry about school, as we would mostly be leaving at 16, to become a secretary and then get married. I was one of 3 in my year that went to university. Different times.

That's quite the stretch.

Pump it up by Elvis Costello. That one is about wanking! Something I only twigged when I was singing along to one of my favourite tunes in the car with teenage DS. His side eye was one for the ages!

I think people overlook that a lot of songs are about random words or phrases that a song writer fits the song around & comes up with other words to rhyme so the song sounds catchy. Many pop songs in particular don't make that much sense.

PS I was school in 70s/80s and there were no drug lessons at my school. Very little in the way of sex education too.

The Winds Of Change by Scorpions. Beautiful melodies and didn't really take notice of the lyrics, to my shame ( at the time)

Also in defence of some of us older posters, some of us spent ages trying to work out lyrics of a song, by taping it from the radio, them repeatedly pressing pause/play and writing the lyrics as we heard them. If you were lucky, the lyrics would be written on the record sleeve or you'd find them in Smash Hits. It made for a few misheard lyrics and earnest discussions at school!

I was 18 when Relax came out, and my mum kept on at me wanting to know why the song was banned. I'll never know if she genuinely didn't understand, or if she was testing me. I said I had no idea.

Try 'turning Japanese' , you will not be disappointed

it's not about wanking

Utter drivel. If you paid attention to drug education lessons, you wouldn’t use drugs, so you’d have no frame of reference for songs that are about drug use.

If you ever seen dolly singing it , in the best whore house in Texas, afterwards Burt Reynolds, says ‘I don’t give a dam’ and , I think picks her up. .. it’s lovely.

Try 'turning Japanese' , you will not be disappointed.

'there she goes' isn't about heroin use. The na Nd have repeatedly denied it and apparently didn't try heroin until after it's was released in the 90s. I think I it's just a great little tune about being in the 'chemical' style love where you're addicted to a person.

Almost all Lou Reed and Velvet Underground songs are about drugs, or the after effect of drugs, or waiting for the guy to bring you drugs. Perfect Day is one of the only ones that isn't!

Yes!

pumped up kicks is not about a school shooting, just mass shooters/violence in general

You're Beautiful by James Blunt is also a stalker song but a bit more blatant. You're Gorgeous by babybird is about exploitation of girls in the model industry, not really meant as a first dance wedding song