Songs - how did it’s meaning get so lost?

[PrincipalVernon]

Sparked from another thread that was slightly off topic but reminded me how irritated I get by it-
Anyone else feel a slow burning rage when people mistake the meaning of songs so for example I have been to a fair few weddings where the couple walk onto the dance floor and their song is ‘marry you’ or ‘every breath you take’
Now I know it’s their choice, their song so who cares but I can’t help that little build up in side that makes me what to grab the mic and shout ‘listen to the words people!!’
Just want to point out that I’ve never actually done that, I stand there and smile
Am I alone in getting irritated by something so pointless?

Just read the lyrics. Haven't really noticed before.

@Mazv1953, my uncle sang 'Please release me' at him and his wife's 25th wedding anniversary.
Anyone who knew his wife wasn't entirely sure whether he was joking or not .....

Friends did their first dance to Tenacious D’s Fuck Her Gently. I’m told this was the brides choice!

Our first dance was the song DH wrote and recorded to propose to me with, very soppy and romantic.

I went to a funeral recently and the coffin came in and went out to 'Funeral Party' which is essentially a song about a man realising that his wife will be glad when he's gone as she will then be able to live it up.
I have never had so much inner cringe as I was standing there looking at the coffin of what was a really kind man that had treated his wife very well.

Oh @NightGremlin have to disagree about Good Riddance
I think the "Hope you had the time of your life" is deliberately ambiguous: could be sarcastic or genuine (to go with lyrics like "in the end it's right" "a lesson learned in time"). I'd read it was written about another band on the music scene who they used to play with but got bitter and jealous when Greenday got popular and accused them of selling out. I think it's about trying to make the best of a bad ending

I do agree it's inappropriate for a wedding, my cousin had it for her first dance and I was a bit surprised!

Friends of ours had "heaven knows I'm miserable now"

I don’t think it really matters tbh what the technical meaning of a song is with its lyrics, if it’s chosen for a special occasion then it clearly means something to the couple and it might be more that they fell in love with it when they first met or whatever. I don’t believe in stuff like tempting fate either. If OH and I married our first dance would be about a little boy lying in bed hearing his cousin killed in a train crash a couple of miles away lol. I love that song so so much for fifteen years now, i have some of the lyrics tattooed, OH fell in love with it too and as we don’t have a massive amount of musical crossover that’s what we’d choose.

I played red red wine at my mum’s funeral, she died from alcoholism but also was a huge UB40 fan and truly adored that song so it worked on a couple of levels haha.

It’s really cool to actually just ask a couple what their first dance music signifies to them though. My brother was due to have the four tops as an homage to our mum who’d died a few years earlier but at the last minute went for Robbie Williams Angels instead (a song he’d loved for so many years). His new wife went to the DJ and insisted on having a second first dance to Reach Out (I’ll be there) to honor our mum. I’m crying just writing this comment remembering it.

Went to a wedding where the bride and her bridesmaids did a big cringe dance to chandelier by Sia
She’s not addicted to party girl life style, no idea why you would choose that for a wedding!

Mabel shouldn't you change your name to WrongsaidMabel as we are clearly all wrong in writing our posts.

Phones quite often change its to it's without us noticing. We all got the gist of what op meant.

@Hairspraybabe
How about:
Easy to love you by Theory of a Deadman
Or for something a bit more upbeat.
Kiss me like nobody's watching by Simple Plan.

We spend nights before the wedding looking at lyrics to songs which meant something to us and ousted a lot of songs we love because of inappropriate lyrics.
My husband grew up on country and has got me into it so we ended up going with It's your love by Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill.
Lovely song which meant a lot to us.

I can't actually remember in my current sleep deprived state what our first dance was or what played at the register office! Our wedding would probably have made some people cringe though as the beautiful readings we had during our wedding ceremony were in fact part of the song "Bless us all" from A Muppets Christmas Carol, and a speech that Captain Picard gives in Star Trek - Generations.
Nobody at the wedding was aware though I don't think. Our song choices were probably also unsuitable too :)

We didn't have a dance at our wedding (and I walked in to Mendelssohn or something like that), but our playlist featured "Into My Arms" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds as our song because it's basically us. I'm a Christian, DH is an atheist.

No one has mentioned "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, which I think would be a perfect first dance song.

I walked down the aisle to Songbird glad to see it mentioned upthread! I really wanted lady in red as our first dance but it would have been totally inappropriate so we went with when you were sweet sixteen by the furies. Such a beautiful song.

When we cremated my Stepdad a few years ago we played ring of fire as requested by him as the curtains closed. Raised a few eyebrows but made us smile

I had Barry White -can’t go wrong with w bit of Barry

On the other hand I would happily have “good riddance” played at my funeral.

Half my family would focus on the “I hope you had the time of your life” line and the other half would happily say good riddance so it would please all parties

@HairsprayBabe I was at a wedding a while back and the couple had The Ramones version of baby I love you. I thought it was a perfect choice of song and wished I'd chosen it for my own wedding.

I can't believe nobody picked up on the poster way upthread who said 'I used to lay with a wedding band'!

Was at a reception where the first dance was This Year's Love by David Gray. It's a nice song but I've always taken it to mean 'oh god I hope this relationship sticks, I can't be arsed with finding yet another'.

@HildaZelda Even worse than Dad's choice!!

Mention of the Ramones reminded me that someone recently proposed to his girlfriend at a Vapors gig during his favorite song of theirs, Magnets - which, even though it has a beautiful and atmospheric opening riff, is actually about the assassination of JFK and Robert Kennedy. This thread has now got me wondering if they'll play it at the wedding....

I can't believe nobody picked up on the poster way upthread who said 'I used to lay with a wedding band'!

Because typos are common and not that big a deal :)

I read once that when Harry Hill got married they played this....

Romantic and hilarious 😂

Grouchykiwi Into My Arms is just gorgeous. DH put it on the very first mix tape he made for me. (Ahhh, mix tapes! That dates us, doesn’t it.)

I can’t believe I forgot about the wedding where the newly wed couple walked back down the aisle together to Walking on Sunshine. The opening line of “I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I’m sure” was perfect.

This has just reminded me, DH was in charge of making a CD up to play when we were signing the register the registrar recommended it be about 3 songs in length. I left him to it so I was a bit when the first song came on and it was tears in heaven. DH likes the song but it’s not very wedding appropriate!