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

[Arlanymor]

Do you remember the Real Fires advert with the dog kissing the cat and the cat kissing a mouse? My mum brought it up the other day as one of their neighbours has just got a dog that looks identical to the one in the advertisement. Awww!

I couldn't quite remember the song that was the soundtrack so I looked it up later... it's Will You Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles and I brought it up on YouTube to listen to it. It's about a one night stand isn't it? I had no idea until now... there I was thinking it was a lovely warm anthem for chaste kisses between pets!

By the way, not remotely making a judgement about the topic, I've a had a few 'Shirelles' nights of my own in the past... I just never knew what it was about before. Have you had any similar revelations?!

🤣

I used to sing that, not having a clue 😁 Actually revisited it a few week’s ago and had a bit of a chuckle at my naivete.

Many people indeed did; but I've also heard tell of a lot of 'wholesome' types who assumed it was about a luxury dessert.

I may be making this up, but I seem to recall hearing that the writers of the song were actually inspired to write the song about having ruderies after seeing the name of a dessert in a diner?!

It's so disappointing that Starland Vocal Band don't appear to have recorded much else apart from that one song - their sound was so beautiful, I'd love to hear lots more from them.

But he works in a petrol station…doing what?
SELLING PETROL! 👏🏻

Have we had Chain Reaction by Diana Ross yet? There's a very good reason why the Bee Gees, who wrote it, didn't record it themselves and instead gave it to a female singer!

Oh! I had no idea. Checks lyrics.......

One for the older MNers: when I was a child, I always assumed that 'Goodnight Eileen' was nothing more than a lovely sentiment from a happily-married man wishing his beloved wife sweet dreams as she slumbered.

Then I eventually properly read the lyrics!

Careless whisper is about cheating

@Arlanymor I'm sure the line 'nights of my own past,' is also a line from Last minute miracle also by the Shirelles.

14 pregnancies in 1 year group?. So 14 16 yr olds got pregnant? I remember about 3 in my day and we also got no sex ed except about periods too late.

MERI Wilson.. telephone man.
Growing up I thought it was about phone's.
I got it in the bathroom
I got it in the hall.etc.
It wasn't about phone's 🤣🤣

I thought it was manchiros too! Now I know!

In stark contrast to most songs mentioned on here, 'Jeans On 'by David Dundas is simply about him putting his jeans on - and innocently encouraging his lover to do the same.

However, if you listen to the lyrics and count carefully - bearing in mind that he never actually mentions taking his jeans off again - he ends the song wearing a total of 21 pairs of jeans all at once

She sounds as if she was a fabulous person

A heck of a lot of songs are just clever poems, bunches of words well put together with music added that can mean almost anything you want.

Some are clearly about drugs. Some aren't but people decide to be clever and interpret them so they are.

Puff the magic dragon is a lovely kids song that brings tears to your eyes, but also can be about drugs if you choose to interpret it like that.

The Carole King song "will you still love me tomorrow" which she wrote (in 1960!) I always felt was about a girl losing her virginity to someone who says they love them as an inducement, written at a very different time.

Tapestry is one of the greatest albums of all time.

With reference to the song about drugs: how were you supposed to know these were wbout drugs if you’ve never been near them and have no experience?

Ive never been near them or have exierence of them but I knew Beetlebum by Blur was about drugs use.

Its just info you pick up with life expierence, and seeing the subtext. You dont have to do expierence something to know about it.

Maybe it was actually Munchie rows? You know, as in you unwrap them from their bright red packets and see them all lined up horizontally, waiting to delight your taste buds with their chocolatey toffee loveliness?!

And then the drugs don’t work by the verve is actually about his mum’s chemo

I thought ‘Personal Jesus’ by Depeche Mode was about substance abuse but the writer Martin Gorer has said it is about unhealthy intense relationships.

Is ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ iabout giving up smoking? That’s brilliant.

I'm not sure you did properly read the lyrics - it's Goodnight Irene!

But surely you don't live under a rock? I don't touch drugs, never have, don't know anyone who does it deals or whatever.

But i still have an understanding of them, cultural references, impact etc

It's not a secret code a lot of the time, Its plain to see that songs like A Team are about drugs for example

It wasn’t about phones??!!😮
Gobsmacked!

You're absolutely right!! I did know that, but we have a lovely neighbour called Eileen about whom we were talking recently and I must have been mixing it up with her!! 😃

Wow this thread took off after I posted! I dont think it's holier than thou to not know songs are about drugs.. If you first heard them as a child as I did, i.e. Golden Brown or Perfect Day, why an earth would you make that connection?

So many more here mentioned that I didnt know, are songs about anything else?!

I don't care either, I still think of them as "Knights" and that they're a pretty metaphor for the letters he wrote in the next line. So there!