djchapsticks Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 (edited) I enjoy a bright breezy or upbeat tune that actually hides far deeper lyrics or meaning. Two of my favourite examples of this are Australia by the Manics who I think most folk know the sentiment of. The other that doesn't get as much airtime is Fastball - The Way. A lazy wee summer rock song that was briefly popular the late 90s where the subjects of the song appear to have upped sticks and left for a new life in the sun on a whim but their motor breaks down (presumably in the middle of nowhere) and condemns them to wander to their deaths and never be found...which is the most optimistic interpretation. It could also be listened to and taken as an older couple deliberately making the decision to check out together. Anyone have other examples of liked songs where the lyrics or message certainly don't fit the overall upbeat vibe of the music? Edited May 14, 2022 by djchapsticks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Is Girlfriend in a Coma too obvious? I’m a Boy by The Who has a pretty fucked up backstory. I always found The Final Countdown quite distasteful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Kersey Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Timbuk 3 - The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades At first listen it sounds like a cheery, optimistic tune about graduates facing a bright future. But it's actually about impending nuclear armageddon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moomintroll Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 (edited) Not So Manic Now by Dubstar is pretty bleak when you get past the cheery tune. Edited May 14, 2022 by Moomintroll 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Didn't Celtic once complain that The Hokey Cokey was sectarian because the 'left arm in, left arm out' stuff mocked the gestures the priest does during Mass? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richey Edwards Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Eternal disco favourite Cotton Eye Joe is apparently about STIs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al B Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 The best example I always think of for this, is I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. This live cover by Sleep Token captures the real sentiment of a song that's considered a party song. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 43 minutes ago, GordonD said: Didn't Celtic once complain that The Hokey Cokey was sectarian because the 'left arm in, left arm out' stuff mocked the gestures the priest does during Mass? I missed this before. Hilarious https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/singing-the-hokey-cokey-could-land-1002751.amp not sure it was Celtic exactly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 3 minutes ago, coprolite said: not sure it was Celtic exactly. Who else would it be? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 57 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said: Eternal disco favourite Cotton Eye Joe is apparently about STIs. As is BTO's You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet altho it actually has a happy ending.... And now I'm feeling better 'Cause I found out for sure She took me to her doctor And he told me of a cure 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearthammer Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorlomin Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Every Breath You Take is about the obsessions of a stalker ex. Quote Sting later said he was disconcerted by how many people think the song is more positive than it is. He insists it is about the obsession with a lost lover, and the jealousy and surveillance that follow. "One couple told me 'Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!' I thought, 'Well, good luck.'"[15] When asked why he appears angry in the music video, Sting told BBC Radio 2, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite. Hence so."[16] Gary T. Marx, sociologist and scholar of surveillance studies, wrote in 1988 that, while the song was "a love rather than a protest song", it "nicely captures elements of the new surveillance". He compared the lines to various new technologies of surveillance, including linking "every breath you take" to breath analyzers, "every step you take" to ankle monitors, and "every vow you break" to voice stress analysis.[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Breath_You_Take 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UsedToGoToCentralPark Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Suzanne Vega - Luka, about a child getting a beating at home. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E Coyote Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Robert De Niro's Waiting by Bananarama is about a girl being raped 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo-A-Gogo Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 This catchy tune is about school shootings. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurkst Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) Edited May 15, 2022 by Lurkst 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweeperDee Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 (edited) On 14/05/2022 at 23:30, Florentine_Pogen said: I mean to be fair, the message of the song may have been horrific 50 years back but it's almost idyllic in 2022. $1.50 for a day out looking at trees sounds fucking magic. You'd be looking at least at £35 for that now. Edited May 22, 2022 by djchapsticks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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