# Does the backstory affect how you feel about a song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 22, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849 "2021-06-22T17:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/1 "2021-06-22T17:53:28Z")
Has knowing the backstory of a song ever changed the way you felt about it? The song I’m thinking about is “Come Dancing” by the Kinks. It’s an upbeat yet nostalgic number about the singer’s memories of his older sister going out on dates to the local dance hall (the palais). The last verse is: _Now I’m grown up and playing in a band There’s a car park where the palais used to stand My sister’s married and she lives on an estate Her daughters go out, now it’s her turn to wait She lets them get away with things she never could But if I asked her I wonder if she would Come dancing C’mon sister have yourself a ball Don’t be afraid to come dancing It’s only natural_ Unsurprisingly, the song was inspired by Kink’s frontman Ray Davies’s older sister Renee, who loved dancing and dance halls. But what I didn’t know until recently was she was in an abusive marriage, she had a bad heart and she died of a heart attack _at the Lyceum dance hall_ at age 30. Every since I learned that, the last verse of that cheery upbeat song makes me sad, because he’s singing about the life she didn’t have. Have your feelings about a song ever changed because of the backstory? Or is there a song you didn’t like until you heard the story behind it? Is there a song you liked until you heard the backstory? Please share. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/2 "2021-06-22T19:15:00Z")
Whenever I hear “Take It To the Limit” by The Eagles, I now think about how much Randy Meisner hated singing it in concert and how it contributed to him quitting the band. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/3 "2021-06-22T19:22:11Z")
For 37 years, “Sweet Caroline” was a nice song about a guy’s girlfriend. But now we know it was about an 11-year-old, and it’s just too creepy to listen to. In contrast, knowing that “Same Old Lang Syne” is a true story makes it so much sweeter. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/4 "2021-06-22T19:22:12Z")
Not so much. Sometimes I like sharing trivia about a song, yes. Then that makes me happy. Now _the lyrics_ do change the way I feel about a song, even if i can’t really hear them- _Born in the USA_ for example. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/5 "2021-06-22T19:27:28Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > For 37 years, “Sweet Caroline” was a nice song about a guy’s girlfriend. But now we know it was about an 11-year-old, and it’s just too creepy to listen to. Well, sorta. He saw a picture of her riding a horse, and that was the inspiration. OR it is about his wife Marcia. On December 21, 2011, in an interview on CBS’s _[The Early Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Early_Show)_ , Diamond said that a magazine cover photo of Caroline Kennedy as a young child on a horse[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline#cite_note-6) with her parents created an image in his mind, and the rest of the song came together about five years after seeing the picture.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline#cite_note-CNN2017-7) However, in 2014 Diamond said the song was about his then-wife Marcia, but he needed a three-syllable name to fit the melody.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Caroline#cite_note-CNN2017-7) So, it is not creepy. It is not about a little girl he had a infatuation of a a relationship with. _Diamond, 66, said he was a “young, broke songwriter” in the ‘60s when he saw a cute photo of Caroline Kennedy in a magazine. “It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony,” he recalled. “It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/6 "2021-06-22T19:48:12Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It is not about a little girl he had a infatuation of a relationship with. I don’t want to dispute anyone on the facts. I really don’t. But if the OP is asking how I “ **feel** about a song”, all I can say is that it is difficult for me to integrate what you’re saying with the lyrics: - Hands, touching hands; - Reaching out, touching me, touching you… - Look at the night and it don’t seem so lonely - We filled it up with only two - And when I hurt - Hurting runs off my shoulders - How can I hurt when holding you ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/7 "2021-06-22T19:57:16Z")
The Old 97s’ “Murder (Or A Heart Attack)” sounds like a love song but it’s really about a missing cat. Based on a true story. > **[Old 97’s hid a missing-cat saga in a love song](https://www.avclub.com/old-97-s-hid-a-missing-cat-saga-in-a-love-song-1798282609)** > > In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week: For Pets Week, songs written about or inspired by pets. You can figure it out just from the lyrics – and it’s a terrific song regardless – but as a pet lover, knowing the back story makes it even more fun. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/8 "2021-06-22T20:08:14Z")
Oh, this is reminding of a classic Frazier episode, starring Emma Thompson as children’s entertainer Nanny G, who also happens to be Frasier’s first wife - the one he neglected to tell Lilith about. Frasier is trying to convince Lilith that’s there’s nothing between them, even though she’s obviously still attracted to him. Then Nanny G starts to sing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” to Frasier’s son Lilith - Why is she looking at you, Frasier? Frasier - She isn’t looking at me, she’s looking in the general direction of our loving family Lilith - I think she’s singing to you, Frasier Frasier - Oh, you’re being paranoid. She’s singing a lovely song to a two year old child. And at that moment, Emma Thompson as Nanny G belts out “The first time ever I _ **LAY** _ with you……. Hysterical episode, Emma Thompson is brilliant. I wasn’t able to find a clip, but I found a script so the dialogue I quoted isn’t paraphrased. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/9 "2021-06-22T20:13:50Z")
> Billy Preston wrote “You Are So Beautiful” with one of his regular collaborators, [Bruce Fisher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Fisher).[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_So_Beautiful#cite_note-Tobler/BGO-4) Preston’s inspiration was his mother, who worked as a stage actress. According to his friend [Sam Moore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Moore) (who had assumed it was a standard love song), Preston was appalled to learn that Moore was using the song as a means to attract young women each time he sang it in concert. In Moore’s description, Preston told him: “That song’s about my mother!”[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_So_Beautiful#cite_note-5) [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_So_Beautiful) > Although initial listeners may have interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship, Gates revealed that it was written in memory of his father who died in 1963 before he achieved his success with [Bread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_(band)).[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_I_Own#cite_note-guardian-3) According to the book _1000 UK #1 Hits_ by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, at his father’s funeral, a friend took David Gates aside and said, “Your dad was so proud of what you were doing.” David agreed, “My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record ‘Everything I Own’ about him. If you listen to the words, ‘You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free’, it says it all.”[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_I_Own#cite_note-4) " [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_I_Own) > " **In Your Eyes**" is a song by English [rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) musician [Peter Gabriel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gabriel) from his fifth solo album _[So](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_(album))_ (1986). It features [Youssou N’Dour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssou_N%27Dour) singing a part at the end of the song translated into his native [Wolof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language). Gabriel’s lyrics were inspired by an African tradition of ambiguity in song between romantic love and love of God.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Your_Eyes_(Peter_Gabriel_song)#cite_note-3) [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Your_Eyes_(Peter_Gabriel_song)) I still like them all…the backstories are quirky, interesting. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/10 "2021-06-22T20:13:56Z")
Sure. But he was not singing that to or about her. (although he did sing that to her at a much later birthday party, and she loved it) Her _picture_ inspired a song. Like a picture of a wave can inspire a song without the song being about that wave. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/11 "2021-06-22T21:49:43Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > But if the OP is asking how I “ **feel** about a song”, all I can say is that it is difficult for me to integrate what you’re saying with the lyrics: I hate to be put in the position of defending Neil Diamond, but you need to know that songwriting is creative writing, not journalism. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/12 "2021-06-22T22:06:38Z")
One interesting backstory is for _Ticket to Ride_ by the Beatles. > **[11 Bizarre But True Stories Behind Your Favourite Songs](https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/who-we-are/11-bizarre-but-true-stories-behind-your-favourite-songs-249920.html)** > > The summer of 69 wasn't really about the summer of 69. _Another very interesting story is the meaning behind the name. The prostitutes working in the city of Hamburg had to have a bill given to them by the authorities declaring that they were clean and safe to pursue their profession. So ‘Ticket To Ride’ was actually a naughty rendition of the hookers in Hamburg!_ I have some doubts, but it did change how I heard that song. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/13 "2021-06-22T22:13:52Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Oh, this is reminding of a classic Frazier episode, starring Emma Thompson as children’s entertainer Nanny G, who also happens to be Frasier’s first wife - the one he neglected to tell Lilith about. I’m pretty sure that was an episode of _Cheers._ At the end of the episode Nanny G leaves Frederick a doll that sings a song giving Frasier her phone number. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/14 "2021-06-22T22:19:38Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Have your feelings about a song ever changed because of the backstory? I have a deeper appreciation for the song now but I still like it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/15 "2021-06-22T22:52:01Z")
For me it’s the song “She Loves The Sunset”, and the back story is more about how the song was written rather than what the song is about. Rhett Miller and his girlfriend had to flee their lower Manhattan apartment on 9/11 with little more than the clothes on their backs. They eventually made it to her parents’ house. > **[How I Wrote Songs Without a Guitar After 9/11](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/how-i-wrote-songs-without-a-guitar-after-9-11/243325/)** > > The frontman for the Old 97s shares never-released demos of the songs he wrote just before and after fleeing his Manhattan apartment Every time I hear the song I imagine him with that silly little marionette. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/16 "2021-06-22T23:12:20Z")
Yeah, generally it makes me like the song more. I’m not a fan of East 17, but their song Stay Another Day is more moving when you know it was Tony Mortimer writing a song about his brother, who committed suicide, and changing some words to make it into a love song that would sell (he was a working musician, after all). > **[Stay Another Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stay_Another_Day)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > "Stay Another Day" is a song recorded by British boy band East 17, released on 21 November 1994, as the third single from their second album, Steam (1994). It is their only number-one song on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the Christmas number one of 1994, despite not being a Christmas song. "Stay Another Day" also topped the charts of Denmark, Ireland, and Sweden and peaked within the top 10 of the charts in several other countries, including ... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/17 "2021-06-22T23:33:48Z")
“Good Riddance” by Green Day is a classic example of this. When Armstrong sings “I hope you had the time of your life” listeners generally think he’s saying something along the lines that he’s wishing the person he’s singing to well and hoped they enjoyed the experience they shared. But the reality is Armstrong wrote the song about a woman who broke up with him and he was still bitter. What he meant by the line was that he was hoping that the woman would eventually look back at their time together and realize it was the best time of her life and everything had been downhill since. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/18 "2021-06-22T23:39:39Z")
Neil Young’s “Long May You Run”, I really liked that song. Sort of a ‘we’ve had a good ride, it’s over, but hey, long may you run’, kinda vibe. I liked the sentiment. Then I learned it was about a hearse he drove, a lot of miles, in his starting out days, when he still had to schlep his own equipment around. Totally ruined it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/19 "2021-06-22T23:42:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > One interesting backstory is for _Ticket to Ride_ by the Beatles. > > _Another very interesting story is the meaning behind the name. The prostitutes working in the city of Hamburg had to have a bill given to them by the authorities declaring that they were clean and safe to pursue their profession. So ‘Ticket To Ride’ was actually a naughty rendition of the hookers in Hamburg!_ > > I have some doubts, but it did change how I heard that song. That interpretation doesn’t really hold up. The singer is saying that the girl has been living with him. But she has now decided that the relationship isn’t working out and so she’s going away (using her ticket to ride). This is not a relationship between a prostitute and a client. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/20 "2021-06-22T23:47:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I’m pretty sure that was an episode of _Cheers._ At the end of the episode Nanny G leaves Frederick a doll that sings a song giving Frasier her phone number. Both. On _Cheers_ Lilith referred to her as “Nanny G-Spot.” This is where she sang to him. On _Frazier_ she was played by Laurie Metcalf and delivered the immortal line: “Do you know what it’s like to play the same character for twenty years!?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849.md?page=2)