# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/21 "2021-06-22T23:49:52Z")
I’m not a Springsteen devotee, so I thought _The Rising_ was a good song but a little odd. Then I found out it was about the New York firefighters on 9/11, and that changed everything. Now I can’t hear > _Sky of memory and shadow_ > _Your burnin’ wind fills my arms tonight_ > _Sky of longing and emptiness_ > _Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life_ Without tearing up, at least a little. And even though I’m not religious in the usual sense, I always get an image of the firefighters, whatever their sins may have been, taken directly to Paradise for their sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/22 "2021-06-22T23:57:55Z")
Whatever the backstory really was to _You’re So Vain_, I never want to have to hear it again. I did enjoy the Martin Mull routine where he said he’d have to be careful, or Carly would write another song about him. ---
**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 23, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/23 "2021-06-23T00:06:50Z")
My bad, that explains why I couldn’t find the clip. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dPoz_ywhydI/hqdefault.jpg "555-6792") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPoz_ywhydI) ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/24 "2021-06-23T00:31:56Z")
The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” has long been a favorite of mine, to no small degree because of the solo by Merry Clayton. She was pregnant at the time. Legend has it that the session was so grueling that when she returned home in the middle of the night, exhausted, she had a miscarriage. She’s said she was unable to even listen to the song for many years. That story has ever since tainted the song for me. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/25 "2021-06-23T01:24:50Z")
I don’t want to doubt a fellow woman, but that’s not really the way miscarriages and pregnancy work. Unless she was humping amps around while recording, it wouldn’t have been the reason for her miscarriage. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/26 "2021-06-23T02:43:57Z")
In _Boulder to Birmingham_, Emmylou’s backstory is in the lyrics and adds a particular poignance. > And I don’t want to hear a sad story > Full of heartbreak and desire > The last time I felt like this > It was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire > And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn > I watched it burn, I watched it burn. On the Chicks, (née Dixie Chicks) Home album, the song _Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)_ seemed like a simple filler ballad, a lullaby. Until I watched the concert video and Natalie Mains related the [backstory](https://www.songfacts.com/facts/dixie-chicks/godspeed-sweet-dreams). Suddenly, it’s a powerful song. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/27 "2021-06-23T04:25:07Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > 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. You left out what I think is the most heartbreaking part: the guitar. > [@](#): > > Rene was visiting her parental home in [Fortis Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortis_Green) at the time of Ray Davies’ thirteenth birthday—21 June 1957—on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he had tried to persuade his parents to buy him. That evening, Rene, who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of [rheumatic fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheumatic_fever), suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the [Lyceum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyceum_Theatre,_London) ballroom. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/28 "2021-06-23T05:01:10Z")
I’ve always loved _Layla_ and the backstory makes it even more powerful. The backstory of the Filipino classic (and remakes in multiple languages) _Anak_ (Child) by Freddie Aguilar often brings tears to my eyes. _[Freddie Aguilar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Aguilar) left home at the age of 18 without graduating from school. His father, who had wanted him to be a lawyer, was disappointed. Freddie traveled to faraway places carrying with him only his guitar. With no one to guide and discipline him, he got into gambling. Realizing and regretting his mistakes five years later, Freddie composed “Anak”, a song of remorse and apology to his parents. He went back home and asked for forgiveness from his parents, who welcomed him with open arms. After his father read the lyrics of “Anak”, the two became closer. The homecoming proved timely as his father died not long after_ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anak\_(song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anak_(song)) English version [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9YX3XZ8S0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9YX3XZ8S0) Original Tagalog [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibmh64itn1M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibmh64itn1M) The original lyrics are even more powerful: ([Freddie Aguilar - Anak lyrics + English translation](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/anak-child.html-0#songtranslation))watch?v=qX9YX3XZ8S0) ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/29 "2021-06-24T01:20:02Z")
The session may not have been the cause of her miscarriage but I totally get why she wouldn’t have felt able to listen to the song. ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/30 "2021-06-26T22:01:11Z")
I like listening to Song Exploder, that had artists talk about making the song, and while it can be mostly about the process of writing and actual parts and productions, they will sometimes talk about the inspiration or meaning too. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/31 "2021-06-26T22:24:57Z")
No. I barely even know the lyrics of my favorite songs. To me, it’s all about the music itself. The lyrics, heck with them, you could just remove all the lyrics from songs and I’d probably be perfectly happy. That might be a little extreme, but you get the idea. Those instrumentals that even rock and metal bands have some times? Those are my favorite. So, the backstory of the lyrics has no meaning to me, since I barely even know what the lyrics are - I truthfully don’t listen to them when I listen to a song. ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/32 "2021-06-26T22:47:40Z")
How does one who doesn’t listen to the lyrics listen to a capella music? I wouldn’t expect it to be enjoyable, but is it something that you avoid entirety? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/33 "2021-06-26T22:47:55Z")
> [@ski](#): > > So, the backstory of the lyrics has no meaning to me, since I barely even know what the lyrics are Okay, but even instrumentals can have backstories. For example, knowing the backstory of [Haydn’s Farewell Symphony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._45_(Haydn)#History) makes me appreciate it more. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/34 "2021-06-26T23:32:41Z")
Oh, sure. For instance, one of R.E.M.'s early classics is a sweet, country-tinged tune called “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” that I liked on its own merits, but I liked it that much more after learning that it was written by bass player Mike Mills in the hopes of convincing his girlfriend to not move back home. (Learning that Michael Stipe didn’t write the song also cleared up why it was so uncommonly direct and comprehensible, given the band’s typical output.) And then you have “Father of Mine” by Everclear, which I found even more moving after learning that Art Alexakis was fuming at his own neglectful parent. “This Year” by The Mountain Goats is another story of a hellish upbringing that, unfortunately, John Darnielle didn’t really have to imagine. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/35 "2021-06-27T02:07:36Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > My sister’s married and she lives on an estate I’ve always wondered about this lyric. To an American, it means she lives on an upscale property. In England, it might mean she lives in an awful housing project. Or something in between. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/36 "2021-06-27T03:26:58Z")
I do enjoy and appreciate songs more if they have a good backstory. I like “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac better knowing about all the behind the scenes drama. I like “What’s the frequency Kenneth?” by REM but it’s even better knowing it was about the 1986 assault of journalist Dan Rather. (Or even better, that “Losing My Religion” is about the painful ambiguity of a same - sex crush.) I’ve always liked “Closing Time” by Semisonic… Turns out it’s about childbirth. Alice in Chains “The Rooster” is about his Vietnam vet father. So many. I love all the stories. ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/37 "2021-06-27T04:23:19Z")
I don’t know the last time I “chose” to listen to a capella music. It’s fine, I guess, but not really my thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/38 "2021-06-28T09:53:38Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > In England, it might mean she lives in an awful housing project. Or something in between. No, [pretty much](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_the_United_Kingdom) the [first thing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_estate#United_Kingdom_and_Ireland). I mean, it _could_ also mean [a country estate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_(land)). But the “lives on an estate” phrasing is associated with the council housing. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/39 "2021-06-28T12:20:27Z")
I figured, but (and I can’t help but be Murica-centered here) that wouldn’t occur to us on the other side of the pond. Living on an estate would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849/40 "2021-06-28T14:32:34Z")
True, when I listened to that song as a kid, I always assumed that his sister had married some rich guy and was living in a palatial country house. It wasn’t until much later that I found out about the British meaning of estate living. I went through a similar evolution of feelings with “Come Dancing” as **Ann\_Hedonia** describes. At first, I figured the whole story the song tells was fictional. Then later I read that it was inspired by Ray Davies’s actual sister, and thought, “Oh, that’s nice. I wonder if they did go dancing together after he grew up.” Then I read (undoubtedly a few paragraphs later in the same article) that she had died young, and was sad about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-backstory-affect-how-you-feel-about-a-song/944849.md?page=3)