Maybe I missed it (I was scanning the other posts quickly) but I was surprised that I didn’t see “Sympathy for the Devil”… what a great song with a pretty terrible meaning.
My other one is embarassed gulp “Father Figure” by George Michael. When I was a little kid (like 3rd grade) I loved this song, it sounded so emotional and sweet and heartfelt. When I got older and understood what it was about I had a serious moment of disillusionment (not to mention gag reflex).
The Cardigans, “Lovefool”.
I LOVE this song. But it’s just creepy…paraphrasing, “I don’t give a damn if you don’t really love me, as long as you pretend to.”
And, frankly, while “Your Body Is A Wonderland” is still a bit unpleasant, I feel much different about it now that I know it’s not really about Jennifer Love Breasttit, after all.
I love Public Enemy, they’re my favorite musical group ever. And I think “Welcome to the Terrordome” is their greatest song. But this part is clearly anti-semitic:
Crucifixion ain’t no fiction
So called chosen frozen
Apology made to who ever pleases
Still they got me like Jesus
Yeah, I guessed that’s what you meant…but I’d honestly never realised she was saying anything in Gaelic. I’d put it in the category of her ‘hmm hmm’ melodies (where she harmonises with herself) rather than lyrics that she was singing… if you get what I mean? I never realised it was actual lyrics, because a) the chanting is so hypnotic and b) whatever she’s singing over the top is so pretty I always got caught by the sound of it and never realised it was actual words.
I feel like such a dork. 
“Himmel oder Hoelle,” by E Nomine. It’s quite possibly the most awesome monumental dance/dark techno songs I’ve ever heard, but the lyrics are literally a preacher’s sermon asking the congregation if they want to get into heaven or hell, that God is the only way to salvation, yadda yadda bla bla etc.
Found Out About You, by the Gin Blossoms - is catchy, but has that creepy 50s evil slut-girl sensibility.
I’m Going to Say It Now, by Phil Ochs - I love Phil Ochs, but even back in the day this struck me as kind of a spoiled brat song.
"You’re supporting Chang Kai-Shek and I’m supporting Mao?" :rolleyes:
“Because Of You”, Kelly Clarkson.
Musically, it’s great. Lyrically? “Because of you, I’m a jangling mass of raw relationship nerves with neuroses by the dozen. Thanks.”
What pushes this into “Every Breath You Take” territory is that people seem to think it’s some sort of love song. Ewww…
Some of the songs I love/hate are about screwed up relationships where the singer lets their lover treat them like dirt.
There’s more, but the only ones I can think of are two songs sung by Rod Stewart:
The Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley version of “This old heart of mine”.
Lyrics
Rod Stewart again for “My heart can’t tell you no” Lyrics
That’s why I can’t bear to listen to it, maybe 'cause it makes me feel guilty. My parents have been in a rather codependent relationship for years, and my ex and I split up rather than put our child through that. Of course, we’re probably screwing her up just as badly. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess.
Why yes, I’m posting while drunk, can you tell?
Two songs that I really like but hate what they’re about involve manipulating people into thinking they have a shot, but don’t.
But, I can’t make me love you
and you can’t make me either
Patience boy, I need it
I can’t make me love you
Patience boy, on strange days
I can’t make me love you
I’ll probably never love you, boy, but do keep waiting. Maybe I’ll surprise us both one day. A long time from now. Maybe
But I’m still happy when I get to hold his hand
He says I can hold it but remember we’re just friends
And I try, and I try, and I try to be satisfied
After all he keeps me alive
And here the boy is the jerk, knowing that she’s got a thing for him but allowing things to go on that way anyway despite his lack of interest.
I want to put both of the boy in the first song and the girl in the second into therapy so someone can fix them.
Two songs immediately came to mind. One of them has already been mentioned (‘Moonlight Shadow’). The other:
The Way, by Fastball. The lyrics appear to tell the story of a couple who left home one day for the freedom of the open road.
Except:
Not so romantic after all.
jayjay:
A love song? Really? I don’t know anyone who interpreted it as anything but a complaint against a parent (presumably mother) who felt the need to share all her relationship problems with her daughter, leading her to grow up with an inability to trust and develop intimacy.
I heard it played at a wedding reception once, as a request from the bride dedicated to the groom! Never underestimate the general public’s ability to completely mishear/ignore/misunderstand lyrics. If I had a nickel for how many times I’ve heard “Every Breath You Take” as the bride/groom dance song at a wedding reception, I’d be independently wealthy.
“Sex Type Thing” by Stone Temple Pilots. Nice to headbang to but the lyrics…:eek:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/stone+temple+pilots/sex+type+thing_20132550.html
“Figured You Out” by Nickleback. The lyrics speak for themselves:
:eek:
I have long defended the right of the listener to make his or her own independent interpretations of songs. For instance, just because a given song is about the songwriter’s struggle with addiction doesn’t mean I’m wrong when I associate it with a struggle with a bad relationship. We all bring our own experiences to the appreciation of art, and things inevitably strike us in different ways. This is cool, not bad.
However. “Because of You” as an appropriate wedding song: this is a more *independent *interpretation than even I am comfortable with.
Songs with religious messages like “Spirit in the Sky”, “Daddy Sang Bass”, and “Turn, Turn, Turn.” I’m not religious but they’re still great songs.
Two songs fit this for me. I loved both when I was a teen, but now when I hear them, I just think, “how sad.”
The first is Simon & Garfunkle’s “I am a Rock” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPioSdlIERg (I think this link works; my sound card is going screwy again)
The second song is Peggy Lee’s “Is That all there is” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco
Love, Phil
I too have heard Because of You at wedding receptions. In each case the bride was an idiot who whose mind processed no more than the title.