# Mysterious song lyrics... turned out to be rather mundane **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221 "2015-03-04T20:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/1 "2015-03-04T20:01:55Z")
I remember back in the day, we’d discuss all these mystical meaning behind songs. Now, we have the ability to use this information superhighway to instantly find the real reasons, often on cited sources. I found quite a few remarkably mundane! **Losing My Religion** by REM. No hidden religious meaning, it’s merely a Southern colloquialism meaning “losing your temper” \*\*Rock of Ages \*\*by Def Leppard. That “Gunter glieben glauten globen” was not some mysterious German phrase, but nonsense words used instead of the count. **Puff the Magic Dragon** , perhaps the one of the most famous examples, was about the loss of innocence, nothing else. Call me naive, but I tend to believe the [hilarious song writer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OiOlnoyljk) on this one. What others did you discuss with your pals (aided by subtances no doubt) that turned out to be incredibly mundane? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/2 "2015-03-04T20:25:54Z")
That’s actually a very interesting factoid about _Losing my Religion_. I’m sure I’ve pondered the meaning in the past but don’t think I ever came up with anything. I remember deciding to myself and then convincing anyone who would listen that _Message in a Bottle_ is about Sting coming to terms with his homosexuality :smack: Hey, whaddya want; he wore an earring in the wrong ear!? Now may we have a show of hands from all those that believed that Phil Collin’s \*In the Air Tonight \* is about him watching a friend drown? ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/3 "2015-03-04T20:31:17Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > **Losing My Religion** by REM. No hidden religious meaning, it’s merely a Southern colloquialism meaning “losing your temper” Is that true? I remember lots of people on MTV pondering the meaning of that song at the time, and that explanation never came up. If it was really a colloquialism, you’d think that would be mentioned early and often. I know that the quoted meaning is on urban dictionary, but I’m wondering if this is one of those cases where the meaning was invented after the song to explain it. Does anyone remember hearing that phrase used before the R.E.M. song? ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/4 "2015-03-04T23:15:17Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Does anyone remember hearing that phrase used before the R.E.M. song? No, but I do remember a band member, probably Stipe, admitting at the time that it was a Southern idiom that they had appropriated. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/5 "2015-03-04T23:37:07Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Is that true? I remember lots of people on MTV pondering the meaning of that song at the time, and that explanation never came up. If it was really a colloquialism, you’d think that would be mentioned early and often. > > I know that the quoted meaning is on urban dictionary, but I’m wondering if this is one of those cases where the meaning was invented after the song to explain it. > > Does anyone remember hearing that phrase used before the R.E.M. song? I read it on Wiki, which quoted the [New York Times from 1991](http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/13/arts/the-pop-life-122791.html): > [@](#): > > The title phrase of “Losing My Religion,” a song about romantic expression, Mr. Stipe said, is a common Southern expression that means being at the end of one’s rope. I’m just now picturing a Southern belle on her veranda fanning herself: “Well, I just about lost my religion”. Now the music video had lots of religious imagery, but I figure the song was written before the video was produced. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/6 "2015-03-05T01:41:33Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > That’s actually a very interesting factoid about _Losing my Religion_. I’m sure I’ve pondered the meaning in the past but don’t think I ever came up with anything. Pretty sure it is about romantic disillusionment, and noting how the person you thought (she) was changed in ways you didn’t anticipate. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/7 "2015-03-05T03:39:02Z")
I think that’s what I and most other people thought, and it may be true, if mundane. I kind of like the “true” explanation. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/8 "2015-03-05T05:19:46Z")
I always thought that was Stipe’s coming out song. Hint of the century. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/9 "2015-03-05T05:21:14Z")
Louie Louie. What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/10 "2015-03-05T05:32:55Z")
As I mentioned in a thread in IMHO, although I didn’t spend a lot of time wondering about the last verse of New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give”, I was very intrigued by the explanation. Songwriter Gregg Alexander wanted to see if a miniature political tirade or a humorous “Take That” insult (also brief) towards some other music figures would get more attention. It was the latter, as he suspected. And yes, I remember being in elementary school and hearing a teacher read a passage from a story with a character stating they were “losing their religion.” Later, when the R.E.M. song was released, I took note of that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/11 "2015-03-06T05:04:17Z")
Same can be said about just about every pre-Green REM song lyric. They are much more intriguing as melodic mumbles than written words. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/12 "2015-03-06T17:53:16Z")
I must admit that there are a lot of songs that I truly love without really knowing the lyrics well. One example was the Rolling Stones B-side “Child of the Moon”. I’m sure part of the appeal was the difficulty in finding it back in the day, but there was something deeply special and emotionally resonant about the feel of it… to me, it seemed somehow to have the feeling of a loving farewell to the hippie era, the way you feel as you’re waking up from a really lovely dream and not quite ready to let it go and return to the ordinary mundane world, but you know you have to. Then I learned the lyrics so I could play it on guitar… and it’s basically about taking a drive in the rain at dawn. Still lovely to me, but I was expecting more depths. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/13 "2015-03-06T18:25:49Z")
“Losing my religion” doesn’t mean “I’m losing my temper” so much as it does, “I’m at the end of my rope, totally exasperated.” The song is about seeeing an attractive person (could be male or female, since bisexual Michael Stipe is involved), trying to flirt, and going bonkers trying to figure out whether the other person is interested. Think of Charlie Brown and the Little Red-Haired Girl. Charlie Brown obsesses over her, and is constantly wondering, “Does she like me? I think she likes me! But then again, maybe she doesn’t even know I’m alive. I’ll smile at her. Did she see me smile? Maybe she did, but if she didn’t…? Maybe I should do it again. She’s not responding. Maybe she hates me… or maybe she didn’t even see me. Or maybe she sees me flashing smiles and thinks I’m just weird… DANG!” It’s about driving yourself nuts wondering if the person you have your eye on is getting your signals, wondering if you’re being too bold or too subtle. (Stipe isn’t sure whether he’s said too little or not enough to this person). ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/14 "2015-03-06T19:39:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > (Stipe isn’t sure whether he’s said too little or not enough to this person). _That’s me in the corner That’s me in the spotlight_ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/15 "2015-03-08T06:06:32Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Louie Louie. What do I win? You gotta go now! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/16 "2015-03-08T12:19:21Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > I read it on Wiki, which quoted the [New York Times from 1991](http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/13/arts/the-pop-life-122791.html): > > I’m just now picturing a Southern belle on her veranda fanning herself: “Well, I just about lost my religion”. I remember a _Rolling Stone_ interview with Stipe when this was still charting. Instead of a Southern Girl with the vapors, he mentioned hearing it from a diner waitress. Kind of puts it in a different light. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/17 "2015-03-08T16:16:00Z")
Before or after the song came out, I have never once heard the expression “losing my religion” used in real life. However I have loved the R.E.M. song since I first heard it and it always seemed, to me, to have a clear message. I always interpreted the lyrics along the lines of being in a relationship but having the feeling the relationship is failing, not being sure about that (or not wanting to be certain) and the singer confused whether they themselves are the issue or their partner is. Or both. So clear confusion - or or that a self contradiction? The phrase ‘losing my religion’ seemed straightforward within the context of the song: _ **Losing my religion** _ means _ **Losing my faith** _ means No longer being certain about something, no longer trusting what I feel or know. Poetic phrase. Neologism. Clear meaning either way - to me. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/18 "2015-03-08T17:11:41Z")
Culture Club’s “Miss Me Blind” used to seem very mysterious until someone clued me in that it was about masturbation :o (I was young, OK?) ---
**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:** [March 8, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/19 "2015-03-08T17:38:18Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Culture Club’s “Miss Me Blind” used to seem very mysterious until someone clued me in that it was about masturbation :o (I was young, OK?) I’m no longer young, but that’s still not obvious to me. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-song-lyrics-turned-out-to-be-rather-mundane/714221/20 "2015-03-10T09:07:21Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > I read it on Wiki, which quoted the [New York Times from 1991](http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/13/arts/the-pop-life-122791.html): > > I’m just now picturing a Southern belle on her veranda fanning herself: “Well, I just about lost my religion”. The way I understand it, losing one’s religion is swearing a blue streak when exasperated. John goes to church/revival and gets saved. Next day, wife burns his shirt while ironing it. John cusses up a storm. Wife: “Well, pa done lost his religion”. From, IIRC, the 1970s.