# Real Meanings Behind Pop Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689 "2001-03-12T19:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Jeremy\_s\_Evil\_Twin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeremy_s_Evil_Twin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2001, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/141 "2001-03-23T09:25:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > **Don’t hold me to this, but I had always heard that the song ‘Jeremy’ by Pearl Jam was about a kid that went in a shot up his classroom. Kinda fitting these days, if it’s actually true.** Not exactly. The song is based on [this 1/91 article](http://www.fivehorizons.com/songs/aug99/jeremy-article.html) from The Dallas Morning News, about a student who committed suicide in front of his class, almost exactly as described in the song & video. However, many people do cite the song as a chilling foreshadowing of Columbine, Jonesboro, Santee, etc. As for his evil twin brother… 😃 J.E.T. ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2001, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/142 "2001-03-30T10:47:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gigi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by woodstockbirdybird \* > > **Other songs about (and allegedly about) masturbation:** > > Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light” \*\* mmmmmmmmmmmmmmnope. Okay, I’ll grant you the “And the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat…” with a stretch, but that’s about it. I remember reading that this was some typical New Jersey speak of stuff going on when he was trying to break into the music scene. Most websites basically state “I haven’t a friggen clue”, but what you can get from the lyrics themselves are some Jersey images as well as the sense of confusion and big talk you get from record producers and agents as you’re starting out. Springsteen was writing all sorts of odd stuff back then, apparently. Maybe he had a good dealer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/143 "2001-04-02T00:57:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by woodstockbirdybird \* > \*\*Yeah, you may be right about “Alison” (correct spelling). It’s not that I would put it past Elvis to write a song with such subject matter; I was just surprised that it never occurred to me. Any ideas on [this song?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54806) \*\* Oh my God. The one Elvis Costello thread, ever, and I miss it. But yes, you are right–a Quisling is a traitor, and the Quisling clinic in WI was named after the founders, who were related to the Nazi Quisling. ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/144 "2001-04-02T01:12:00Z")
I have a good idea, woodstock–why don’t I answer the question you posted in this thread? I read in an interview with Costello a year or so ago that “Pump it Up” is indeed about masturbation. At least, that’s his intentions (no cites, sorry). But it’s more so about this guy who’s madly in love with this girl who has no interest in him, but he can’t help it. So he’s forced to “pump it up”. After all, “no use wishing for any other sin”–why wish to have sex with her; it won’t work, so he has to stick to the sin of masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/145 "2001-04-02T01:51:57Z")
Fairly simple connection to make if you listen to the lyrics, Ramble On by Zeppelin is the story of Strider/Aragorn from Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. I’ve heard that several other Zep songs borrow from that saga, but I haven’t been able to make any other connections. Anyone know of any others? The album Dirt from Alice in Chains is almost exclusively about heroin abuse and the trappings of the addiction. I’ve heard tell that Stacked Actors by Foo Fighters is about David Grohl’s ill-fated relationship with Courtney Love. Going back to RHCP’s Under the Bridge, I’d always thought it was about a vampire. Under the bridge downtown/Is where I drew some blood/Under the bridge downtown/I could not get enough. Of course, that could be because the people that introduced me to the song/album when it came out were into the Goth scene. The Police’s Don’t Stand So Close To Me is Sting talking to a female student that had a crush on him, during his career as a teacher. Obvious from the lyrics, but supposedly based on a real experience. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/146 "2001-04-02T02:48:29Z")
[ul][li] **Shipbuilding** - by **Elvis Costello** is about the Falklands War. (“People get killed in the results of this shipbuilding.”)[/li] [li] **Fall on Me** - **R.E.M.** About acid rain.[/li] [li] **Orange Crush** - **R.E.M.** About Agent Orange.[/li] [li] **Losing My Religion** - **R.E.M.** Has nothing to do with religion. It’s about revealing to someone that you’ve harbored a secret crush on them.[/li] [li]**Penny Lane (Beatles)** contains a lewd reference to digital sex: “fish and finger pie.”[/ul][/li]A couple of songs I’m not so sure about: [ul][li] **Heart of Glass** - **Blondie**. I’ve heard rumors that this one is about, erm, “unexpected” anal sex. Sample lyrics: “Once I had a love, and it was a gas; soon turned out to be a pain in the ass,” and “Learned to mistrust love from behind.”[/li] **Fixing a Hole** - **Beatles**. Heroin song? You make the call. “Fixing a hole where the rain gets in; and stops my mind from wandering.”[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![BigStar303](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@BigStar303](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigStar303)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/147 "2001-04-03T14:08:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\***Penny Lane (Beatles)** contains a lewd reference to digital sex: “fish and finger pie.” \*\* It’s easy enough to see why you’d make “fish” part of the reference here – and I suppose it’s possible it was intended as sort of a double play on words. But “four of fish” is also a standard-quantity fish and chips order in the UK. The point being, “finger pie” also stands on its own as a code term for, as you put it, “digital sex.” > [@](#): > > A couple of songs I’m not so sure about: > > **Fixing a Hole** - **Beatles**. Heroin song? You make the call. “Fixing a hole where the rain gets in; and stops my mind from wandering.” \*\* Unlikely. I believe John Lennon was the only Beatle to become involved with heroin in any way, and that definitely happened post-_Sgt. Pepper_. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/148 "2001-04-03T15:19:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DKW \* > **Turning Japanese - Well, there’s this guy. And he sees a picture of a beautiful woman. And he’s so enchanted by her that he’d do anything to meet her. That’s pretty much it. I have no reason to believe that “Turning Japanese” refers to any specific act (and even then, _must_ you assume that it’s LITERAL??).** The phrase “Turning Japanese” is slang for for having an orgasm, even before the song came out. It referes to the facial expression(somewhat racist, but that’s what it means). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2001, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/149 "2001-04-08T15:33:02Z")
Jimmy Page bought Aleister Crowley’s Boleskine house in Scotland. He praticed the Kabbalistic magick of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (to which William Butler Yeats had also belonged) and the occultism of Crowley. One of the principal Magickal rituals of these practices is described in “Stairway to Heaven.” The title of the song refers to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. “you know sometimes words have two meanings” Refers to esoteric meanings coded in Kabbalistic wordplay. “There’s a feeling I get when I look to the West” At the climax of the Bornless ritual, the magickal operator is facing west across the altar. “There stands a lady we all know / who shines white light” The High Priestess in the Tarot, corresponding to the Gimel path on the Tree of Life that connects the heart sephirah Tiph’ereth with the crown sephirah Kether, the uppermost part of the ascending “Stairway to Heaven”. Brilliant white light is the color of Kether. “How everything still turns to gold” Gold is the color of Tiph’ereth. “When you are one and one is all” The state of mystical transcendence achieved in the ritual. “To be a rock and not to roll” Alludes to a Kabbalistic pun in Hebrew. AB means ‘father’ and BN means ‘son’. ABN means ‘a stone (a rock)’. The rolling refers to sons becoming fathers of sons who become fathers in their turn and so on down the generations; “not to roll” means to transcend temporal generation and abide in the Eternal. On the 12-inch single pressing of “Stairway to Heaven,” there was inscribed inside the innermost groove the Crowleyan formula: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law” — on the other side was inscribed the response, “Love is the Law, Love under Will.” You may hear rumors circulating about Satanic messages when “Stairway to Heaven” is played backwards, but after investigating I find these rumors to be bunk. Led Zeppelin’s occultist message is found in the lyrics when played frontwards “…if you listen very hard…” ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2001, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/150 "2001-04-09T04:16:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*[ul][li] **Fall on Me** - **R.E.M.** About acid rain.[/li] > [li] **Fixing a Hole** - **Beatles**. Heroin song? You make the call. “Fixing a hole where the rain gets in; and stops my mind from wandering.”[/ul][/li] > \*\* “Fall on Me” is also about Galileo’s experiments with gravity (“feathers hit the ground before the weight can leave the air”), at least according to what I have read. “Fixing a Hole” is most definitely just Paul McCartney being cheesy and stupid, as he is wont to do. I doubt there’s too much hidden meaning in that one. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2001, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/151 "2001-04-09T13:53:41Z")
[QUOTE}\*\*You may hear rumors circulating about Satanic messages when “Stairway to Heaven” is played backwards, but after investigating I find these rumors to be bunk. Led Zeppelin’s occultist message is found in the lyrics when played frontwards “…if you listen very hard…” \*\*[/QUOTE] Try playing backwards the part of the song were it says “yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road your on.” It supposedly says “my sweet satan, the one will be the sad one who makes me sad whos power is satan” or something like that. The phrase my sweet satan is pretty clear,as is the satan at the end, but the rest is kinda open to interpretation. I’m not saying that this was done on purpose, or means anything at all. The probability that something like this could occur by chance is probably pretty high, or if you have unlimited access to recording equipment to play around with you could probably come up with stuff like this. I played it back by putting a cassette of it into an old 4 track home studio recorder, and it was pretty clear(this was years ago). I could probably get an even better copy of it now, since I have more of a real studio to play with. If anybody wants, I could feed it into my studio gear at home tonight, make a wav of it, and post a link to the .wav ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/152 "2001-04-10T05:05:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Try playing backwards the part of the song were it says “yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road your on.” > > It supposedly says “my sweet satan, the one will be the sad one who makes me sad whos power is satan” or something like that. \*Transcribe this line phonetically (using the IPA), then reverse the order of the phonemes. Here’s what you get: nA: r@i dor @ð ZdneSt ut miAt lits zrEð, n@r NOl @ð ni t@b, iA:b og nak ui sTæp u:t rA rEð sEi Nothing remotely resembling the supposed “Satanic” message. It’s bunk. ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/153 "2001-04-10T11:50:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > It supposedly says “my sweet satan, the one will be the sad one who makes me sad whos power is satan” or something like that. > > - Here’s what you get: > nA: r@i dor @ð ZdneSt ut miAt lits zrEð, n@r NOl @ð ni t@b, iA:b og nak ui sTæp u:t rA rEð sEi > > Nothing remotely resembling the supposed “Satanic” message. It’s bunk. \*\* NoNO! It’s there!! “og nak”! That’s Peruvian for “Red boy” which could be interpreted as “Satan”! (or Santa…) And then there’s “lits zrEõ, n@r”… which is clearly Latvian for “Vanilla wafer boots”! And man, if you’ve ever HAD Vanilla wafer boots, you KNOW they’re evil… And then the “rash guacamole spill” (“u:t rA rEð” translated from the Klingon dictionary)… well, hey, it speaks for itself, doesn’t it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/154 "2001-05-11T19:23:02Z")
_Imaginary Lover_ by the Atlanta Rhythm Section leaves nothing to the imagination (so to speak) Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/155 "2001-05-11T21:38:03Z")
How about “Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol? > [@](#): > > On the floor of Tokyo > Or down in London town to go, go > With the record selection > With the mirror reflection > I’m dancing with myself > > When there’s no-one else in sight > In the crowded lonely night > Well I wait so long > For my love vibration > And I’m dancing with myself > > Oh dancing with myself > Oh dancing with myself > Well there’s nothing to lose > And there’s nothing to prove > I’ll be dancing with myself > > If I looked all over the world > And there’s every type of girl > But your empty eyes > Seem to pass me by > Leave me dancing with myself > > So let’s sink another drink > 'Cause it’ll give me time to think > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > And I’ll be dancing with myself > > Oh dancing with myself > Oh dancing with myself > Well there’s nothing to lose > And there’s nothing to prove > I’ll be dancing with myself > > If I looked all over the world > And there’s every type of girl > But your empty eyes > Seem to pass me by > Leave me dancing with myself > > So let’s sink another drink > 'Cause it’ll give me time to think > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > And I’ll be dancing with myself > > Oh dancing with myself > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > > If I looked all over the world > And there’s every type of girl > But your empty eyes > Seem to pass me by > Leave me dancing with myself > > So let’s sink another drink > 'Cause it’ll give me time to think > If I had the chance > I’d ask the world to dance > And I’ll be dancing with myself ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2001, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/156 "2001-05-11T22:22:20Z")
And we all know what “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is all about… _Lord of the Rings_! **Picture yourself in a boat on a river** Undoubtedly a reference to the river Anduin, down which the Fellowship sailed after leaving Lothlòrien. **With tangerine trees** Mallorn trees, which had gold leaves in winter, at the time the Company of the Ring left. **and marmalade skies.** Refers to the red sky over Mordor, which became increasingly visible as they approached. **Somebody calls you,** Nazgûl calling to Frodo as he wore the Ring: “Come back! Come back! To Mordor we will take you!” **you answer quite slowly,** As Frodo struggles with the temptation to put on the Ring. **A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.** Frodo saw the Eye of Sauron in Galadriel’s Mirror. **Cellophane flowers of yellow and green** Refers to the yellow flower elanor, which grew in Lothlòrien. **Towering** Many towers figure prominently in LotR – based on the context, this may be a reference to the Argonath, or Pillars of the Kings. **over your head.** Because hobbits are short, and the Argonath are very tall anyway. **Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes** Galadriel again: “the light of the Two Trees shone in her eyes.” **And she’s gone.** Either because they’ve left Lorien, or could be a reference to the disappearance of the “real world” when Frodo wore the Ring, or to the departure of the Elves from Middle-earth. Or all three. **Lucy in the sky** A confusing reference – may be related to Varda, or possibly to Eärendil, though the feminine name Lucy makes this unlikely. **with diamonds** However, this obvious reference to the Silmarils increases the parallel to Eärendil. \*\*Lucy in the sky with diamonds Lucy in the sky with diamonds, ah, ah Follow her down to a bridge\*\* That is, the bridge of Khazad-dûm. **by the fountain** The Mirrormere. Also recalls the Mirror of Galadriel. **where rocking horse people** Obviously the Rohirrim. **eat marshmallow pies.** Perhaps lembas – an odd juxtaposition recalling the aid the Elves of Lorien gave to Eorl the Young. **Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers That grow so incredibly high.** Recalls the dreamlike atmosphere of Lorien (with perhaps another nod to the stature of Hobbits). **Newspaper taxis** Grey elven-ships, the color of newspaper. **appear on the shore** The Grey Havens, on the Western shores of Middle-earth. **Waiting to take you away** To the West, that is. **Climb in the back with your head in the clouds** Cf. Frodo’s departure from Middle-earth, where Tol Eressëa was revealed to him (and the others on the boat), but those on the shore only saw clouds and rain. **And you’re gone.** This line speaks for itself – those who went to the West would never return. \*\*Ref. Picture yourself on a train in a station With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,\*\* An image of mundane life, undoubtedly that of the reader. **Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile, The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.** But once we pick up the book, any of us can travel to Middle-earth. **Ref…** Yes, I did make all of that up, of course. 😉 “Stairway to Heaven” and “Battle of Evermore” really _do_ have LotR echoes – according to Robert Plant, the ones in “Stairway” aren’t intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/157 "2001-05-12T04:13:31Z")
I wish somebody could tell us what [“The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”](http://gunther.simplenet.com/v/data/lowspark.htm) by [**Traffic**](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bt2jp7i6jg7or) was supposed to be about. When I was in college it was one of my favorite songs, partly because of the jazzy piano playing. But what the heck did it mean? ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/158 "2001-05-12T04:31:36Z")
Actually, I thought of another one – what is it that Meat Loaf won’t do for love, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/159 "2001-05-12T04:42:48Z")
_Relax_ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood is about anal sex. ---
**Author:** ![katiekilldare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/838e76/32.png) [@katiekilldare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katiekilldare)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689/160 "2001-05-12T05:39:11Z")
Is U2’s **The Unforgettable Fire** supposed to be about Nuclear Holocaust? I suppose the phrase “Unforgettable Fire” certainly fits with that idea… I’d just heard this on MTV, but it never ever occurred to me all the dozens of times I’ve sung this song at the top of my lungs in the car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-meanings-behind-pop-songs/57689.md?page=9)