# Share Some Little-Known Trivia About Popular Songs....... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494 "2008-12-17T01:11:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/1 "2008-12-17T01:11:43Z")
For example: Daniel, by Elton John (and Bernie Taupin) was about a blinded Viet Nam veteran returning home, only to feel ostracized and therefore skipping out to Spain. There was even an original verse in the song about this, but it was removed either for political reasons or to fit the more familiar radio time constraints of the day. Have You Ever Seen The Rain, by CCR was a John Fogerty song about his feelings regarding his brother Tom leaving the band just when they were reaching popularity and acclaim: “Have you ever seen the rain, coming down on sunny days?” Feed me some more similar trivia please. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/2 "2008-12-17T01:27:06Z")
“Sweet Caroline” was Caroline Kennedy Why Niel Diamond chose her I dunno…but I always liked that little nugget ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/3 "2008-12-17T02:41:46Z")
“Puff the Magic Dragon” wasn’t about a kids story …I’ll get me coat ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/4 "2008-12-17T02:43:49Z")
I keep pulling this one out but I think it’s good… The actor Trevor Peacock, who plays a bumbly old man in [The Vicar of Dibley](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k6JCUc1Pi3M) wrote Herman Hermits’ “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” among other songs. That was his biggest hit, tho. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/5 "2008-12-17T03:17:16Z")
In the Kinks’ song \*Waterloo Sunset \*, “Terry and Julie” refers to Terence Stamp and Julie Christie, a “hot” couple when Ray wrote the song. ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/6 "2008-12-17T03:19:06Z")
It was once believed that Eno’s _Here Come the Warm Jets_ referred to the act of urination, but it seems that was just a rumor propagated by Eno himself, which is a relief (ha!) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/7 "2008-12-17T03:45:55Z")
Back in the early 90’s, Belly released “[Slow Dog](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOrUyGnikQw)”. You wouldn’t know it to look at the video but, back in college, I read a short interview with Tanya Donelly where she said that the inspiration for the song was a custom in some parts of rural China where an adulterous woman was punished by being made to wear a dead dog over her back until the corpse rots off. I’ve no idea if the custom actually existed or not but that’s where the song comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/8 "2008-12-17T04:06:09Z")
“Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” was something a girlfriend of Cobain’s spray painted on a squat wall as a joke. It was the name of his ex’s perfume and she smelled it on his clothes. He didn’t know, and thought it was a compliment on his attitude. EDIT : BTW, for all you useless trivia fans, [www.songfacts.com](http://www.songfacts.com) is a cool site. About the same timesink factor as Wikipedia or tvtropes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/9 "2008-12-17T04:46:18Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” was something a girlfriend of Cobain’s spray painted on a squat wall as a joke. It was the name of his ex’s perfume and she smelled it on his clothes. He didn’t know, and thought it was a compliment on his attitude. > > EDIT : BTW, for all you useless trivia fans, [www.songfacts.com](http://www.songfacts.com) is a cool site. About the same timesink factor as Wikipedia or tvtropes 🙂 Oh crap. There goes the rest of my spare time! ☹ (Thanks for that!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/10 "2008-12-17T05:00:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” was something a girlfriend of Cobain’s spray painted on a squat wall as a joke. It was the name of his ex’s perfume and she smelled it on his clothes. He didn’t know, and thought it was a compliment on his attitude. > > EDIT : BTW, for all you useless trivia fans, [www.songfacts.com](http://www.songfacts.com) is a cool site. About the same timesink factor as Wikipedia or tvtropes 🙂 Close…it was actually Kathleen Hannah of the band Bikini Kill, and later Le Tigre, and teen spirit was a popular deodorant at the time. She meant it as more of a jokey “Curt has cooties” or “Curt smells like a girl”-style joke, but he hadn’t heard of the deodorant…and the rest is history. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/11 "2008-12-17T05:12:29Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > “Puff the Magic Dragon” wasn’t about a kids story > > …I’ll get me coat I’m not sure if you’re serious or just pulling our legs, but… Peter Yarrow, who WROTE the song, still insists that it IS exactly what it seems to be, a sad song about the end of childhood. "Puff’ is about the stage when kids start to grow up and leave behind their toys and their imaginary playmates. Yarrow and the song are both so old now that it would be safe for him to admit the truth, IF the song were really about marijuana. As it is, he always says, “If I’d wanted to write a song about marijuana, believe me, I’d have written a song about marijuana.” Snopes supports Yarrow’s account, for whatever that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/12 "2008-12-17T05:13:14Z")
Chip Taylor, who wrote “Wild Thing,” made famous by the Troggs, and “Angel of the Morning,” made famous by Merrilee Rush, is the brother of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and is also the uncle of Angelina Jolie, another Oscar winner. His real name is James Wesley Voight. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/13 "2008-12-17T05:36:31Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m not sure if you’re serious or just pulling our legs, but… > > Peter Yarrow, who WROTE the song, still insists that it IS exactly what it seems to be, a sad song about the end of childhood. "Puff’ is about the stage when kids start to grow up and leave behind their toys and their imaginary playmates. > > Yarrow and the song are both so old now that it would be safe for him to admit the truth, IF the song were really about marijuana. As it is, he always says, “If I’d wanted to write a song about marijuana, believe me, I’d have written a song about marijuana.” > > Snopes supports Yarrow’s account, for whatever that’s worth. alas I’m not as immune to the Urban Legend as I thought :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/14 "2008-12-17T08:25:17Z")
Johnny Cash really did shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. ---
**Author:** ![Hap\_Shaughnessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hap\_Shaughnessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hap_Shaughnessy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/15 "2008-12-17T08:37:19Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Johnny Cash really did shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. That’s only part of the story… thing is, the guy didn’t die. Cash wrote the song, and gave the man the royalties from it, so he (the man) would not tell the police who shot him. ---
**Author:** ![Strider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Strider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strider)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/16 "2008-12-17T08:53:54Z")
The Metallica song One is about a book Johnny Got Your Gun, about a young soldier who was hit by a mortar and loses all his senses and both his arms and his legs. If you start the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon at the same time you start the movie Wizard of Oz…well you just have to do it and see it for yourself, pretty crazy. It’s kinda complicated to sync it up right so best to google for instructions. -n ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/17 "2008-12-17T09:36:13Z")
> [@Strider](#): > > The Metallica song One is about a book Johnny Got Your Gun, about a young soldier who was hit by a mortar and loses all his senses and both his arms and his legs. > > If you start the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon at the same time you start the movie Wizard of Oz…well you just have to do it and see it for yourself, pretty crazy. It’s kinda complicated to sync it up right so best to google for instructions. > > -n Oh, good. This one again. Brace yourselves for derailment. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/18 "2008-12-17T10:02:14Z")
> [@Strider](#): > > If you start the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon at the same time you start the movie Wizard of Oz…well you just have to do it and see it for yourself, pretty crazy. It’s kinda complicated to sync it up right so best to google for instructions. > > -n [“Sheesh” isn’t an adequate answer.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1773/does-the-music-in-pink-floyds-em-dark-side-of-the-moon-em-coincide-with-the-action-of-em-the-wizard-of-oz-em) ---
**Author:** ![Ellef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@Ellef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellef)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/19 "2008-12-17T12:37:45Z")
“My Way” was originally performed by the French singer Claude Francois as “Comme d’Habitude”. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bMoY5rNBjwk/hqdefault.jpg "Claude François - Comme d'habitude") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMoY5rNBjwk) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494/20 "2008-12-17T12:46:42Z")
“YYZ” by Rush has the Morse Code for “YYZ” in the beat. “YYZ” is the airport code for Toronto an airport the band used quite often Brian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-some-little-known-trivia-about-popular-songs/477494.md?page=2)