# Songs that are widely misunderstood **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 11, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492 "2022-08-11T14:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/1 "2022-08-11T14:44:18Z")
I felt like this was recently done, so I did some due diligence searching the SDMB. I found " [Pop Culture Stuff Everyone Seems to Misunderstand](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-culture-stuff-everyone-seems-to-misunderstand/940564)" from last year, which includes some songs among a whole lot more stuff. But I think there are enough misunderstood songs to merit their own category… Anyway, I heard a snippet of " The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" just recently somewhere, maybe on a commercial, and it’s been stuck in my brain this morning. This song has been used in many teen-comedy style movies, and everyone thinks it’s this happy, optimistic song, but I remember hearing somewhere that the guy from Timbuk3 who wrote the song actually [meant it as a sarcastic, grim prediction of nuclear holocaust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Future%27s_So_Bright,_I_Gotta_Wear_Shades#Background). The only line in the song that offers any clue of that though, is the first line “I’m studying nuclear science…”. Then there’s Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” famously used by the Reagan campaign as a ‘rah-rah patriotic’ song, but is clearly not if you pay any attention to the lyrics in the verses. And of course, “Every Breath You Take” by the Police, a favorite of many weddings, but is actually a song about a creepy stalker. Romantic! ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/2 "2022-08-11T14:51:21Z")
‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ has nothing to do with canines, but rather, is a criticism of men cat-calling women. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/3 "2022-08-11T15:03:18Z")
I’ve come to like my theory that in Purple Haze, Jimi is _actually_ singing " 'scuse me while I kiss this guy." That’s how purple his haze is. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/4 "2022-08-11T15:08:08Z")
I believe that Ronald Reagans campaign used John Cougar Mellencamp’ s Little Pink Houses in their campaign rally’s, not realizing that the song was about how dysfunctional the American Dream had become. 'Cause the simple man, baby Pays for thrills The bills the pills that kill ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/5 "2022-08-11T16:08:02Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’ve come to like my theory that in Purple Haze, Jimi is _actually_ singing " 'scuse me while I kiss this guy." That’s how purple his haze is. It was an experimental time. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I believe that Ronald Reagans campaign used John Cougar Mellencamp’ s Little Pink Houses in their campaign rally’s, not realizing that the song was about how dysfunctional the American Dream had become Another good misunderstood song example. Reminds me of an article I read once, an interview with Mellencamp, I think in Rolling Stone magazine. The article started out describing the setting-- Mellencamp had his buddy with him, and they were busting each other’s chops, arguing about the line in LPH “I remember when you could stop a clock”. His buddy said, “you got that wrong, John, that expression means she’s so _ **ugly** _ she _ **breaks** _ the clock!” Mellencamp maintained “no, it means she used to be so beautiful she was clock-stopping!” His buddy was right, though. An example of an artist misunderstanding his own lyrics! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/6 "2022-08-11T16:20:21Z")
According to Madonna, the intent of “Material Girl” was to satirize the materialism of the 1980s. But with satire there is always a risk that people will take it literally, and most people who heard the song took it to be Madonna literally singing about her love of material possessions. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/7 "2022-08-11T16:21:49Z")
Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash” is about a peeping tom, but people seem to like it as a love song. “I watch you there through the window and I stare at you. You wear nothing but you wear it so well.” Also, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” seems to be popular with churches (cite: I’ve been to a church service that used it) but it’s not really a church song. Yeah there’s religious imagery but there’s also sexual imagery. And Leonard Cohen is Jewish. Along those same lines, I’ve been to my grandparents’ Mennonite church when they sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Also misses the mark, considering the “Imagine no religion” part. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/8 "2022-08-11T16:23:24Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > According to Madonna, the intent of “Material Girl” was to satirize the materialism of the 1980s. But with satire there is always a risk that people will take it literally… Which brings to mind the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for your Right to Party” which was, I understand, supposed to be a satirical takedown of frat-boy style party culture, and became a frat-boy party anthem. ---
**Author:** ![TheZenPaperboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheZenPaperboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheZenPaperboy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/9 "2022-08-11T16:37:33Z")
The song The Lady is a Tramp. Mainly heard out of context as it was not in the film Babes in Arms. But if you listen to the Broadway album it makes sense. The lady is a drifter on the road who does not move in high society thus she is mocking upper class attitudes. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/10 "2022-08-11T16:45:36Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash” is about a peeping tom “Crash Into Me.” I haven’t listen to the lyrics enough to realize that, but damn is that creepy. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/11 "2022-08-11T16:49:32Z")
The second verse of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” is about the song’s protagonist, presumably the band, visiting a strip club in Texas, and the performers may well have been prostitutes, depending on how one interprets the lines. I don’t know that this is “misunderstood” so much as “overlooked.” I’ve heard this song in a lot of movies, but I noticed when they used it in the trailer for one of the _Cars_ movies, second verse included. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/12 "2022-08-11T16:49:52Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > “Crash Into Me.” I thought the song was about this: 😄 > **[Dave Matthews Tour Bus Dumped 800 Pounds Of Poop On People Taking A Chicago...](https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/08/08/dave-matthews-tour-bus-dumped-800-pounds-of-poop-on-people-taking-a-chicago-river-cruise-18-years-ago-today/)** > > RIVER NORTH — Monday marks 18 years since a group of people taking a river cruise were hit with poop from Dave Matthews Band’s tour bus. It was the ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/13 "2022-08-11T18:07:46Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Which brings to mind the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for your Right to Party” which was, I understand, supposed to be a satirical takedown of frat-boy style party culture, and became a frat-boy party anthem. I’ve heard that for a long time, but they really shouldn’t have made THAT video if this was their intent. Later Beastie Boys were much smarter… ETA: and for completeness, one of the widely misunderstood songs that always come up in these threads: “The One I Love” by R.E.M., one of the best anti-love songs ever, but often taken for a proper love song. I don’t know how that happens though, with lines like “a simple prop to occupy my time” and “_another_ prop to occupy my time”. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/14 "2022-08-11T18:12:56Z")
Your should never be misunderstood, that is, if your intentions are good. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/15 "2022-08-11T18:21:54Z")
I feel similarly about Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” I don’t know how widespread the perception is, but I know I’ve heard at least one DJ on an oldies station call it “one of the most beautiful love songs of all time.” And it’s so not a love song. At least not a positive one, with lyrics like “if she’s bad, he can’t see it,” “he’d give up all his comforts and sleep out in the rain,” and “if she’s playing him for a fool, he’s the last one to know.” The message is basically that when a man loves a woman, _bad things happen to him_. How anyone can consider it a love song is beyond me, but it seems that at least some people do. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/16 "2022-08-11T18:25:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > …one of the widely misunderstood songs that always come up in these threads: “The One I Love” by R.E.M., one of the best anti-love songs ever, but often taken for a proper love song. I don’t know how that happens though, with lines like “a simple prop to occupy my time” and “_another_ prop to occupy my time”. Chalk me up to one of those who misunderstood the lyrics for a long time. In my defense, the first two lines before the line “A simple prop…” or “Another prop…” are: This one goes out to the one I love This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind So I interpreted it as, the singer left someone he now realizes really loved, and subsequent relationships are a ‘simple prop’ compared to what he lost. But [Stipe backs up the anti-love interpretation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_I_Love_(R.E.M._song)#Lyrics_and_meaning). ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/17 "2022-08-11T19:54:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Along those same lines, I’ve been to my grandparents’ Mennonite church when they sang John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Also misses the mark, considering the “Imagine no religion” part. The song advocates Christ-like values: feeding the hungry, living for today, universal comity. While criticizing those who use religion to push their agendas: literalists, nationalists, warmongers, the wealthy. It’s a great way troll right-wing Christian nationalists; unfortunately a lot of people think that that version of Christianity is the only one. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/18 "2022-08-11T21:53:32Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The article started out describing the setting-- Mellencamp had his buddy with him, and they were busting each other’s chops, arguing about the line in LPH “I remember when you could stop a clock”. I always heard that as _stop a block_, as in stopping traffic. Just listened again and it still sounds like block, but ‘clock’ is the official lyric. Weird, but this is a singer who made ‘sport’ sound like ‘smoke’ too, so maybe he’s just a mumbler. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/19 "2022-08-12T12:24:40Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I always heard that as _stop a block_, as in stopping traffic. Just listened again and it still sounds like block, but ‘clock’ is the official lyric. Weird, but this is a singer who made ‘sport’ sound like ‘smoke’ too I always heard it as ‘stop a clock’, but I also always heard the ‘Cherry Bomb’ lyrics as ‘That’s when a smoke was a smoke’. I don’t know if it’s because of a mumbly pronunciation on Mellencamp’s part, or it just sounds like a phrase from an old cigarette ad or something. It’s news to me that the word is ‘sport’, but it checks out. Ya learn something new every day… > **[John Cougar Mellencamp - Cherry Bomb Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnmellencamp/cherrybomb.html)** > > John Cougar Mellencamp "Cherry Bomb": Well I lived on the outskirts of town In an eight room farmhouse, baby When my brothers and friends... ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492/20 "2022-08-12T12:30:32Z")
The Police song Every Step you Take is about a stalker, not about a someone just admiring a woman from afar. Every single day Every word you say Every game you play Every night you stay **I’ll be watching you.** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-widely-misunderstood/969492.md?page=2)