This is what I came to post. How anybody can think that’s a lovesong goes beyond my imagination, but obviously many do. It’s like playing PIL’s “This Is Not A Lovesong” at a wedding.
I’d say Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” is at least partially misconstrued as being all about ecological destruction and humankind’s assault on nature. The punchline verse of the song is that her partner gets into a taxi and disappears from her life — “don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” — which only makes sense if you think of the eco-destruction as a sort of Exhibit A for cases where we wipe out something nice without thinking about it, and the loss of her boyfriend as the specific loss that’s hurting at the moment.
What do you mean? Given the rest of the lyrics is about a Vietnam vet. who’s having trouble finding a job. It’s definitely a criticism on the US treatment of it’s veterans.
How so?
Yeah, the Boss has always been quite firm about that. And that song is certainly in keeping with a lot of his other tunes from albums like Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad. Life in the USA can be tough and cruel and unfair and very unjust.
Yes, from idiots who don’t actually listen to the lyrics, i guess.
It’s pretty clearly critical with a generic jingoistic chorus that is meant to be cynical and ironic but, hey, if people don’t listen to lyrics … that just underscores the point, doesn’t it?
Sir Mick and the Stones: “Mother’s Little Helper”
No one misinterpreted a song as much as I did ‘American Pie’…
:smack:
In what way was it misinterpreted? It’s about regular housewives living on prescription drugs of the same kind the evil rock stars and counterculture depend on, isn’t it?
Well I sure love my red Swingline stapler. They tried to make us switch to Bosch, but I kept my Swingline because it doesn’t bind up as much. And if the boss tries to take it I could burn down the building.
For you Swingline lovers I offer up "We shall not be moved " by Mavis Staples.
Theme song? I think so. 
“The Star Spangled Banner”, version by Hendrix. A lot of people got their knickers in a twist over that, thinking that he was mocking the flag or being unpatriotic. While it may have been a statement about the war politics, he wasn’t being disrespectful.
Did you follow the link?
From the link…
“*I have to confess, the song was not about smokin’ dope,” the folk singer-songwriter told Performing Songwriter of the opening track from his debut album. “It was more about how, ever since I was a child, I had this view of the world where I can find myself smiling at stuff nobody else was smiling at. But it was such a good anthem for dope smokers that I didn’t want to stop every time I played it and make a disclaimer.”
*
I was going to ask about that. I mean, it looks like a typo, but you never know. It might have been a transatlantic difference. The example that came to mind - for obvious reasons - is British “ticket touts” being US “scalpers”.
But fair enough: a stapler is just a stapler. A rock of dependability in a sea of global crisis. A stationery point, if you will…
The Hallelujah Chorus, from The Messiah. Did you know that it’s about the end of the World, as described in the Book of Revelation?
He’s got to be fibbing. The title is ** Illegal** Smile. There’s nothing illegal about daydreaming. It’s very clearly about dope.
And daydreaming doesn’t cost not very much, but is for free.
And perhaps less well known, the same thing happened to José Feliciano (Best known for “Feliz Navidad” if you don’t know the name) when he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” in a slow, Latin folk style at the 1968 World Series. From a modern perspective, it sounds no different from how any pop singer would put their own twist on the national anthem, but back then he apparently got death threats from people who thought it was disrespectful. Obviously people’s ideas about how the proper way to sing the anthem have changes a lot since then.
jeeze… he wrote the song…he EXPLAINED the song, yet you refuse to believe it.
If you were in st Louis and old you might remember Jim White’s (KMOX radio) catch phrase…
He can EXPLAIN it all he wants. How do you EXPLAIN the title?
Or the entire chorus: “And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile, It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while. Won’t you please tell the man I didn’t kill anyone, no I’m just tryin’ to have me some fun” ?
Whatever John claims now he was writing about, I’d say his lyrics and title speak very well for themselves. He’s a very precise wordsmith.