“Free Four” by Pink Floyd
“The memories of a man in his old age
are the deeds of the man in his prime.
You shuffle in the gloom of your sick room
And talk to yourself as you die…”
Neil Young’s Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World
REM’s This One Goes Out to the One I Love
God, yes, this! They are currently using a version of this in my Jazzercise class, for Pete’s sake! I don’t know about you, but nothing makes me want to jump up and dance like
This isn’t really apt, because the song is hopeful, but I’m always astonished by the love people have for John Lennon’s Imagine. If you told most Americans you’d like them to listen to an anthem to atheistic anarcho-socialism, they’d punch you in the face, but somehow everyone likes this song.
Hahaha - to start with, actually, it’s Nazi children. Which makes it much, much creepier.
“Transmission,” by Joy Division, bounciest little ditty ever
“Safety Dance,” by Men Without Hats
(“we can dance if we want to
if we don’t nobody will
and you can act real cool
and totally removed
and I can act like an imbecile
and we can dance”)
“All Apologies,” by Nirvana
“If Only,” by Queens Of The Stone Age
They Might Be Giants has two parallel careers. In one, they write ludicrously catchy tunes with oddball lyrics about science, the alphabet, whimsical battles between late-'70s rock bands, and life’s general joys. In the other, they write ludicrously catchy tunes with oddball lyrics about death, the end of the world, death, loneliness, and more death.
*Someday Mother will die
and I’ll get the money.
Mom leans down and says,
“My sentiments exactly.”
You son of a bitch
I Palindrome I (I Palindrome I)
I Palindrome I (I Palindrome I)
And I am a snake’s head eating the head on the opposite side
I Palindrome I
*
Dance dance dance dance dance to the radio! 
But yeah, I’d like to vote for Free Four to win the thread. If it only hit Number 1 it would be the number one ironically peppy song of all time.
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” from Green Day is often used as an optimistic song at graduations, looking fondly at the past and looking forward to a happy future.
In reality it’s a cynical and sarcastic “Up yours, you bitch/bastard - what a waste of time” kind of song.
I’ve posted this song before. It’s about a homeless, alcoholic woman. The song is so upbeat but the lyrics have almost moved me to tears.
Cecilia by Franky Perez (iLike.com link, so it may or may not only play 30 seconds)
*She tells the story of a shotgun wedding
and the birth of a stillborn child
She was only thirteen, her little body wasn’t ready
Babies watching babies die.*
And nobody’s mentioned 99 Luftballons?
It’s all over and I’m standin’ pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenier
Just to prove the world was here…
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go.
Ah, yes.
I heard his fiancee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw the letter
Away
In retrospect, a song about Viet Nam.
The Grass Roots contributed two great songs to this genre: Let’s Live For Today a folk-rocker with lyrics verging on nihilism, and Midnight Confessions, where an incredibly bouncy arrangement hides some of the most pained unrequited love lyrics ever.
The all time champion has to be one hit wonder the Buoys’ “Timothy”, which sounds like typical midtempo AM gold–until you listen closely and realize it’s about cannibalism!
Turn around
Turn around
There’s a thing there that can be found
Turn around
Turn around
It’s a human skull on the ground
Solas has a song called “Bonnie Mae” (link is a snippet of the song), which has a lovely cheerful tune. It’s bright and happy.
And the song is about the rape of a shepherd girl.
Jonathon Coulton (who is a TMBG fan) writes in a similar vein. Many of his songs are disturbing.
My church choir does this one…granted, its a Unitarian church. They do a lovely job, but there is something about listening to Imagine in church.
(I’ve also heard Back in Black during a service, done by a band of tweenagers.)
They Might Be Giants’ Lucky Ball and Chain is very upbeat and catchy, but it’s a really sad song about being young, stupid, and throwing away the love of your life. To this day, my favorite line from any song comes from this one: I was young and foolish then, I feel old and foolish now."
How has nobody mentioned Blind Melon’s “No Rain”?
Here’s a more fitting version.
“Every Breath You Take” by The Police, as well as “Synchronicity II”. The former is notorious for being mistaken as a romantic love song.
“All She Wants To Do Is Dance” by Don Henley is another political diatribe disguised as a dance song.
Last Thing On My Mind - this version is by Steps, I think the original is Bananarama? Skip to two minutes into it to see them smiling and dancing by the pool as they sing
But now you’re suddenly like a stranger
and you’re leaving our love behind
Of all the things I was ever planning for
This was the last thing on my mind