# Songs that sound upbeat but have darker meanings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485 "2013-05-16T03:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/101 "2013-05-20T16:59:07Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > And, of course, that goes for the Beautiful South, too… Indeed, though The Beautiful South had a lot more songs with melancholy music than The Housemartins. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/102 "2013-05-20T17:09:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Oh! _Listen To The Mockingbird_ is a classic one of these! It’s so bouncy and whimsical it was actually one of the Three Stooges’ themes, but it’s about the singer’s dead lover. Last night I dreamed of my Halley Of my Halley, my sweet Halley Last night I dreamed of my Halley For the thought of her is one that never dies She’s sleeping now in the valley In the valley, my sweet Halley She’s sleeping now in the valley And the Mockingbird is singing where she lies Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird Oh the Mockingbird is singing oe’er her grave Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird Still singing where the yellow roses grow How well do I yet remember I remember, I remember How well do I yet remember For the thought of her is one that never dies It was in that sweet September In September, I remember It was in that sweet September That the Mockingbird was singing far and wide Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird Oh the Mocking bird still singing oe’er her grave Listen to the Mockingbird, listen to the Mockingbird Oh the Mockingbird still singing in the spring ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/103 "2013-05-20T17:09:27Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > I love the bouncy, cheerful tune of the Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma.” There are many Smiths songs that fit this category: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now There is a Light This Charming Man ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/104 "2013-05-20T17:15:31Z")
Common People by Pulp has a great dance beat and hook with lyrics that get more and more depressing as the song goes on, to the point it becomes an expression of pure despair–“You’ll never watch your life slide out of view, and dance and drink and screw/Because there’s nothing else to do.” ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/105 "2013-05-20T18:01:19Z")
_Beer For My Horses_ by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson has a lively, cheerful tune, and it’s about lynching. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/106 "2013-05-20T18:35:08Z")
A lot of classic R&B songs sound upbeat musically, but have sad lyrics. _Tears of a Clown_ (The Miracles), _Love Child (The Supremes), Papa Was A Rolling Stone_ (The Temptations) and _What’s Going On_ (Marvin Gaye) are just four examples. _Lights_ by Ellie Goulding, _The A Team_ by Ed Sheeran are two contemporary songs that are sad despite happy-ish melodies. _Rehab_ by Amy Winehouse is an upbeat sounding song with heartbreaking lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/107 "2013-05-20T18:50:06Z")
Just about everything by They Might Be Giants. “Lucky Ball And Chain”: > [@](#): > > I lost my lucky ball & chain > Now she’s four years gone > Just five feet tall and sick of me > And all my rattling on > > She walked away from a happy man > I thought I was so cool > I just stood there whistling > “There goes the bride” as she walked out the door “Mr. Me”: > [@](#): > > Once a boy named Mister Me bemoaned a great regret > I’ve floundered in the misty sea, but can’t abide its mystery > I wound up sad, you bet “I’ve Got A Match”: > [@](#): > > Love people are there > The smell of love is everywhere > You think it’s always sensitive and good > You think that I want to be understood > I’ve got a match > Your embrace and my collapse “They’ll Need A Crane”: > [@](#): > > They’ll need a crane, they’ll need a crane > To take the house he built for her apart > To make it break it’s gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain > They’ll need a crane, they’ll need a crane > To pick the broken ruins up again > To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain … I could go on. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/108 "2013-05-20T18:56:12Z")
Teddybear sung by Elvis (not sure who wrote it) - if you read the lyrics, it sounds like a letter from a stalker ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/109 "2013-05-20T19:02:00Z")
\*\*Words \*\*by Missing Persons is pretty upbeat but it’s a girl singing about a guy who won’t pay attention to her. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/110 "2013-05-20T22:23:39Z")
Richard Thompson does this all the time ('_52 Vincent Black Lightning_, anyone?) but his most extreme example is probably [_Sidney Wells_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKmNxeFi35k), a song about a serial-killing lorry driver set to a jolly little slip-jig. Sample lyric:\* Then he took off her clothes and threw them in a pile He watched her stand there cold and shivering for a while Then he picked up her stocking lying on the floor And wrapped it round her neck until she breathed no more He tried to burn the body, he didn’t do it well Upon a pile of tyres, it was an awful smell They found her poor remains and summoned the bereft And took her to the church to bury what was left\* ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/111 "2013-05-21T00:39:20Z")
Up the Junction by Squeeze ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/112 "2013-05-21T00:56:04Z")
Miss Otis Sends Her Regrets Hotel California (ominous undertones but an upbeat chorus) Hello This Is Joanie Take A Letter Maria Poisoning Pigeons In The Park; The Irish Ballad; etc. (Do Tom Lehrer songs count?) So Long And Thanks for All The Fish Keep On Rolling (REO) Evil Woman The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia (see Hotel California comments) The Point of Know Return Ride Captain Ride Smoke On The Water ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/113 "2013-05-21T01:11:39Z")
I forgot to add that favorite sing-along in Karaoke bars everywhere: Delilah by Tom Jones ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/114 "2013-05-21T01:18:10Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > Miss Otis Sends Her Regrets It’s just “Miss Otis Regrets” but yeah…that’s a good one, too. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/115 "2013-05-21T01:22:26Z")
Y’all lazy. Not linking to youtube as if it’s 2003. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/116 "2013-05-21T01:26:01Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Y’all lazy. Not linking to youtube as if it’s 2003. Heh…I’ve got “Miss Otis”. The REALLY upbeat version is [Bette Midler’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQnl4TX5wOE). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/117 "2013-05-21T01:27:36Z")
[Listen To The Mockingbird](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvr3lbxi1a0) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/118 "2013-05-21T06:12:40Z")
_[Achilipú](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzSmOFmbtCw)_ was a “summer hit” in Spain, on several different summers; the linked version is by Dolores Vargas. It’s a dumb song, right? Right? I mean, half of it is the singers going _achilipú, apú, apú_… (achilipú doesn’t meant anything, it’s just some noises the lyricist came up with) It follows a pattern very common in Spanish folk, of having many short bits that can get shuffled about - different singers will sing different verses and in a different order. Some of them, and in the case of the version by [Las Grecas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bqdHJuxPbc) about the only understandable bit: “I cried blood tears, and then I drunk them up, so you wouldn’t know how much I suffered for you” Ole your mother, can we be in love without masochism kthxbye? ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/119 "2015-06-20T01:40:21Z")
“LDN” by Lilly Allen. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0mvXeDJ_V38/maxresdefault.jpg "Lily Allen - LDN (London) (First Version) [1080p HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mvXeDJ_V38) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485/120 "2015-06-20T02:25:16Z")
We’ve all heard Blondie’s One Way or Another You know, “One way or another, I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha …” The other day I was listening to it, but as most people I don’t know the verses. When I actually heard them I realized it was a stalker song. She (well, from what I’m reading it’s about a guy stalking her, but it’s in the first person, so I’m saying ‘she’) is going to follow this guy around, see who he’s hanging out with, then when she finally get’s him, she’s going to leave him. Really, go check out the lyrics, there’s nothing ambiguous about it. I’m sure they’re lots of stalker songs, but this one came out a few years before Every Breath You Take. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-upbeat-but-have-darker-meanings/658485.md?page=7)