# Songs used in a context that's different from the intent of the song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 9, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185 "2020-11-09T23:55:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/21 "2020-11-10T06:37:48Z")
It’s clearly satire. She begins with “I’d like to sing a song of great political import” and laughs at the end. Not to mention the lyrics are just silly. I can’t see anyone taking it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/22 "2020-11-10T07:04:26Z")
No matter what - Meat Loaf, it’s a witnessing song [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T3cVDB5rOxI/hqdefault.jpg "meatloaf no matter what") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3cVDB5rOxI) No matter what - Boyzone - a sappy shit little teenies ditty for 12 year olds. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7eul_Vt6SZY/maxresdefault.jpg "Boyzone - No Matter What (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eul_Vt6SZY) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/23 "2020-11-10T12:18:56Z")
Huh - having grown up with the Boyzone version, I had no idea it was a Jim Steinman song. Thanks. Another classic example for the OP is Whitney Houston’s _I Will Always Love You_ used as a wedding song. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/24 "2020-11-10T13:11:56Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Another classic example for the OP is Whitney Houston’s _I Will Always Love You_ used as a wedding song. Seems like a good example of only knowing the song from hearing Whitney’s version on the radio in the background and not paying enough attention to it. If you’re not focused on the lyrics, I’m sure a lot of people (most) people only heard her amazing vocals during the chorus which very much over powered the meaning of the song. To be clear, I’m not saying it’s hard to miss, ‘if i I stay, I would only be in your way’ is the first line, sung clear as day, but you forget all that when you get to the titular lyrics. In the original/Dolly version, the solemn sound it has, would hopefully slow people down enough before putting it on the DJ list to take a glance at the lyrics, make sure she’s not singing to a dead lover or something. (Yes, I know she’s not singing to a dead lover (yes I know it’s about breaking up with Porter), but when dolly sings it sounds more like she singing to someone she lost, not declaring her love for someone she found). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/25 "2020-11-10T13:35:59Z")
Speaking about YMCA, [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4swzg3NV9tI) it is used at a Trump rally, and he dances (ehem…) to the rhythm. 🤮 At the congress of the Cristian Democratic Union (CDU, Angela Merkel’s conservative party) where she was declared the official candidate for the chancellorship they played Angie (get it?) by the Rolling Stones over and over. I do not think the song is about politics, and in any case the [German picture sleeve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_(song)#/media/File:Angie1.jpg) was not christian at all. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/26 "2020-11-10T14:00:39Z")
Bono has complained about U2’s **[“One”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(U2_song))** being played at weddings: > Bono described the song’s theme as such: “It is a song about coming together, but it’s not the old hippie idea of ‘Let’s all live together.’ It is, in fact, the opposite. It’s saying, We are one, but we’re not the same. It’s not saying we even want to get along, but that we have to get along together in this world if it is to survive. It’s a reminder that we have no choice”. The Edge described it on one level as a “bitter, twisted, vitriolic conversation between two people who’ve been through some nasty, heavy stuff”. On another level, he suggested that the line “we get to carry each other” introduces “grace” to the song and that the wording “get to” (instead of “got to”) is essential, as it suggests that it is a privilege to help one another, not an obligation. The band have been told by many fans that they played the song at their weddings, prompting Bono to respond, “Are you mad? It’s about splitting up!” ---
**Author:** ![half-elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@half-elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/half-elf)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/27 "2020-11-10T14:37:28Z")
Last Christmas by Wham! ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/28 "2020-11-10T15:20:16Z")
“What a wonderful world” over images of exploding bombs and people dying at the end of “Good Morning, Vietnam”. Worked, though! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/29 "2020-11-10T16:09:01Z")
Likewise [_We’ll Meet Again_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VlruVG81w) over the nuclear apocalypse at the end of Dr. Strangelove. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/30 "2020-11-10T16:14:56Z")
My band once played a wedding reception for a couple who asked us to play [“Can’t You See”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can't_You_See_(The_Marshall_Tucker_Band_song)) by the Marshall Tucker band for the first dance. It’s a gloomy breakup song. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/31 "2020-11-10T16:38:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Likewise [_We’ll Meet Again_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VlruVG81w) over the nuclear apocalypse at the end of Dr. Strangelove. Kubrick was fully cognisant of the meaning of the song (not just the literal lyrics but the historical connotations). It was meant to be ironic – that we probably wouldn’t meet again in the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/32 "2020-11-10T16:41:20Z")
Isn’t that still a context that’s different from the intent of the song? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/33 "2020-11-10T17:03:26Z")
I don’t know if this is what the OP is looking for, but In the horror movie _1408_ (based on the Stephen King short story), the radio keeps playing _We’ve Only Just Begun_ by the Carpenters. It’s a song about the promise of a new love, but in this context it’s a way for the hotel room to screw with the protagonist. It’s a threat of things to come. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/34 "2020-11-10T18:08:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Kubrick was fully cognisant of the meaning of the song (not just the literal lyrics but the historical connotations). It was meant to be ironic – that we probably wouldn’t meet again in the situation. Of course, that’s blindingly obvious. But the original context of the song in 1939 was hopeful, and not intended to indicate the annihilation of humanity. In the film, Vera Lynn’s friend who is missing in action is found to have survived. It’s not intended to bitterly nihilistic, as in the film. ---
**Author:** ![scarbrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@scarbrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarbrow)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/35 "2020-11-10T23:17:35Z")
Similarly, I don’t most of the songs used in the Shining were meant to be creepy, but I still carry that association. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/36 "2020-11-10T23:23:43Z")
Stanley Kubrick did this in just about every movie he ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/37 "2020-11-11T00:02:00Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t know if this is what the OP is looking for, but > In the horror movie _1408_ (based on the Stephen King short story), the radio keeps playing _We’ve Only Just Begun_ by the Carpenters. It’s a song about the promise of a new love, but in this context it’s a way for the hotel room to screw with the protagonist. It’s a threat of things to come. Great one! And that song is now completely associated with horrific mind-fuckery to me because of that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/38 "2020-11-11T12:02:43Z")
Tubular Bells is now associated with The Exorcist. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/39 "2020-11-11T13:44:35Z")
IMO, doesn’t fit the criteria as the song’s use isn’t different from the intent, which is a progressive rock piece with no clear intent other than being a musical piece. It would fit the criteria if it was originally intended, for example use in a comedic or romantic movie. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185/40 "2020-11-11T13:54:08Z")
It’s not uncommon for cheerful songs to be used ironically over scenes of horrifying violence, as for example _Singin’ in the Rain_ during the rape scene in _Clockwork Orange_ or _Stuck in the Middle with You_ during the ear-cutting song in _Reservoir Dogs._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-used-in-a-context-thats-different-from-the-intent-of-the-song/925185.md?page=3)