# Songs where the meaning is completely obvious **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 14, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683 "2021-08-14T21:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/41 "2021-08-15T21:54:24Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > a little boy “Jackie _ **Paper** _?” ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/42 "2021-08-16T01:10:45Z")
Every Steely Dan song, since they’re all about drugs? ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/43 "2021-08-16T01:53:01Z")
I know there’s lots of strained metaphors in pop songs - “Killing Me Softly With His Song”; no, that won’t happen. Here’s one called “I’m Drowning” that isn’t metaphorical. It’s about a guy in a boat that sinks. Cheerful even so. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fhV5nN4s990/hqdefault.jpg "The Leopards - I'm Drowning (1987)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhV5nN4s990) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/44 "2021-08-16T03:04:23Z")
There’s no real subtlety in the Divinyls’ _I Touch Myself_ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/45 "2021-08-16T03:07:00Z")
“It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube. He had a good day winning money, smoking weed and having sex (and no one died). ---
**Author:** ![Bicycle\_Bill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bicycle_bill/32/6208_2.png) [@Bicycle\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bicycle_Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/46 "2021-08-16T03:43:50Z")
saucywench mentioned Jimmy Buffett and _‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’_ as well as _‘Margaritaville’_. But for sheer, in-your-face, no-two-ways-about-it lyrics, it’s difficult to top his so-called _“love song from a slightly different point of view”_ entitled _ **’Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw?'** _ _ **-“BB”-** _ ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/47 "2021-08-16T18:01:26Z")
Yeah, ol’ Jimmy doesn’t beat around the bush. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/48 "2021-08-16T18:29:25Z")
Yeah, I have a feeling that just before the last band member dies there will be a press release saying, “Of COURSE the song was about smoking something. Opium, pot, you decide. I can’t believe you took our denials seriously.” ---
**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 16, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/49 "2021-08-16T18:38:23Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > “Of COURSE the song was about smoking something. Only if you ignore every lyric except the title. It’s about growing up and the loss of childhood. I really don’t see how ANY line supports it being about pot. Seriously - go look at them. Tell me how they are secret code for drugs. A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys I guess that means Jackie went on to hard drugs like heroin? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/50 "2021-08-16T18:40:50Z")
Besides which, it’s not like Peter, Paul, and Mary made a secret of their drug use. Why would they lie about it? ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/51 "2021-08-16T18:42:43Z")
Whoa oh oh, woah oh oh, I love sangria wine Whoa oh oh, woah oh oh, I love sangria wine Sangria Wine - Jerry Jeff Walker [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SMXuq83XAxw/maxresdefault.jpg "Sangria Wine (Live In Luckenbach, TX/1973)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMXuq83XAxw) In Texas on a Saturday night Everclear is added to the wine sometimes Some nachos, burritos and tacos you know Here’s how it usually goes, it goes… Is anybody goin’ to San Antone Or Phoenix, Arizona? Any place is all right as long as I Don’t have to go to Waco (kidding!) I want a W.A.B.A.C. machine! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/52 "2021-08-16T18:43:09Z")
“Story songs” usually have obvious meanings. Examples include: **Gimme Three Steps** by _Lynyrd Skynyrd_ **Uneasy Rider** by _Charlie Daniels_ ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/53 "2021-08-16T18:48:25Z")
Following “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw” and “Sangria Wine” you eventually arrive at “Too Drunk To Fuck”, pretty straightforward lyrics there. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/54 "2021-08-16T18:49:13Z")
Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VMnjF1O4eH0/hqdefault.jpg "Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnjF1O4eH0) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/55 "2021-08-16T18:51:49Z")
David Allan Coe didn’t beat around the bush when he titled the song _Now there’s cum stains on the pillow Where she once laid her head_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/56 "2021-08-16T18:54:14Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Only if you ignore every lyric except the title. There’s the fact that the two characters in the song are named Puff and Paper. I’m not saying the song is about marijuana. But it does appear to reference marijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/57 "2021-08-16T18:58:24Z")
‘Riding the dragon’ or ‘chasing the dragon’ is a euphemism for smoking Opium. The dragon’s name was Puff. The little boy was Jackie Paper. It may very well be just a story about a little boy and his childish imagination, but the drug imagery is hard to avoid, and it was common at the time for artists to sneak drug imagery into their songs. Noel “Paul” Stookey was an acquaintance a couple of decades ago and we chatted on the phone a few times. I wish I had asked him about it - but he probably would have denied it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/58 "2021-08-16T19:04:23Z")
From around that same time, “Heroin” by the Velvet Underground had some subtle drug imagery. ---
**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 16, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/59 "2021-08-16T19:11:15Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The little boy was Jackie Paper. Was his middle name “Rolling”? > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > but the drug imagery is hard to avoid, Show me. [Show how the lyrics secretly mean drugs.](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/peterpaulandmary/puffthemagicdragon.html) I’ll wait. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > it was common at the time for artists to sneak drug imagery into their songs. No kidding! I’ve often said about rock lyrics, “If you don’t know what it is about, it’s about drugs (or sex).” Puff is not one of those songs. Its meaning is clear. And 25 or 6 to 4 isn’t about drugs, either. Nor Louie Louie. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683/60 "2021-08-16T19:16:18Z")
“Peaches”, I think the band just like peaches a lot: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvAnQqVJ3XQ) “Boys Boys Boys” (NSFW-ish). Buxom singer likes boys: [Sabrina Salerno - Boys - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwyL5BzC1Lg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-where-the-meaning-is-completely-obvious/948683.md?page=4)