# Songs whose meaning changes WITHIN the song. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220 "2008-10-23T16:16:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 24, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/21 "2008-10-24T03:00:21Z")
Elvis Costello’s [“God’s Comic”](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/God's-Comic-lyrics-Elvis-Costello/1905EF78943ECD29482568B000052BEE) and Jim Stafford’s [“My Girl, Bill”](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/jim-stafford-my-girl-bill-lyrics.html) both change the meaning of their titles midway through the song. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/22 "2008-10-24T03:46:46Z")
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ _Dani California_ features the term “simultaneous release” at four or five different points, each time meaning something different (Sexual release, release from prison, a suicide pact the guy chickens out on, etc). I may be reading too much into it, though. ---
**Author:** ![JHE1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/23 "2008-10-24T04:07:44Z")
Wilco - She’s a Jar. I don’t want to spoil it for those that haven’t heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/24 "2008-10-24T05:22:33Z")
At first, Everclear’s _Pale Green Stars_ seems to be about a girl and her growing pains. As the song goes on, the real meaning becomes clear… > [@](#): > > Scared little girl watching Aladdin on TV > Amanda always cries when you yell at me > Yeah, please dont yell at me > > Climb up all the stairs, close the door > Doesnt want to hear us fighting anymore > Yeah, better call it a day ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/25 "2008-10-24T13:31:50Z")
> [@Mbossa](#): > > At first, Everclear’s _Pale Green Stars_ seems to be about a girl and her growing pains. As the song goes on, the real meaning becomes clear… So your first instinct to an Everclear song was that it _wasn’t_ about marital strife or divorce? I love me some Everclear, but 95% of Art Alexakis’ output is him dealing with his parent’s divorce when he was 5 or his own multiple divorces as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/26 "2008-10-24T13:52:49Z")
Gotta boogie! (Gotta boogie) I said boogie! (Gotta boogie) I gotta boogie! (Gotta boogie) Gotta boogie on my finger, And I can’t shake it off. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/27 "2008-10-24T14:38:50Z")
“Good Life” by Francis Dunnery. Begins by talking about a breakup, where the singer has found love again, while his ex is struggling to move on. The singer is just hoping that his ex eventually finds happiness. In the second verse, the singer’s marriage is still going strong, and the ex has just begun to find love again. By the end of the song, the singer’s marriage has ended, while the ex has the life the singer wishes he had, and he intimates that he screwed up and never should have broken up with her in the first place. The arc doesn’t follow where I expected it to go. The first few verses resonated very much with me after I broke up with my longtime college girlfriend. I ended up getting married within a year, while she was in and out of a poor relationship. (though she’s married now too). Then the third verse came, and I thought “Dear lord I sure hope this isn’t what my life ends up being about.” It was kind of a shock when I first heard the whole song. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/28 "2008-10-24T14:39:44Z")
Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” is about him trying to find the phone number to return the call from his sweet Marie. You probably change your thinking about their relationship when you find out she’s only six. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/29 "2008-10-24T14:47:29Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” is about him trying to find the phone number to return the call from his sweet Marie. You probably change your thinking about their relationship when you find out she’s only six. Gilbert O’Sullivan’s ‘Clare’ and Brotherhood of Man’s ‘Kisses for Me’ - same ‘shock’ ending.😉 ---
**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:** [October 24, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/30 "2008-10-24T15:50:28Z")
Basia (a Euro-jazz-pop singer) has a song called “How Dare You (Talk To Me Like That)”. In it, she describes her relationship with her boyfriend: > [@](#): > > So now you think I’m yours > and you don’t have to try. > Seems nothing I do is right. By the last chorus, it’s become > [@](#): > > So now you think I’m yours > and you don’t have to try. > Seems nothing _you_ do is right. This is seriously one of my favorite “Kiss off” songs. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/31 "2008-10-24T16:07:26Z")
[Someone Else’s Story](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/chess-someone-else-s-story-lyrics.html) from “Chess.” I could leave you and you wouldn’t care, but in the end I’m me so I won’t. ---
**Author:** ![WPA-Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WPA-Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WPA-Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/32 "2008-10-24T16:31:37Z")
At the beginning: _Jesse, I won’t cut fresh flowers for you Jesse, I won’t make the wine cold for you Jesse, I won’t change the sheets for you I won’t put on cologne I won’t sit by the phone for you_ The last chorus: _Jesse, I’ll always cut fresh flowers for you Jesse, I’ll always make the wine cold for you Jesse, I will change the sheets for you Put on cologne And I will wait by the phone for you - Oh Jesse!_ ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/33 "2008-10-24T16:35:12Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” is about him trying to find the phone number to return the call from his sweet Marie. You probably change your thinking about their relationship when you find out she’s only six. you seem to be implying that the speaker in “Memphis” is a pedophile. He’s not; he’s a father who wants to see his daughter but is prevented by her mother, who is his ex. If pedophilia not what you meant to imply, I apologize for thinking ill of you. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/34 "2008-10-24T17:01:31Z")
Assemblage 23’s [“Let Me Be Your Armor”](http://assemblage23.com/addlyr.html#armor) starts out as the typical “let me take care of you” love song: _Let me take the fall Let me take the blame Let me carry you from hell To home again._ But as the song progresses to the end, the message changes: _Let me stifle you Let me have control Let me smother Every aspect of your soul_ Very creepy song. I love it (as I do most of A23’s stuff). ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/35 "2008-10-24T18:26:26Z")
The ultimate…“Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.” ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/36 "2008-10-24T18:45:02Z")
\*St. James Infirmary Blues \*begins as a lament for the singer’s dead girl friend, but by the end is a complaint that she never appreciated him. \*Poor Judd Is Dead \*(from **Oklahoma !** ) begins as a paen to good old Judd and ends by describing what a creep he was. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/37 "2008-10-25T02:44:55Z")
In the 1929 song “Mean to Me” by Fred Ahlert and Roy Turk, the chorus, repeated several times, goes, _You’re mean to me Why must you be mean to me Gee honey it seems to me You love to see me crying._ Midway through, the meaning of “mean to me” changes: _It must be great fun to be mean to me You shouldn’t, for can’t you see What you mean to me?_ [Here’s](http://www.archive.org/download/1925-29-annetteHanshaw-51-60/AnnetteHanshaw-MeanToMe1929.mp3) a delightful recording of Annette Hanshaw singing it. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/38 "2008-10-25T02:52:06Z")
_“You Are My Sunshine”_. The first verse sounds wonderful. Then you learn the guy is all bummed out because his woman left him. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/39 "2008-10-25T09:02:20Z")
Speaking of Carly Simon, I always thought ‘You’re so Vain’ fits the bill. I mean, in the first verse, the guy is actually pretty vain. Who other than the truly vain wears an apricot scarf anyway? But then, he’s going to horse races and flying to Canada to watch eclipses. That’s not really all that vain; it’s just the kind of stuff rich people do. And then, we find out that guy is making time with his pals’ wives and hanging around with underworld spies. That’s not vanity, that’s just being a lowlife. ---
**Author:** ![G1llyB4tes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@G1llyB4tes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G1llyB4tes)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220/40 "2008-10-25T12:01:36Z")
‘My girl Bill’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-whose-meaning-changes-within-the-song/469220.md?page=3)