# Songs you insist have a different meaning than the writer claims **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 26, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725 "2023-11-26T16:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/1 "2023-11-26T16:49:35Z")
As an example, Paul McCartney wrote “Hey Jude” to comfort Julian Lennon during his parents’ divorce. However, John Lennon thought the song was about himself and Paul wrote it to comfort **him** for being the “Judas” and divorcing Cynthia. I’ll start with _Angie Baby_. The writer insists that yes Angie is a witch and shrunk the neighbor boy. He’s wrong. Neighbor Boy tried to assault Angie and she killed him and buried him in the backyard. The whole thing about the radio is a reality she has made up because she is crazy AF. _Horse With No Name_ and the _H.R. Pufnstuf Theme_ are both about using heroin. Riding a “horse” across the desert? Doesn’t even make sense but being high on “horse” does when you listen to the lyrics. As for HR (HeRoin), The magic flute? His heroin pipe. > H.R. Pufnstuf > Who’s your friend when things get rough? > H.R. Pufnstuf > Can’t do a little 'cause he can’t do enough OMG that is crying out to be recognized as heroin and drug addiction. Sara Bareilles’ _Gravity_. She says it’s about a crush she had on a boy in the 7th grade. Those ain’t the lyrics you think of when remembering your middle-school puppy love. Mia Michaels got it right - it’s about addiction. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/2 "2023-11-26T17:31:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I’ll start with _Angie Baby_. The writer insists that yes Angie is a witch and shrunk the neighbor boy. Seriously? [does research. You’re right!] Well, he’s wrong. But A Horse With No Name is just a song about the desert and the earth and environmentalism. Sometimes a horse is just a horse. And N B4 the inevitable, Puff the Magic Dragon is about lost innocence and growing up, not marijawanna. ---
**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 26, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/3 "2023-11-26T17:47:55Z")
Roger Waters can keep telling us that Comfortably Numb is about not feeling well before going on stage and a doctor giving him some tranquilizers, but in my mind, it’ll always be about heroin. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And N B4 the inevitable, Puff the Magic Dragon is about lost innocence and growing up, not marijawanna. Not marijuana, heroin. “Chasing the dragon” is a heroin/opiate thing. (It could be done with marijuana/hash, but in general, it’s referring to heroin, at least that’s always been my understanding) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/4 "2023-11-26T17:49:38Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > But A Horse With No Name is just a song about the desert and the earth and environmentalism. Sometimes a horse is just a horse. And sometimes is the black-tar sugar. > In the desert you can’t remember your name > 'Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain Cause you’re high off that skag. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The writer insists that yes Angie is a witch and shrunk the neighbor boy. Cite is [here](https://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2009/12/angie-baby-story-behind-song.html). > Without quoting the lyric further here, let me say that in my mind, as the writer, I knew exactly what happened to this horny little pervert! Angie, it turns out, had more power than he or the listener expected; she literally shrank him down into her radio, where he remained as her slave whenever she desired him to come out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/5 "2023-11-26T17:53:19Z")
_Turning Japanese_ by The Vapors - the rumors were out immediately that it was about masturbation. The writer, (from Wikipedia) > [@](#): > > According to songwriter David Fenton, “Turning Japanese is all the clichés about angst and youth and turning into something you didn’t expect.” Yeah, while petting the porpoise. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/6 "2023-11-26T18:44:18Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > And N B4 the inevitable, Puff the Magic Dragon is about lost innocence and growing up, not marijawanna. > > Not marijuana, heroin. “Chasing the dragon” is a heroin/opiate thing. (It could be done with marijuana/hash, but in general, it’s referring to heroin, at least that’s always been my understanding) I’m not the expert on drug references, but I always heard that it was supposedly a reference to marjuana, that being the drug that is canonically smoked (“puff the magic drag in”). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/7 "2023-11-26T18:53:23Z")
Dude, chill. H.R Pufnstuf if about puffin’ the green stuff. The magic flute is a bong, not a heroin pipe. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/8 "2023-11-26T20:23:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Not marijuana, heroin. “Chasing the dragon” is a heroin/opiate thing. (It could be done with marijuana/hash, but in general, it’s referring to heroin, at least that’s always been my understanding) They’re all about heroin. The only song that isn’t about heroin is this one: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G7Ch4O7wmuY/hqdefault.jpg "Lou Reed - Heroin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Ch4O7wmuY) ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/9 "2023-11-27T15:41:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, he’s wrong. I thought about what I posted and remembered, “Didn’t I post on this subject before”? yes I did! In 2019. > [@Listening to old songs only serves to cause confusion.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/18): > > I love Angie Baby. > > Did she really have magical powers and shrink that neighbor boy and hide him in the radio, or did she just murder him and keep his dead body in her room? I like it either way. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/10 "2023-11-27T15:45:03Z")
As a wanna be songwriter, I deny that the writer has a monopoly on meaning. Just because I wrote the song and it means something to me doesn’t mean I should impose my interpretation on everyone else. Others’ interpretations are just as valid. Melanie Safka said she did not intend “Brand New Key” to be about sexual intercourse and I believe her. That doesn’t mean it isn’t. It obviously is. The only exception to this rule is when you think a song is about drugs. Assuming everything you don’t understand is about drugs is just lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/11 "2023-11-27T15:46:25Z")
I’m going with De Niro on this one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_LNA5SvbzqI/maxresdefault.jpg "Puff the Magic Dragon (Meet the Parents)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LNA5SvbzqI) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/12 "2023-11-27T15:51:20Z")
Can we just agree that every song ever written is about drugs? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/13 "2023-11-27T16:24:59Z")
I don’t think Alex Wilder ever confirmed whether he intended the double entendre in [these lyrics](https://genius.com/Frank-sinatra-south-to-a-warmer-place-lyrics). [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4kDqz-OYh1g/maxresdefault.jpg "Frank Sinatra - South - to a warmer place") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kDqz-OYh1g) ---
**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 27, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/14 "2023-11-27T18:21:49Z")
I always thought that the Byrds’ “Chestnut Mare” is about a sex. “She’ll be just like a wife” gives it away, and lines like “I land right on top of her” and “and she takes off runnin’.” She’s spooked by a snake (phallic), then there’s a section where they’re flying and land in a splash of liquid. There’s just too many ways the metaphor fits to make it just coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/15 "2023-11-27T18:52:51Z")
Interesting thought about “Chestnut Mare”, I’ve never thought about it, as a (former) horse rider myself I always took it literally, as describing the joys of being in full flight on a horse. A horse song that that surely is all about sex though is “New Pony” by Bob Dylan. _I got a new pony_ _She knows how to fox-trot, lope and pace_ _(How much longer?)_ _Well, I got a new pony_ _She knows how to fox-trot, lope and pace_ _(How much longer?)_ _She got great big hind legs_ _Long black shaggy hair hanging in her face_ _(How much, how much?)_ _(How much longer?)_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Iu-s6aBDzUE/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - New Pony (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu-s6aBDzUE) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/16 "2023-11-27T19:47:36Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > as describing the joys of being in full flight on a horse. In a desert? High on heroin? Wait, wrong song. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/17 "2023-11-27T20:17:59Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Can we just agree that every song ever written is about drugs? No because half are about sex. Sex? Drugs? Rock and roll! ---
**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:** [November 27, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/18 "2023-11-27T20:23:15Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > In a desert? > High on heroin? > Wait, wrong song. See, AHWNN is about sex, not drugs. The desert is his sexual drought. Could be years, but with young people it could be a week. Still, a desert. “No pain” is relationship angst. Controlling women, Whatever. His “skin began to turn red” from, er, beating his meat. His river bed than went dry was his penis. Sad. Very sad. After “nine days” he got laid. And the rest of the lyrics, that don’t apply to sex? Well, they don’t apply to heroin, either, but that doesn’t stop anyone, ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/19 "2023-11-28T12:28:52Z")
As a musician who has written songs and worked with many songwriters: 99% of lyrics are about sounding cool. Looking for deep and/or hidden meanings in rock lyrics is, frankly, a complete waste of time. The words are meant to evoke a mood, a feeling. There’s very little actual information in any set of lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725/20 "2023-11-28T12:46:47Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > As a musician who has written songs and worked with many songwriters: 99% of lyrics are about sounding cool. Or maybe you’re biased because that’s the way you work or that’s what’s true about the kind of music you like to listen to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-insist-have-a-different-meaning-than-the-writer-claims/993725.md?page=2)