# Songs you liked less when you found out what they were really about **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 16, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464 "2010-06-16T20:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/41 "2010-06-17T18:04:13Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That honestly sounds too ridiculous for words. Plus, the claim was made by their drummer, so he was probably just fucking with people. Yeah, it sounds like he was just talking shit to be funny. Unless “So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits.” is really supposed to mean, “don’t leave the placenta behind.” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/42 "2010-06-17T18:21:32Z")
I still enjoy Benny Mardones’ “Into the Night” quite a bit … but I wish he’d used some other opening line in place of “_She’s just sixteen years old_”. Mardones [has explained it away](http://realityisland.8.forumer.com/a/the-story-behind-the-song_post377.html) … but I dunno: > [@](#): > > \*Here’s what Benny himself says about that song: \* > There was a girl in my building in Spanish Harlem whose father ran out on her and her family. I felt so bad for her that I hired her to walk my dog. She came into my apartment early one morning and Bobby Tepper and I had been up all night writing songs. She was all dressed up and was one of the most beautiful sixteen-year-old girls you’ve ever seen. When she left with the dog, Bobby said “Oh my word,” and I replied “She’s Just 16 years old, Leave her alone.” And Thus a classic was born. It was originally called “She’s Just 16 years Old” until someone at the record company said don’t you think you should call it “Into The Night?” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/43 "2010-06-17T18:37:45Z")
Yeah, I don’t think that explanation really cuts it either… Too bad, it was a catchy song. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/44 "2010-06-17T18:48:15Z")
> [@](#): > > The a friend told me that it’s actually about a girl who’s a real fuck-machine, I mean: morning, noon, and night, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > That’s a lot of dicks. Or one dick seven times. I always thought Every _Breath You Take_ was about dedication. Turns out it was, only it was dedication to stalking. It only changed my liking of the song a little bit though. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/45 "2010-06-17T18:50:54Z")
For me, it’s when the artist comes out of the closet and you wonder if he/she is singing the song to their lover. Freddie Jackson’s “You Are My Lady” comes to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/46 "2010-06-17T19:20:55Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That honestly sounds too ridiculous for words. Plus, the claim was made by their drummer, so he was probably just fucking with people. > > [Closing Time (Semisonic song) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_Time_(Semisonic_song)) Here’s a video of singer/guitarist Dan Wilson explaining the meaning of the song. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/niz9FtJIB2Y/hqdefault.jpg "Closing Time - Dan Wilson, w/ Funny Story at College Reunion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niz9FtJIB2Y) ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/47 "2010-06-17T19:34:55Z")
I don’t know if this is what the song is actually about but I can no longer listen to John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good” without thinking about butt sex. “Sometimes love don’t feel like it should!” ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/48 "2010-06-17T19:47:55Z")
The Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby”. I never listened too deeply to the words; on the surface it sounded like it was about a lover’s quarrel and the makeup. Then one day I really listened to the words and realized the schmuck was singing about his car being insulted and a race. Good God! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/49 "2010-06-17T20:28:37Z")
I used to laugh at the Beatles’ “Drive my Car” because it seemed like it was full of unintentional sexual innuendo. Then I figured out most of the innuendo was intentional and it was no longer as fun to laugh at. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/50 "2010-06-17T20:29:53Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I don’t know if this is what the song is actually about but I can no longer listen to John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good” without thinking about butt sex. > > “Sometimes love don’t feel like it should!” A friend of mine made a mashup of this and the Eddie Murphy song so it literally did say “Sometimes love don’t feel like it should – IN YOUR BUTT!” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/51 "2010-06-17T20:36:57Z")
It was quite the buzzkill for me to find out that the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for My Man” was about a minster’s family adopting a kitten . . . ---
**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:** [June 17, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/52 "2010-06-17T20:44:03Z")
I still like Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion,” but somehow it seems a little less serious (though more amusing) when you find out it’s about a Chinese chicken-and-egg dish… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/53 "2010-06-17T20:44:54Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Here’s a video of singer/guitarist Dan Wilson explaining the meaning of the song. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niz9FtJIB2Y&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niz9FtJIB2Y&feature=related) That’s actually pretty interesting. And (geek moment) he is playing a very cool vintage Gibson SJ acoustic. WANT! ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/54 "2010-06-17T20:46:50Z")
As a young and intolerant teen I went off **Lol** a by **The Kinks** when found out it was about a transvestite. Love the song now though! If Y **ou Oughta Know** isn’t about the Ful House guy I’m very, very glad! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/55 "2010-06-17T20:53:04Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > It was quite the buzzkill for me to find out that the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for My Man” was about a minster’s family adopting a kitten . . . Going for the funny, eh? Yes, sometimes songs about trying to score drugs in Harlem are about…trying to score drugs in Harlem. So it goes. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/56 "2010-06-17T21:33:18Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Here’s a video of singer/guitarist Dan Wilson explaining the meaning of the song. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niz9FtJIB2Y&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niz9FtJIB2Y&feature=related) I have nothing against him writing a song about his baby being born, but Jesus, that is so lame. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/57 "2010-06-17T22:23:39Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I used to think “Like a Virgin” was about a sensitive girl who meets a nice guy and falls in love. > > The a friend told me that it’s actually about a girl who’s a real fuck-machine, I mean: morning, noon, and night, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick. > Then she meets this John Holmes Motherfucker. This guy is like Charles Bronson in _The Great Escape_, he’s digging tunnels. All of the sudden she’s feeling things she ain’t felt since forever: Pain. When this cat fucks her it hurts. It shouldn’t hurt, because of all the fucking she’s been doing, but it hurts. It hurts just like it did the first time. The pain is reminding a fuck-machine what it once felt like to be a virgin. Hence, “Like a Virgin”. That interpretaion is from the movie Reservoir Dogs, Tarentino doing the dialog. AFAIK, this is not verifiably the correct interpretation, just movie dialog. The [wiki entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_a_Virgin_%28song%29) says the lyrics are intentionally ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/58 "2010-06-18T03:30:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Going for the funny, eh? > > Yes, sometimes songs about trying to score drugs in Harlem are about…trying to score drugs in Harlem. So it goes. Okay, I admit it, I made part of that up . . . ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/59 "2010-06-18T09:50:00Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I never paid enough attention to the lyrics to try to parse them out - it was just a fun-groove song with a non-standard time (what is it 5/4? 7/8?) that had cool guitar parts. Then someone pointed out the lyrics. :eek: Dang…I’m so old…😃 Now, I’ve always understood the lyrics but… I always thought the lyrics were metaphorical and that they meant le petite mort. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464/60 "2010-06-18T11:51:51Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > If Y **ou Oughta Know** isn’t about the Ful House guy I’m very, very glad! 😃 I think it is. Alanis Morisette and Dave Coulier started dating when she was 19 and he was 33. It was likely her first “adult” relationship and he apparently treated her pretty shitty. She probably thought “he oughta know” better. Of course, when the same thing happened a decade later with Ryan Reynolds, he got off pretty light. The songs on Flavors of Entanglement are obviously about him, but nothing quite so bad as “Are you thinking of me when you fuck her?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-liked-less-when-you-found-out-what-they-were-really-about/543464.md?page=2)