# Songs you thought were about one thing but actually weren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131 "2003-09-12T04:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/41 "2003-09-13T19:54:06Z")
Sting has said several things about the song, but one thing always holds true–it’s not a love song. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/42 "2003-09-13T20:11:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*“When I Was a Boy” is the title of Jane’s album; I think Williams’s song title was a tribute. \*\* Actually, when I heard Jane on CBC radio, she said it was the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/43 "2003-09-13T20:16:24Z")
Attention, K-Tel shoopers ,I just googled, and I have my head up my ass. I repeat, it is official; **I have my head up my ass.** It must have been Dar I heard, citing Siberry’s influence. ---
**Author:** ![RahRahMah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@RahRahMah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RahRahMah)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/44 "2003-09-13T20:56:25Z")
I remember when Semi-Charmed Kinda Life by Third Eye Blind came out I got it right away and I was in grade 6, but do you know how many times I’ve been caught off gaurd by songs that are secretly about masturbation!? Man, oh man! An ironic sort of story: When I was in elementary school, a christion one, we used to have morning “devotionals”. Well this was grade 7 so the teacher thought he would be hip and bring in some rock music. He brought in U2’s “Still Havn’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Then he went off on how you may never be able to find what you want in a lover or another person, but God will always be what you want, blah blah blah. And I’m sitting there squirming because: the song is about being unable to find God. I never said anything out of respect for the teacher, whom I liked. But obviously he’s never seen Pop Up Video. ---
**Author:** ![Winterwren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Winterwren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winterwren)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/45 "2003-09-14T01:03:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\ ***Apos** , I think you’re thinking of _Paradise By the Dashboard Lights_. I hope nobody really thinks that’s a love song. \*\* My friends who play in wedding bands assure me that it’s a very popular song at wedding receptions. _And so I’m praying for the end of time/so I can end my time with you… It was long ago, and it was far away/and it was so much better than it is today. . ._ Yeah, right. That’s exactly the sentiment I want at my wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Winterwren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Winterwren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winterwren)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/46 "2003-09-14T01:07:59Z")
And of course, there’s Sarah McLaughlin’s “Possession” – which far too many people think is about an intense love song, and is her trying to get into the head of a stalker: _And I would be the one to hold you down/Kisses so hard/they take your breath away. . ._, if memory serves. (There’s something about stalker songs that seems to have to do with controlling someone else’s breath a lot. This is not a cheerful theme, least of all to an asthmatic person.) ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/47 "2003-09-14T01:18:42Z")
This thread reminds me of something that’s been in the back of my mind for a while now. A former friend used to insist that Sarah McLachlan’s **Shelter** is an anti-abortion song, and laughed at those (he particularly cited “feminists”) who take it as a song against homelessness. Here’s a _portion_ of the lyrics… > [@](#): > > They’re crowded into the smallest spaces > While outside all of nature cries > It’s known to be cruel and unfair > But there is no place to hide… > > Oh I’ve seen a part of people that I never really want to share > Oh I’ve seen a part of people that I never knew was there… > > I can’t sleep haunted by their faces > The sadness in their eyes > It hurts so much to see them helpless > It makes me want to cry > But still there is so much left unanswered > For so many innocent lives > They close the doors and are letting nobody in > And only the strong will survive… > > I’ve seen the anger and I’ve seen all the dreams > And I’ve watched an existance torn apart at the seams… Now I can see how he might think that, given some of the lyrics cited above, but if so, why did the Lilith Fair include Planned Parenthood as one of the recipients of its donations? Anyone want to clue me in? ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/48 "2003-09-14T01:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*Urk, I meant “Alison.” Apparently my aim is not true. \*\* You have forgotten the face of your Elvis.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kobaltblu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/77aa72/32.png) [@Kobaltblu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobaltblu)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/49 "2003-09-14T15:21:31Z")
I don’t know what it is, whether it’s concentrating on the melody, or that most modern singers don’t sing clearly enough, but this particular thing seems to happen to me frequently. It’s one of the reasons why I read album reviews. Otherwise I’d rather ignore them. I had had Dido’s album for a while, and liked the song “Isobel” thinking it was about someone concerned for a friend who’d run away after a bad relationship, but after reading a review, realized it was about a woman who’s friend had an abortion, and may have gone off to commit suicide afterwards. It made the song even more haunting. The thing that frustrated me was how obvious the subject was in the lyrics. **Isobel** I thought it was funny when you missed the train When I rang you at home they said you’d left yesterday I thought it was strange when your car was found By the tree in Ennis where we used to hang around Dear Isobel, I hope you’re well and what you’ve done is right Oh it’s been such hell, I wish you well, I hope you’re safe tonight It’s been a long day coming and long will it last When it’s last day leaving, and I’m helping it pass By loving you more. And who he would become, all the things he’d have done Would he have loved you and not let you down And would he be stronger than his father Don’t punish yourself, leave it well alone Dear Isobel, I hope you’re well and what you’ve done is right Oh it’s been such hell, I wish you well, I hope you’re safe tonight It’s been a long day coming and long will it last When it’s last day leaving, and I’m helping it pass By loving you more ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/50 "2003-09-14T15:34:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by troub \* > \*\*When I was kid, my dad and I would listen to ZZ Top (either albums or on the radio), and I never though twice about the song [“Pearl Necklace.”](http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~harel/cgi/page/htmlit?Pearl_Necklace.html) Now, thanks to more “worldly experience” and of course, internet porn, I’m sure it’s about something entirely different altogether :D. \*\* I read an interview once (Rolling Stone?) where ZZ Top stated that most of their songs are either about: 1. Their dicks, or 2. Life, society, technology, philosophy, and how they relate to … their dicks. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/51 "2003-09-14T15:50:02Z")
For years I thought the Beatles song Take the back right turn was about needing to pay close attention to directions so you don’t get lost. I was surprised to finally discover the title was really Paperback Writer. The lyrics finally did make sense, though. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/52 "2003-09-14T20:39:34Z")
I thought “Cracklin’ Rosie” was about a prostitute ("Store-bought woman and all) but instead it’s evidently about the cheap pink wine like my mother drinks. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131/53 "2003-09-14T21:43:25Z")
Follow Me by uncle kracker. So many people I know think it’s a love song when it’s about a woman cheating on her husband. To make it even worse is he takes zero credit for the affair and there’s an implied threat he’ll dump her if she wants anything more serious. Losing my Religion by REM. I had no idea it was about a secret crush but it makes sense now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-thought-were-about-one-thing-but-actually-werent/201131.md?page=2)