# THAT's what that song is about?! D'oh! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691 "2008-09-08T22:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/21 "2008-09-09T04:10:26Z")
I don’t think anyone twigged to this on their own, but Paul McCartney recently revealed that the “you” in “Got to Get You Into My Life” is marijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/22 "2008-09-09T04:37:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Not even once, in the 60s, for twenty minutes. [I don’t think so.](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/duranduran/rio.html) > > And from Wiki: Hmm. Perhaps I was lied to. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/23 "2008-09-09T05:16:31Z")
For a long time, I had no idea that George Harrison’s “Crackerbox Palace” was a tribute to George’s favorite comedian, Lord Buckley by name. Lord Buckley lived in a house he referred to as Crackerbox Palace. I’d always thought that last line about “Know that the Lord is well and inside of you” meant God or Jesus is inside us. Nope. It was Lord Buckley who was alive and well inside his house. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/24 "2008-09-09T06:56:39Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > It took me awhile to figure out what “Scarborough Fair” was about as well. I only got that earlier this year when I went looking for the lyrics. I don’t have any other examples of this for you, but I’ll think on it some. > > Since you brought it up, I wanted to pass on this great Youtube clip I found of Simon & Garfunkel appearing on (what I suppose is) the Andy Williams show. A wonderful performance. It’s almost as odd as the Bing Crosby/David Bowie pairing on “The Little Drummer Boy”. . .and, perhaps, even better in the result. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt4HZ7AKp1s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt4HZ7AKp1s) Wow. How Beautiful! Hearing it with three voices is stunning.. (and I am the biggest S&G freak you’re likely to come across..) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/25 "2008-09-09T07:07:04Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > \*\*Come Out and Play \*\*by The Offspring is actually about gang violence in schools. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJQFf0qj9Nk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJQFf0qj9Nk) What else could you have possibly thought it was about 😕 That was obvious to me the first time I heard it and I was in middle school when it was released. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/26 "2008-09-09T07:26:36Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > ZZ Top’s “Pearl Necklace” and Andrew WK’s “It’s Time To Party” are both about pretty much the same thing. The former is a bit clever, the latter is pretty blunt and involves a group. > > I’d heard both songs many times before I figured them out. ZZ Top because I was young and Andrew WK because I just wasn’t listening carefully to some of the lyrics. I remember reading an interview with ZZ Top, where they stated that they write two kinds of songs - 1. songs about their dicks, and 2. songs about life, philosophy, technology, etc, and how they relate to their dicks. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 9, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/27 "2008-09-09T14:13:02Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Since you brought it up, I wanted to pass on this great Youtube clip I found of Simon & Garfunkel appearing on (what I suppose is) the Andy Williams show. A wonderful performance. It’s almost as odd as the Bing Crosby/David Bowie pairing on “The Little Drummer Boy”. . .and, perhaps, even better in the result. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt4HZ7AKp1s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt4HZ7AKp1s) Wow, so cool! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/28 "2008-09-09T15:22:24Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > Okay…now you tell me, cause i still think that! Oh…heroin, eh? I was thinking maybe scatological. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/29 "2008-09-09T15:25:41Z")
I have heard Heart’s [“Crazy On You”](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/heart/crazy-on-you.html) described as being about oral sex, and when I read the lyrics I see a few images that maybe could apply, but over all the song certainly doesn’t shout it out to me… ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/30 "2008-09-09T15:49:42Z")
> [@Tamara+](#): > > Okay…now you tell me, cause i still think that! Well, the part I didn’t realize was that the women in question were slaves and prostitutes, not just ordinary black girls. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/31 "2008-09-09T16:01:33Z")
I didn’t know [There she goes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_She_Goes)by the Las was about heroin until Colin Murray said so on Radio 1. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/32 "2008-09-09T16:19:37Z")
When I opened this thread, I was curious to see how many of the responses were going to be “Song X was about heroin!” 😛 On the other hand, “Heroin” by the Velvet Underground was actually about bowling. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/33 "2008-09-09T16:26:47Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > I didn’t know [There she goes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_She_Goes)by the Las was about heroin until Colin Murray said so on Radio 1. Not buying it. Some of the La’s have either denied the rumor, or said that they were unaware of that meaning. It seems that any song with the word “vein” is susceptible to that interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/34 "2008-09-09T17:58:48Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not buying it. Some of the La’s have either denied the rumor, or said that they were unaware of that meaning. It seems that any song with the word “vein” is susceptible to that interpretation. You could very well be right, I’m not expert on this song by any stretch of the imagination (I just sing along to it). ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/35 "2008-09-09T18:09:36Z")
I’m not sure this fits with the rest of the thread, but I get really irritated when people talk about, “No Woman No Cry” as though the message were: If you don’t have a woman in your life you will be happy. Simply hearing to the song I thought that too, but, if you listen to the lyrics (e.g. Hey, little darlin’, don’t shed no tears.) it’s obvioulsy not misogynist. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/36 "2008-09-09T18:14:12Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Although I was always aware that the Stones’ “Brown Sugar” was not exactly PC, up until a couple of years ago I thought it was just about a guy who fancies young black girls. It’s not? Gulp. I thought _I_ was Brown Sugar… sigh. ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/37 "2008-09-09T18:17:22Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > What else could you have possibly thought it was about 😕 That was obvious to me the first time I heard it and I was in middle school when it was released. That’s exactly what I was thinking. We must be about the same age as well. I can’t for the life of me think of a different possible meaning for “Come Out and Play”. I’m surprised nobody has said “Afternoon Delight”. I suppose it’s obvious enough if you pay attention to the lyrics, but apparently I never did so, until the episode of _Arrested Development_ of the same name, in which pretty much everybody makes the same realization, just not necessarily at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/38 "2008-09-09T18:38:55Z")
> [@jali](#): > > It’s not? Gulp. I thought _I_ was Brown Sugar… sigh. Of course you are, darlin’. It’s just that the Micker has…ahh…_specialized_ tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/39 "2008-09-09T18:44:31Z")
_Only the good die young_ is about trying to talk a virgin into having sex _Sometimes I don’t mind_ by the Suicide Machines is about his dog _Love of my life_ by Erika Badu and Common is about their love for music, not a person ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691/40 "2008-09-09T18:48:24Z")
> [@bufftabby](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has said “Afternoon Delight”. I suppose it’s obvious enough if you pay attention to the lyrics, but apparently I never did so, until the episode of _Arrested Development_ of the same name, in which pretty much everybody makes the same realization, just not necessarily at the same time. That’s another one I grew up with and never questioned. Of course I wasn’t familiar with the term. My parents always worried about us asking what “Don’t go Home With Your Hard-On” means but we were little and unfamiliar with the term, and I probably thought he was saying “heart”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-what-that-song-is-about-doh/462691.md?page=3)