Far too many to list, but here’s a few songs.
The Land Down Under - Yeesh, and you thought Bruce Springsteen had it bad…anyway, this is not, repeat, NOT in any way patriotic. It’s a protest song about the crass appropriation of Austrailian culture by outsiders (something the music video makes clear). Anyone who sings this as sort of a tribute to the land down under isn’t quite getting the point.
Coming in the Air Tonight - As Phil Collins himself stated, this song is just a bunch of unpleasant thoughts brought on by his recent divorce. There was no drowning person, no callous onlooker who refused to help, etc.
Everybody Have Fun Tonight - One of those songs that gets played at sporting events way too much. Hey, Everybody…the band is singing about ITSELF, not simply having a good time. Just a simple piece of self-promotion (which apparently worked like a charm).
Dry Bones - Every time I’ve heard a snippet of this song played on TV, usually as a joke, the line “Now hear the word of the Lord” is invariably left out. No, this isn’t about anatomy, making the right connections, or whatever, it’s about a biblical prophet. Who’s instructed to connect long-dead bones. Which then walk around. You know, act of God? Omen?
Bohemian Rhapsody - A little reminder that the !!!ONLY!!! reason this 70’s song got so much play time in the 90’s was because it was in Wayne’s World (and they cut out more than half of it!). It’s not a happy, funny, or lively song and was never meant to be…it’s about a condemned prisoner lamenting fate, for crying out loud.
Mickey - Not a reference to Mickey Thompson, Dolenz, Rooney, Mantle, or Mouse. Honest.
We Didn’t Start the Fire - Written from the perspective of someone who’s absolutely disgusted by recent history. (The “fire”, BTW, is all the wrongs of the world…war, crime, political instability, repressive governments, and all those other things mentioned in the song…which everyone has to suffer through, even the ones not responsible.) Criminy, listen to the chorus sometime, people: “We didn’t start the fire / ** though we didn’t light it, but we’re trying to fight it**.” Pretty clear-cut to me.
And if I may add a TV show…
The Simpsons - The setting, people, and stoires have never struck me as even remotely realistic, and all the characters have gone through so many permutations that the sweeping generalizations made about the (e.g. Bart = the brat) are silly. What nobody seemed to realize is that this show isn’t about a real family, it’s about a PARODY of a real family. It uses many of the same sitcom elements as its supposed enemies like the Cosby Show, just a little differently. And there are many, many events which could not have taken place outside a cartoon.
Re: From a Distance. I never really liked this song too much, mainly because the message is so bland and the lyrics don’t really evoke anything meaningful. (God is watching us from a distance…wow, what a concept.). What I really think this is is an affirmation of the Christian love-thy-neighbor ethic. We’re supposed to look past our petty differences and accept each other as equals, because God does, and we are all created unto God…something like that. Again, not the most stirring message, but in the age of ethnic cleansing and politically expedient bombings, you take what you can get.