7 Famous Songs That Don't Mean What You Think

[KamaAina]

http://celebs.answers.com/music/7-famous-songs-that-dont-mean-what-you-think

Pop culture is rampant with myth. Sometimes, musicians in search of a fascinating rhyme or poem end up creating a work that becomes insanely popular but horribly misinterpreted. From a song about divorce that is now popular at weddings to a child's drawing made into a drug ballad by a popular legend, many hit songs mean something completely different from what public opinion would have you believe. Read on to find out just how wrong the urban legends can be.

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
If you think this song is about drugs, you are mistaken, at least, if you take John Lennon's word for it. The official Beatles story about this song does not mention drugs or anything remotely close. In fact, Lennon claimed that the song was inspired by a drawing his son created. The L, S, and D in the title were purely chance, the band has said, and the imagery in the song was based on Lennon's son's imagination. Of course, most people still believe the song is based on LSD, despite the official story....

Hotel California
Written in the era when rock and roll was thought to be satanic, Hotel California is thought to be a satanic song. According to the band, it isn't. The Eagles claim that they wrote Hotel California in response to their impression of life in Los Angeles' high society. They also claim that the song is a reflection of the excess in America, written in metaphor. Regardless, some people still postulate that playing it backwards reveals satanic imagery, so anything is possible....

Brown Sugar
Mick Jagger has openly admitted that he could not write this song again. It is just too rough for him. The Rolling Stones song is bizarrely popular, considering the topic it covers. Most people assume it is either about brown sugar, or about love for a black woman. That would be a stretch, however. The song is about a slave owner raping his underage slaves in the middle of the night. It is intense if you really pay attention to the lyrics, and more than a bit shocking.

edit: The Eagles? Satanic? And yeah, John, that's the ticket. Like my wife, Morgan Fairchild. Whom I've seen naked.

[hifiguy]

1. Lennon was BSing up a storm

The Hotel California explanation is far more likely than not.

i remember back in '84 when the Raygun people used "Born In The USA" until someone explained the lyrics to them. Which was right before The Boss sought an injunction which was granted.

[cemaphonic]

11. But I dont get the impression that the Beatles were all that cagey about their drug use.

Especially by the time Sgt Pepper came out. And Lennon's taste for surrealistic wordplay had its origins as much in Lewis Carroll as in drug culture. I'm inclined to believe this one.

[mulsh]

12. lennon never changed his story about "Lucy" , from a picture Julian drew of his class mate Lucy,

in the sky with diamonds. but perhaps you know way more than the writer or his son do did about how this song came to be.

[Art_from_Ark]

13. Have you ever seen Yellow Submarine?

While the whole movie is one big acid trip, the part with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is particularly... psychadelic.

[lunamagica]

14. Lucy(julian's classmate) did exist

She died a few years ago

[edbermac]

18. Was based on son Julian's painting of friend Lucy Vodden.

Read about a dozen books on the Beatles and the only drug related song according to them was Doctor Robert on the Revolver album.

[Wolf Frankula]

2. Eric Clapton's Cocaine is NOT a Party Song

Listen to the lyrics, it's about being addicted.

Wolf

[progressoid]

4. And it's not his song.

[Wolf Frankula]

6. Yes, It was Written by JJ Cale.

Wolf

[Brother Buzz]

3. Even Some Not Famous Songs Don't Mean What You Think

Hat tip to Harry Roy

[Myrina]

5. Can we add RW misinterpretations to this list?

Allentown by Billy Joel
Little Pink Houses by John Mellencamp
Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen

[KamaAina]

8. You are welcome to make that into its own thread

[pinboy3niner]

22. Believe it or not, Mitt Romney was once played onstage to 'Fortunate Son'(!)

It was at a Michele Bachmann re-election campaign event in 2010. I was watching the livestream and just about fell out of my chair!

[jmowreader]

26. Is that song actually about George W. Bush?

I know it predates his rise to power.

[pinboy3niner]

28. Fogerty said it was inspired by David Eisenhower

Though after the song was released, Eisenhower enlisted and served on active duty as an officer in the Navy Reserve.

What Fogerty said about it is included in an exploration of the question at Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/fortunate.asp

[Phentex]

7. I still want to know what More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees means...

[WinkyDink]

9. Ha! You reminded me that my husband and I used to (deliberately in error!) sing, "4-Legged Woman."

[nolabear]

21. ...

[Art_from_Ark]

10. After watching the movie Yellow Submarine,

it's hard to imagine that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is NOT about an acid trip.

[Enrique]

15. most people assume "Brown sugar" is about brown sugar?

really? Most people think it is about actual brown sugar?

[hibbing]

19. hehe

That's what I was thinking, even I'm not that dense.

Peace

[NewJeffCT]

23. I had always thought

it was slang for dark skinned women?

[Iggo]

25. You had always thought rightly.

[mucifer]

29. how does sugar dance?

[Coventina]

16. Every Breath You Take -gah!!!! I can't believe how stupid people are about that song.

People who don't bother to understand the meanings of songs enrage me.

It's one of my pet peeves.

[Initech]

17. I'm surprised that the Beach Boys' "Kokomo" isn't on the list.

It's not about the Caribbean or Hawaii, it's about a small town in Indiana.

[KamaAina]

20. The town on Maui is pronounced "ko-KO-mo"

[jmowreader]

27. Small towns in Indiana are in the Florida Keys?

The first line in the song is, "Off the Florida Keys there's a place called Kokomo."

[Iggo]

24. Nobody thinks Hotel California is satanic.

Nobody.

(Also, in some neighborhoods, "warm smell of colitas" means "stinky baby farts.&quot