Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
“All These Decades I Didn’t Realize”: 30 People Reveal The Sad Stories Behind Popular Songs
Musicians find inspiration everywhere; not just in happy moments, but also in uncertainty and pain, turning even the darkest experiences into a tune that resonates with the human soul.
So Reddit user Tangre79 decided to broaden their understanding of this complex art form and asked everyone on the platform to list some songs with devastating origin stories.
From popular rock ballads to reggae-pop hits, people immediately started sharing the tracks they can not listen to without getting emotional.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I always loved (and still do) The Show Must Go On, but once Freddie Mercury revealed he was dying of AIDS, those words suddenly made horrible sense.
supergeek921:
He recorded it after his diagnosis. Reportedly he could barely stand in the studio when they recorded it and the band offered to do it another time, but he just said “I’ll sing it darling” and belted it out in one take.
Amazing and tragic.
RELATED:
#2
The best selling song in history, White Christmas, was written by Irving Berlin because his son Irving died on Christmas at 8 days old. Irving married an Irish Catholic girl, Ellin Mackay, whose family disowned her for marrying a Jew. Irving and Ellin would visit their son’s grave on Christmas. The song is about the Christmases he never saw.
#3
Dancing in the Moonlight. One of my favorite songs, very sad, unexpected origin. The songwriter and his girlfriend were on vacation at the beach when he was brutally beaten and his gf r*ped by gang members. He wrote the song afterwards, envisioning an idyllic world where everyone is happy and just dances all the time.
Scotira 1 year ago
Sherman Kelly: "On a trip to St. Croix in 1969, I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered 8 American tourists. At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead. While I was recovering, I wrote "Dancin in the Moonlight" in which I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life. The song became a huge hit and was recorded by many musicians worldwide. "Dancin In The Moonlight" continues to be popular to this day." (Wikipedia)
#4
Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. The final verse where he whistles the melody was a placeholder. He died (I think in a plane crash?) before he could record the lyrics to the end of the song. Hell of a voice in that man.
#5
Definitely "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. Found out he wrote it after his 4-year-old son tragically passed away. Hit me differently ever since.
#6
Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant is about the Brixton riots and living in poverty, not being able to feed your kids despite working full time.
#7
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA. I thought it was a happy song.. about being born in the USA, I guess?
And of course it’s not. According to Wikipedia: “The song addresses the economic hardships of Vietnam veterans upon their return home, juxtaposed ironically against patriotic glorification of the nation's fighting forces.”
Yeah, not a happy song.
#8
Okay, not heartbreaking, but definitely more serious than I ever thought: The dogs in Who Let the Dogs Out are men who harass women in the clubs. The song is basically “who let in these a******s who don’t know how to act?”.
#9
“House of the Rising Sun.” Most people know it from the Animals’ version, sung by a man. But it is written from the perspective of a young woman, forced into prostitution in the House of the Rising Sun. “It’s been the ruin of many a poor girl, and God I know I’m one.”.
ColdSteelRonin 1 year ago
From Wikipedia: The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate....The song was first collected in Appalachia in the 1930s, but probably has its roots in traditional English folk song. It is listed as number 6393 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
#10
All of My Love by Led Zeppelin is about his 5-year-old son's unexpected death from a virus.
#11
I Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats. I heard the song just a few years ago and recently learned the backstory. It’s about the Cleveland school shooting from 1979. When the shooter was asked why she did it, she said it was simply that she didn’t like Mondays.
#12
Wake me up when September Ends. It’s not just a meme. It’s literally all Billy Joe Armstrong said after his dad died when he was a teenager.
The Doom Song 1 year ago
Billie Joe is an amazing songwriter. Green Day are one of my all time favourite bands
#13
Glenn Campbell -- I'm not gonna to miss you -- A song to his wife while he has Alzheimer's, saying goodbye while he can because he knows he's not going to say goodbye later
Ashley Campbell -- Remembering-- A song from his daughter to him in response.
Hippopotamuses 1 year ago
That's really sad. He was the only singer that everyone in my family liked.
#14
When I Lost You by Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin was 24 years old and an early success. He married singer Dorothy Goetz who was in her early twenties. Five months after the wedding she died of typhoid fever. It's the first sad song he wrote. It was a year before he could bring himself to perform it. He didn't marry again for 14 years.
#15
Zombie by The Cranberries is about a bombing that [unalived] children during "The Troubles."
#16
"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam is inspired by the real-life s*icide of Jeremy Wade Delle, a 15-year-old student from Richardson, Texas who shot himself in front of his English class on January 8, 1991.
Nikki Gross 1 year ago
Pearl Jam is amazing and "Ten" is a masterpiece that still musically holds up today. The unedited version of "Jeremy" is especially hard to watch and Eddie Vedder wrote that YEARS before the Columbine shooting happened.
#17
American Pie - I already knew it was heartbreaking, I just didn't know what it was about.
mrglumdaddy:
[it's about] the plane crash that [unalived] Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper among others.
Premislaus de Colo 1 year ago
It's about so much more... There is so much context in this incredible song, just unbelievable
#18
Pink Floyds song dedicated to their former bandmate Syd Barrett who tragically lost his mind/mental state.
Shine on
You crazy
Diamond
"On 5 June 1975, Barrett, now heavyset, with a completely shaved head and eyebrows, wandered into the studio where the band were recording. They did not recognize him for some time because of his drastically changed appearance, but when they eventually realized who the withdrawn man in the corner was, Roger Waters became so distressed about Barrett's appearance that he was reduced to tears." Wikipedia.
Little Wonder 1 year ago
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom / Blown on the steel breeze / Come on, you target for faraway laughter / Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine
#19
“Take Me To Church”, by Hozier. On first listen, sounds like a love song. Music video with more visual details? OOF.
wootiown:
My whole life I thought it was just some Christian rock song. All the Jesus freaks would play and sing it nonstop.
Had no idea it's about a gay couple explicitly hiding from the church.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
Anybody who listened to the lyrics would know it's NOT a Christian song. But it is a very good song.
#20
My darlin', Clementine is about a man who watches his lover drown in a river because he can't swim. Final verse goes "Ruby lips above the water blowing bubbles sweet and fine. Alas for me, I was no swimmer so I lost my Clementine.".
#21
Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac.
Recently found out Stevie wrote it when her childhood friend was dying of leukemia. I have incurable leukemia so the lyrics hit harder now for me.
“Faces freedom with a little fear, I have no fear and have only love”.
#22
It's not exactly tragic, but the wedding staple "At Last" by Etta James is actually about a widow who dies and meets her late husband in the afterlife. "My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you," cause she was buried.
Still a great love story that can be used for weddings but a touch darker.
Patricia Sørensen 1 year ago
I can see how you could interpret it this way, but it's really not. If the lyrical subject were reuniting with a lost love in death, the verses "And life is like a song" and especially "I found a thrill to press my cheek to, A thrill that I've never known" wouldn't fit. Life starting anew and being like heaven are fairly standard metaphors for falling in love. The text just doesn't support a "dead widow" interpratation above a "fallen in love for the first time" one. I also haven't found anything extratextual to support it.
#23
Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi. He wrote it for his aunt that took her own life.
#24
Definitely "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. found out it’s about escaping a life of poverty and unfulfilled dreams. hits way harder now.
#25
"Gone Away" is a favorite song by The Offspring, but it can be rough to listen to after reading about it. I can't imagine performing it.
PoetryUpInThisB*tch:
[the story behind it]
His girlfriend who was killed in a car accident.
Leaving flowers on your grave
To show that I still care
Black roses and Hail Mary's
Can't bring back what's taken from me
I reach to the sky
And call out your name
And if I could trade, I would
#26
Vera Lynn's "We’ll Meet Again" is inherently sentimental but it became synonymous with WW2 and the reality that many people were not going to see their friends and loved ones before the war ended. It's implied that "some sunny day" won't be a homecoming but rather a reunion in the afterlife.
#27
Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People, it sounds like a happy song but it’s about school shootings.
cadena kuhn 1 year ago
I'm always surprised people don't know this. The lyrics are pretty clear
#28
The d***s don't work, by The Verve, about Richard Ashcroft's mother dying of cancer.
#29
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. It was in theory about a family planning to move. But it was written and recorded during WWII. Some of the lyrics were later changed. It originally had: >Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow. So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
#30
I thought the song Wonder by Natalie Merchant was a whimsical song about a supremely gifted child, but it’s actually about a child born with a rare congenital disease. The lyrics fit both ways. It’s brilliant.
#31
The Way by Fastball is about the tragic and mysterious disappearance of an elderly couple never to be seen alive again.
#32
Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. It's about not having enough time to spend with your loved ones. Not long after he was planning on winding down his career to be a father to his newborn child but died in a plane crash.
#33
Luka by Suzanne Vega it's a song about physical and mental abuse by her step father. Another is hell is for children by Pat Benatar.
Little Wonder 1 year ago
Luka is very obviously about an abused child. If you listen to the lyrics...
#34
Hey Ya by Outkast is really a sad song about a failing relationship.
#35
Janet Jackson's 'Together Again' was written for her friend that died of AIDS, gets me every time.
ynyrhydref56 1 year ago
Again, I thought this was fairly obvious ... that it's about a dear departed friend.
#36
All That I've Got by The Used I was like 13 years old and I came home from school, turned on Fuse TV, and they were playing some music videos, which was their usual content back in 2003. Saw this video of this dude with long hair in this trippy video that ended with some cool animation. Got hooked on the song and the band. Learned later that the song is about how shortly after their first album, the lead singer was dating a fan and they were having a baby together. She overdosed [unaliving] both herself and the baby. The lead singer felt like he had absolutely nothing left because of that moment, but then a month after their deaths, his dog escaped from his yard and was then hit and [unalived] by a car. The song is about him begging for at least his dogs life back because it was all that he had left.
#37
Don’t Fear the Reaper. By Blue Oyster Cult. All these decades I didnt realize it was about committing su*icide.
#38
“Keep Me In Your Heart” by Warren Zevon. He knew he was dying.
AtMostAFabulist 1 year ago
David Letterman had Warren as his only guest for a week of shows. Wonderful music.
#39
Cat's In The Craddle.
Duel_Option:
I remember my Dad explaining the meaning of the song to me at probably age 13 or so as he was driving.
He was crying and I told him we’d never be like that not realizing that he was already an alcoholic who wasn’t there much already.
30 years later he hasn’t met his grandkids because the beer is still more important than family.
The self torment he puts himself through doesn’t make sense to me to this very day.
Maybe we’ll meet in the afterlife.
#40
One More Light became a depressing listen after Chester's s*icide.
MrLiesegang 1 year ago
Well even before that. It was written for a dead friend and performed a day after Chris Cornell’s death, who was also a friend of them.
#41
“Save the Last Dance for Me” was written by a wheelchair-using groom watching his new bride dance with their wedding guests.
#42
Don’t think this is unknown, but 3 AM by matchbox 20. About Rob Thomas’s mom having cancer when he was younger. Just really rips at me with my dad being sick now. Probably one of my favorite songs ever.
Sweet Taurus 1 year ago
Also, when Rob broke away from the band and produced songs on his own most of them are written for his wife whom suffers from Lupus. "Her Diamonds" was the first one I listened to knowing that. It hit home real hard because I had just been diagnosed myself and knew the pain it was causing the people I love.
#43
Brick by Ben folds five. I thought it was a catchy tune till a friend told me to really listen to the lyrics.
Nikmassnoo:
This is such a devastating song. I thought it was just about loving someone with depression who is dragging you down, I didn’t know the abortion reference.
Katie Lutesinger 1 year ago
As weeks went by it showed that she was not fine. They told me "son, it's time to tell the truth" and she broke down, and I broke down, 'cause I was tired of lying.
#44
How to save a life, The Fray, it's about d**g addiction and how he couldn't save his friend.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 1 year ago
It is not. It's about a friend who worked with troubled teens as a counsellor.
#45
My favorite are songs that sound happy, but aren't when you look at the lyrics. Semi-Charmed Life (by Third Eye Blind) sounds like a happy song, but it's actually about how a d**g user feels when he's high but lamenting nothing else can make him feel that way. Hey Ya (by Outkast) is about falling out of love with someone, but no one around you wanting to hear about it. Breakfast at Tiffany's (by Deep Blue Something) is about grasping at straws to find any reason not to break up when you know the relationship isn't working.
#46
I just started listened to a podcast called “60 songs that explain the 90s” and Hey Jealousy is way sadder now than it already was.
mr_ckean:
When I learned the story, it was the first time I felt I had any real understanding of the depths of alcoholism and depression like that.
Maggz Bennett 1 year ago
The story surrounding the song is sadder than the original meaning. It was written for their first album by ex Gin Blossoms member, Doug Hopkins, about trying to get back with his girlfriend after his heavy drinking and cheating. Doug was later kicked out of the band and cheated out of royalties (by A&M Records) before it was rerecorded and became a massive hit. Hopkins received the gold disc a few weeks before unaliving himself on December 5, 1993. RIP Doug, your music is amazing. Such a sad background to a beautiful, touching song.
#47
“Me and a Gun” by Tori Amos. It’s about her being r*ped earlier in life. It was one way she chose to cope, by writing a song about it.
#48
Possession by Sarah McLachlan, based partly on disturbing lyrics that a stalker sent her, who eventually killed himself.
#49
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. I had never really listened to her before, but I came across a video of one of her performances in which she was clearly struggling mentally. This made me dive into her life, and it was heartbreaking to see how she continued performing even while struggling, with no help from anyone. Knowing her past and hearing the song after that really hits me :/.
#50
If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot. It was about him falling out of love with his wife. He promised his daughter he would never sing it in concert.
#51
Everytime by Britney Spears.
Abby1006:
It’s an ode to the baby she would have had with Justin Timberlake. He wasn’t ready to be a father yet, so she had to undergo an abortion at home. They were both very young, and she mentions in her memoir that even though she doesn’t hold it against him, if it were completely up to her, she would’ve wanted to have the baby.
#52
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love). Did you guys know that it's about Dr. Martin Luther King? Listen to it again. *Early morning, April 4th, A shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride.*.
#53
Blackbird by The Beatles is often said to be a tribute to the Little Rock Nine.
#54
Fiddler's Green by The Tragically Hip. Gord Downie wrote it after his 5 year old nephew died of a heart condition, to help his sister overcome the pain of releasing her little boy into the afterlife. Montreal, also by The Tragically Hip. Its about the massacre at the École Polytechnique in Montréal on Dec 6, 1989. I am old enough to remember the news coverage of the event and the line "don't you worry.....her mother's gonna make her look good" refers to a mother trying to make her murdered daughter look decent for her funeral. Heartbreaking.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
We learned this in Canadian History class. Marc Lepine went into Ecole Polytechnique, killing 14 women and injuring 10 other women, and 4 men. He targeted women because he strongly hated women and didn't want them to be able to get into engineering careers. It was the biggest school shooting in Canada for 30 years.
#55
You are my Sunshine.
tyboxer87:
For the longest time I thought it was about a miscarriage or a the death of child.
I was a little relieved when I dug a bit and realized its just any old person. Could just be breakup. That's much easier to live with.
#56
Limousine by Brand New. It’s about the death of 7-year-old Katie Flynn, who was [unalived] by a drunk driver. She was riding in a limousine with her family after a wedding in which she was the flower girl.
primeline31 1 year ago (edited)
July 2005 -a perfect wedding day & all headed home in a limousine. The limo was struck head-on by a drunk driver, 24-year-old Martin Heidgen. Police say he was driving 70 mph on the wrong side for at least two miles before he crashed into them. The limo driver, 59-year-old Stanley Rabinowitz, was killed instantly when the limo’s motor was driven on top of him. Lt. Michael Tangney, THE BRIDES UNCLE, who had attended the wedding just hours before, arrived. "I was walking to the rear of the limousine when a gentleman was coming away from it, and he said, 'Don't go back there. It's bad,' "Then all of a sudden Mrs. Flynn came out of the car with her daughter’s, 5 yr-old Katie’s head in her hand." Jennifer walked to side of the road and sat for about an hour with her daughter's head on her lap as she watched her family being cut out of the limousine. Lt. Tangney had to tell his niece it was time to leave. "She very lucidly, very calmly said she wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't leaving Kate."
#57
12/17/12 by the Decemberists. I don't usually look at titles so I didn't know until my husband pointed it out to me. It's about Sandy Hook.
#58
Drops of Jupiter. He wrote it for his mother who died of cancer.
Katy McMouse 1 year ago
Train just lost one of their band members to a bathroom accident. I understand that he fell in the shower, of a home he was taking care of for traveling friends.
#59
What a Catch--FallOut Boy. It was years before I learned that Pete Wentz wrote it following his s*icide attempt.
mysterious(all pronouns) 1 year ago
Isn't the chorus, "I've got troubled thoughts and the self-esteem to match". What would make anyone think it's a happy song?
#60
Did you ever sing Ring Around a Rosie as a kid? It's about the bubonic plague and everyone dies at the end of the song.
#61
There's a song by Spanish group Mecano called Cruz y Navaja. It tells the story of a young bartender in Madrid who, while trying to make ends meet, is working as much as he can. He arrives to his wife, who keeps wanting to be intimate with him. Because he is so tired, he always turns her down. One day, in the wee hours of the morning, he is walking to his house when he catches a glimpse of a couple being extra affectionate with each other. As he gets closer, he notices it's his wife. In a moment of anger and shock, he approaches the couple. His shock is further intensified when he sees that his wife has been kissing another woman. As he is about to break apart the two women, the wife's lover takes out a knife and stabs him to death. The group confirmed that the story was true. It had been taken from the police reports where the only thing that was changed for the song were the names.
#62
“Cowgirl in the Sand”, by Neil Young. A song from the perspective of her murderer, who repeatedly visits her decayed body. The guitar solo re-enacts her desperate struggle as he kills her. I have trouble listening to it since I learned that. He wrote the song the same fevered weekend as “Down By The River, I Shot My Lady.” ETA: I did not mean to imply that this interpretation is established fact. There are other competing theories.
#63
Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga, it’s about her grandpa dying and saying goodbye to him in the hospital with her grandma.
#64
Of Monster's and Men have Little talks. Which is actually about a grieving wife talking to her deceased husband and her sanity is slipping. King and Lionheart is another one. The story behind that one is the singer Nanna was forced to be separated from her brother when her father left for Canada and took her brother with him, leaving their mother and Nanna behind.
#65
Blasphemous Rumors by Depeche Mode. His sister had just completed successful cancer treatment when leaving the hospital got hit by a car and died.
EDWIN FAWCETT 1 year ago
Absolute rubbish about the story of the song. The verses to "Blasphemous Rumours" describe a 16-year-old girl who attempts suicide but fails. She experiences a religious revival but is then "Hit by a car
#66
Here's one, 'Year of the Cat' by Al Stewart, it's about the s*icide of a comedian, but you'd never know that from just the lyrics. Al has been pretty upfront about the meaning in interviews.
#67
La Mer - Nine Inch Nails It was pretty much Reznor’s s*icide note. So glad he made it through.
#68
POD - Youth of The Nation Listening to it as a kid you're like this kicks a*s. Listen as an adult.... "Johnny Boy always played fool, he broke are the rules so you would think he was cool, he was never really one of the guys, now matter how hard he tried of the thought of s*icide" **It was inspired in part by the school shootings at Santana High School and Columbine High School**. :(.
Nikki Gross 1 year ago
Anyone that listens to "Youth of the Nation" and thinks it's a happy song needs to get their head checked. Just listen to the lyrics and you will know that it's a dark and heavy song.
#69
I Wish It Would Rain by The Temptations Here is the background from Wikipedia: “The lyrics of this mournful song about a heartbroken man whose woman had just left him were penned by Motown staff writer Roger Penzabene. The lyricist had just learned that his wife was cheating on him and in his sorrow and pain, Penzabene penned both this and its follow-up "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)." Tragically the distraught Penzabene committed suicide barely a week after the single's release.”.
Anon822209 1 year ago
The opening verse is Sunshine, blue skies, please go away/ My girl has found another, and gone away/ With her went my future, my life is filled with gloom/ So day after day, I stay locked up in my room And the song goes on to say that the reason he wishes it would rain is so that he could go outside and no one would know he's crying. Y'all. How is that a happy song?
#70
An Innocent Warrior from the Moana soundtrack. It was written about 19 girls who died in a boarding school fire. .
ReadBannedBooks 1 year ago
From the Disney wiki: According to an interview with singer Vai Mahina[1], the song was original "Loimata E Maligi" which was written by Opetaia Foa'i in memory of the 19 females who lost their lives in a fire at Motufoua Secondary School on the island of Vaitupu, Tuvalu in 2000. The song was rewritten to "An Innocent Warrior" to fit in the theme of Moana.
#71
Sara by Stevie Nicks. Don Henley claimed it was about a child he conceived with Nicks, who she wanted to name Sara. I don't remember if it was a miscarriage or a termination, but no child was born and the lyrics lament the loss.
#72
Death of a Martian by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Anthony wrote it for Flea and his dog, Martian, who passed away. I believe Martian was a band dog, there for the recording of many songs.
cadena kuhn 1 year ago
The line there's a river meant to be a giver in give it away is about river Phoenix who Anthony said was the most generous person he knew. For some reason that fact has always stuck with me
#73
That Year - Brandi Carlisle. This is a bit of a cheat on my part because I was at the same school as the person mentioned along with Brandi when it happened. He was one of her best friends and I knew him in a casual manner. When she released the song I was absolutely floored at how much strength she showed approaching the "what ifs." Heartbreaking song about such a gentle soul. Brandi treated it with a very delicate hand. Beautifully written song Brandi...RIP BB.
#74
Morning Grace by Ritsuko Okazaki, which was the opening title for Princess Tutu. She recorded it while battling stomach cancer and died not long after I know may not be quite what you asked, but it became even sadder to me whenever I listen to it.
#75
Heatwaves - Glass Animals It's about his dead friend.
Dumb teenager 1 year ago
This is gonna sound super dumb (in case the username wasn't enough of a warning) but for me I feel like no matter what, this song will always be about happy memories made with nieghbourhood friends in a small clearing between cane farms where a small abandoned bus was slowely decaying. It had clearly been there for decades and had seen some serious sh!t. People had lived and worked from that bus, there were legal papers, phone books, porn disks a satelite areil and a matress among litteral piles of other items there. It was also ahaven for local teenagers away from perants eyes, and it was clear we wern't the only group frequenting the place (the other group seemed to be scared sh!tless of us when we tried to make contact, probably a good thing given some of the stuff there suggested they may have been a pretty rough group). Anyway, a lot of good memories were made there before we drifted apart (and in some cases developed bitter grudges). damn, just hit the character limit
#76
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton. Wondering if his son that died will recognize him in Heaven.
#77
Jagged Little Pill: The ending of the relationship between Alanis Morissette and Dave Coulier.
What do you think ?
James016 1 year ago
Every Breath You Take by The Police is about a stalker from the perspective of the stalker.
V 1 year ago
Same with You're Beautiful by James Blunt. It's about stalking his his on the subway with her new partner while high.
Load More Replies...
Major Harris 1 year ago
very surprised that "some one saved my life tonight" by sir elton john was not mentioned. in 1975 at the height of his early fame, he was under pressure from the studios to produce more hits, was going to be married to a woman while struggling with his sexuality. so he took d***s and jumped into his pool to end it all. paramedics saved him. the song is about this time in his life.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
Philadelphia Freedom is about Billie Jean King and the starting of the WTA.
Load More Replies...
Samsquatch & Monko 1 year ago
Literally every song by The Orion Experience; Orion simprini, the lead singer, was a child groomer. All the songs were actually about his victims. Can’t listen to that band without feeling nauseous now.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
I love finding out stories about songs and why they were written. Kate Bush alone could have a degree course dedicated to her and her songs! Wuthering Heights is based on the book, but only after she’d seen the last five minutes of a tv adaptation; Breathing is taken from the POV of a child in the womb not wanting to be born because of the Nuclear War threat in the 80s; Babushka is about a woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair, so she sets him a trap; Running Up That Hill is about her wanting to experience sex from the male perspective,; Moments of Pleasure is her tribute to friends lost to AIDS; The Sensual World is based on Maggie’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s epic ‘Ulysses’. The Bananarama song ‘Robert de Niro’s Waiting’ is about rāpe, another song of theirs called ‘Rough Justice’ is about them not being taken seriously, a friend of theirs who was killed in an IRA bomb and some at the time children disappearances.
StretcherBearer 1 year ago
Quite a few Joy Division songs are absolutely heartbreaking in context.
Daniel Atkins 1 year ago
Lightning crashes BY Live is about a mother dying from complications after giving birth.
The Doom Song 1 year ago
"The hell song" by Sum 41. Singer Deryck Whibley wrote this song when he found out a good friend of his had contracted HIV from her cheating husband
Dirk Daring 1 year ago
Hey Man Nice Shot by Filter. It's about R. Budd Dwyer killing himself on TV.
Trentin Quarantino 1 year ago
Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen. A beautiful song, even more poignant when you find out what it refers to.
Ola Polowczyk 1 year ago
There's a Polish song called "Windą do nieba" meaning "To Heaven by Elevator". Back in the day, many couples chose it as their first wedding dance song. However, it's about a woman who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She's writing a love letter to a man she saw on tv and fell in love with. She literally sings "I don't love him".
Daniel Atkins 1 year ago
That makes the lullaby version of it creepier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV16UCnoMT8
Load More Replies...
Cj Churchall-McKenzie 1 year ago
any mention of 'happy birthday' by altered images? claire grogan was been interviewed and said it was about someone committing suicide on their birthday
Gracie Mae 1 year ago
It amazes me that apparently most people don't listen to the lyrics of a song? That just blows my mind! I'm a voracious reader, so to me, music has always been a story set to music. Can't imagine not listening & putting 2 + 2 together
Claudia Stieble 1 year ago
am I the only one who thinks that Milo's "You and Me" is disturbing? "I wish you smelled a little funny Not just funny, really bad We could roam the streets forever Just like cats but we'd never stray I sometimes wish you were a mermaid I could raise you in the tub at home We could take a swim together On weekly day trips to the bay I wish you were a little bigger Not just big, but really fat Doors you would no longer fit through In my bed, you would have to stay I often wish that you had feathers I'd keep you in a giant cage All day long I'd sit and watch you I'd sing for you and that would be okay
Jeevesssssss 1 year ago
I've always thought the best songs contain lessons, and the most valuable lessons are usually painful.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
It’s more about goi g to a brothel, than just buying condoms.
Load More Replies...
James016 1 year ago
Every Breath You Take by The Police is about a stalker from the perspective of the stalker.
V 1 year ago
Same with You're Beautiful by James Blunt. It's about stalking his his on the subway with her new partner while high.
Load More Replies... Major Harris 1 year ago
very surprised that "some one saved my life tonight" by sir elton john was not mentioned. in 1975 at the height of his early fame, he was under pressure from the studios to produce more hits, was going to be married to a woman while struggling with his sexuality. so he took d***s and jumped into his pool to end it all. paramedics saved him. the song is about this time in his life.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
Philadelphia Freedom is about Billie Jean King and the starting of the WTA.
Load More Replies... Samsquatch & Monko 1 year ago
Literally every song by The Orion Experience; Orion simprini, the lead singer, was a child groomer. All the songs were actually about his victims. Can’t listen to that band without feeling nauseous now.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
I love finding out stories about songs and why they were written. Kate Bush alone could have a degree course dedicated to her and her songs! Wuthering Heights is based on the book, but only after she’d seen the last five minutes of a tv adaptation; Breathing is taken from the POV of a child in the womb not wanting to be born because of the Nuclear War threat in the 80s; Babushka is about a woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair, so she sets him a trap; Running Up That Hill is about her wanting to experience sex from the male perspective,; Moments of Pleasure is her tribute to friends lost to AIDS; The Sensual World is based on Maggie’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s epic ‘Ulysses’. The Bananarama song ‘Robert de Niro’s Waiting’ is about rāpe, another song of theirs called ‘Rough Justice’ is about them not being taken seriously, a friend of theirs who was killed in an IRA bomb and some at the time children disappearances.
StretcherBearer 1 year ago
Quite a few Joy Division songs are absolutely heartbreaking in context.
Daniel Atkins 1 year ago
Lightning crashes BY Live is about a mother dying from complications after giving birth.
The Doom Song 1 year ago
"The hell song" by Sum 41. Singer Deryck Whibley wrote this song when he found out a good friend of his had contracted HIV from her cheating husband
Dirk Daring 1 year ago
Hey Man Nice Shot by Filter. It's about R. Budd Dwyer killing himself on TV.
Trentin Quarantino 1 year ago
Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen. A beautiful song, even more poignant when you find out what it refers to.
Ola Polowczyk 1 year ago
There's a Polish song called "Windą do nieba" meaning "To Heaven by Elevator". Back in the day, many couples chose it as their first wedding dance song. However, it's about a woman who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She's writing a love letter to a man she saw on tv and fell in love with. She literally sings "I don't love him".
Daniel Atkins 1 year ago
That makes the lullaby version of it creepier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV16UCnoMT8
Load More Replies... Cj Churchall-McKenzie 1 year ago
any mention of 'happy birthday' by altered images? claire grogan was been interviewed and said it was about someone committing suicide on their birthday
Gracie Mae 1 year ago
It amazes me that apparently most people don't listen to the lyrics of a song? That just blows my mind! I'm a voracious reader, so to me, music has always been a story set to music. Can't imagine not listening & putting 2 + 2 together
Claudia Stieble 1 year ago
am I the only one who thinks that Milo's "You and Me" is disturbing? "I wish you smelled a little funny Not just funny, really bad We could roam the streets forever Just like cats but we'd never stray I sometimes wish you were a mermaid I could raise you in the tub at home We could take a swim together On weekly day trips to the bay I wish you were a little bigger Not just big, but really fat Doors you would no longer fit through In my bed, you would have to stay I often wish that you had feathers I'd keep you in a giant cage All day long I'd sit and watch you I'd sing for you and that would be okay
Jeevesssssss 1 year ago
I've always thought the best songs contain lessons, and the most valuable lessons are usually painful.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
It’s more about goi g to a brothel, than just buying condoms.
Load More Replies... You May Like 82 White Lies That Everyone Is Guilty Of 63 Best Opening Lyrics That Start The Songs Off Right 30 Wonderfully Weird English Terms You Might Not Know
Viltė Domkutė
Aivaras Kaziukonis
Saimonas Lukošius
Related on Bored Panda
