NationStates Jolt Archive


Songs That Don't Mean What They Think They Mean

Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 03:03
have you ever had someone love a song for all the wrong reasons--actually because he doesnt realize what the song is really about?

i was listening to the sean hannity radio show today (i can go for upwards of 5 minutes before shouting "you are such a tool" at the radio) and his theme song is "independence day" by martina mcbride.

doesnt he know that its a song about a woman killing her husband?

"i aint saying its right or its wrong but maybe its the only way"

is that really the sentiment that sean wants to convey?

what songs can you think of that people love only because they dont know what they are really about?

classic example: in "honey" by bobby goldsborough, honey killed herself.
Neo Art
28-11-2007, 03:13
perhaps one of the greatest song fuckups of all time was in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign when his campaign song was "Born in the USA", which ,despite its patriotic sounding title, is actually a protest song written about the bad treatment of vietnam vets by the US government.
NERVUN
28-11-2007, 03:30
Personally? There was a really haunting song that I kept hearing on a preview for an anime that I loved. Beautiful female vocals, haunting traditional Japanese flutes, and the tone was sad in a way, almost as if she was calling for a lover who had gone.

I loved that song and hummed it a lot. When I finally found a translation of "The Yoma Counting Song" though... well... it didn't mean what I thought.
Neesika
28-11-2007, 03:34
Rush Limbaugh's theme song is the riff from 'My City Was Gone' by the Pretenders, which is a song about environmental degradation and uncontrolled urbanisation. Doesn't seem to mesh with his politics.
Barringtonia
28-11-2007, 03:35
I thought No Woman No Cry was about not getting laid.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 03:40
Personally? There was a really haunting song that I kept hearing on a preview for an anime that I loved. Beautiful female vocals, haunting traditional Japanese flutes, and the tone was sad in a way, almost as if she was calling for a lover who had gone.

I loved that song and hummed it a lot. When I finally found a translation of "The Yoma Counting Song" though... well... it didn't mean what I thought.

that happens often with me and anime songs. some are so beautiful but then when you put subtitles on and read the lyrics, they are not so good.
The_pantless_hero
28-11-2007, 03:43
have you ever had someone love a song for all the wrong reasons--actually because he doesnt realize what the song is really about?

i was listening to the sean hannity radio show today (i can go for upwards of 5 minutes before shouting "you are such a tool" at the radio) and his theme song is "independence day" by martina mcbride.

doesnt he know that its a song about a woman killing her husband?

"i aint saying its right or its wrong but maybe its the only way"

is that really the sentiment that sean wants to convey?

what songs can you think of that people love only because they dont know what they are really about?

classic example: in "honey" by bobby goldsborough, honey killed herself.

1) Hannity is probably too damned retarded to know what it means.
2) He would probably explain how it is a symbol of killing Muslim extremism if explained to him.
Bann-ed
28-11-2007, 03:45
"This Land is Your Land"

There is no 'us' in U.S.A.
Demented Hamsters
28-11-2007, 03:48
'In the Navy' by Village People. (apparently) The US Navy were going to use it for a recruitment drive until they found out what it was really about.

"Afternoon delight", but I only know that one cause I've been re-watching Arrested Development recently.

The Young Conservatives in NZ were using "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades" for a while in the 1980s until it was pointed out the song's about nuclear armageddon. The irony here was that party-in-power, Labour, had instituted a Nuclear-free policy, which the Conservatives were campaigning to reverse.

"Puff the Magic Dragon" , "Lucy in the sky with Doamonds" & "White Rabbit" are a few psychadelic ones which can be interpreted as you wish.

"You are my Sunshine" isn't as cheery as one might think. Everyone knows the chorus but not everyone knows the lyrics:
I'll always love you
And make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me To love another
You'll regret it all some day
sounds more like the song a stalker would like than two besotted lovers.
Redwulf
28-11-2007, 03:49
Personally? There was a really haunting song that I kept hearing on a preview for an anime that I loved. Beautiful female vocals, haunting traditional Japanese flutes, and the tone was sad in a way, almost as if she was calling for a lover who had gone.

I loved that song and hummed it a lot. When I finally found a translation of "The Yoma Counting Song" though... well... it didn't mean what I thought.

Well, since Babblefish has failed me could someone tell me what the lyrics

"Hitotsu, hitoyo no koi naraba
Futatsu, futari de jigoku he to
Mittsu, mina no koroshitemo
Yottsu, yomi he no michi-shirube
Itsutsu, ikusa no chi no ame no
Muttsu, mukuro to kawarya senu
Nanatsu, namida no kare hate te
Yattsu, yami yo ga tokete yuku"

mean in English?
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 03:50
"This Land is Your Land"

There is no 'us' in U.S.A.

back in the day when we learned patriotic songs in school THIS was one of the songs we learned.

in the freaking cold war we learned a socialist song by woody guthrie and pretended it was just about appreciating the beauty of the landscape.
Demented Hamsters
28-11-2007, 03:51
Well, since Babblefish has failed me could someone tell me what the lyrics

"Hitotsu, hitoyo no koi naraba
Futatsu, futari de jigoku he to
Mittsu, mina no koroshitemo
Yottsu, yomi he no michi-shirube
Itsutsu, ikusa no chi no ame no
Muttsu, mukuro to kawarya senu
Nanatsu, namida no kare hate te
Yattsu, yami yo ga tokete yuku"

mean in English?

One, it's a love in one generation
Two, the two of us go to hell
Three, even though we kill everybody
Four, signpost for the land of the dead
Five, the rain of blood because of war
Six, just like a dead body
Seven, my tears run out
Eight, a dark night starts to melt

That's according to
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjAuNd7Nzw
Barringtonia
28-11-2007, 03:52
"You are my Sunshine" isn't as cheery as one might think. Everyone knows the chorus but not everyone knows the lyrics:

sounds more like the song a stalker would like than two besotted lovers.

The famous example of that is 'Every Breath You Take', which is also about a stalker as opposed to an outright love song.
Demented Hamsters
28-11-2007, 03:54
The famous example of that is 'Every Breath You Take', which is also about a stalker as opposed to an outright love song.
I've never understood how anyone could possibly have seen that song as a love song. It's just so damn creepy!
Redwulf
28-11-2007, 03:54
One, it's a love in one generation
Two, the two of us go to hell
Three, even though we kill everybody
Four, signpost for the land of the dead
Five, the rain of blood because of war
Six, just like a dead body
Seven, my tears run out
Eight, a dark night starts to melt

That's according to
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjAuNd7Nzw

Yeah, that sounds par for the course in Anime lyrics.
Jayate
28-11-2007, 03:55
"You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. People think it's about love at first sight but it's really about how his girlfriend broke up with him.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 04:05
I've never understood how anyone could possibly have seen that song as a love song. It's just so damn creepy!

yeah i feel the same way about "i dont want to miss a thing"

Dont want to close my eyes
I dont want to fall asleep
Cause Id miss you baby
And I dont want to miss a thing

how creeped out would you be to know that your sweetheart is so obsessed that he watches you sleep all night?
CthulhuFhtagn
28-11-2007, 04:05
Find the list of the top fifty or so "conservative" songs. Insert all of them here.
Siriusa
28-11-2007, 04:07
Thos girls who say they wish their boyfriends were like the guy from "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder crack me up to no end.
Jayate
28-11-2007, 04:11
I thought No Woman No Cry was about not getting laid.

Nostalgia + 9001
Desperate Measures
28-11-2007, 04:13
Just found this while looking around on the internet:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/louie/louie.html

The FBI protects us from the filth of Louie Louie.
Muravyets
28-11-2007, 04:24
I hate the misuse of songs in commercials. Two that drove me nuts for a while:

1) American Eagle jeans used Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" in a super flag-waving post-9/11 attempt to sell jeans that supposedly would make you feel like a REAL American. Only "Fortunate Son" is one of the most openly bitter and rejectionist protest songs ever written, and all the angrily described, corrupted stereotypes of "real America" that are described in it are followed up with the lyric, "It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son."

2) Carnival Cruise Lines using Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life." That just freaks me out every time I see the ads. Those nightmarish hellscape visions of morons jumping around on those horrible boats, overlaid with that song -- I mean, did anyone associated with Carnival ever listen to that song, or did they just stop at the drum riff? Did they get to the part of "Here comes Johnny Yen again, with the liquor and the drugs and the sex machine. He's gonna do another striptease"??? Holy disconnect, Batman! (Or do I mean, "Holy unintentional honesty"?)

Both of these were such drastic examples of irony that all I could think is that cultural illiteracy really is a terrible thing.
Dryks Legacy
28-11-2007, 04:29
I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the people who like You Spin Me Round don't know the first two lines are

If I, I get to know your name
Well if I, could trace your private number baby
Jayate
28-11-2007, 04:35
I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the people who like You Spin Me Round don't know the first two lines are

If I, I get to know your name
Well if I, could trace your private number baby

Meat
Spin.
Fleckenstein
28-11-2007, 04:46
Little Sister, Queens of the Stone Age. I only know this because it's one friend's favorite song and another friend loves to tell him it's about incest.
Bann-ed
28-11-2007, 05:56
1) American Eagle jeans used Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" in a super flag-waving post-9/11 attempt to sell jeans that supposedly would make you feel like a REAL American. Only "Fortunate Son" is one of the most openly bitter and rejectionist protest songs ever written, and all the angrily described, corrupted stereotypes of "real America" that are described in it are followed up with the lyric, "It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate son."
Hear hear!
I can't even stress how blatantly obvious the meaning of the song is.
Ordo Drakul
28-11-2007, 06:04
I was rather taken aback to discover "Turning Japanese" was British slang for masturbating.
UpwardThrust
28-11-2007, 06:06
M.A.S.H theme song ... would never guess it being that dark

Through early morning fog I see

visions of the things to be

the pains that are withheld for me

I realize and I can see...

[REFRAIN]:

that suicide is painless

It brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make

all our little joys relate

without that ever-present hate

but now I know that it's too late, and...

[REFRAIN]

The game of life is hard to play

I'm gonna lose it anyway

The losing card I'll someday lay

so this is all I have to say.

[REFRAIN]

The only way to win is cheat

And lay it down before I'm beat

and to another give my seat

for that's the only painless feat.

[REFRAIN]

The sword of time will pierce our skins

It doesn't hurt when it begins

But as it works its way on in

The pain grows stronger...watch it grin, but...

[REFRAIN]

A brave man once requested me

to answer questions that are key

is it to be or not to be

and I replied 'oh why ask me?'

[REFRAIN]

'Cause suicide is painless

it brings on many changes

and I can take or leave it if I please.

...and you can do the same thing if you please.
UpwardThrust
28-11-2007, 06:08
I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the people who like You Spin Me Round don't know the first two lines are

If I, I get to know your name
Well if I, could trace your private number baby

Pfft that one I new

BTW have you seen the remake?

IT sure freaked my hardcore catholic parents out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OUVDqCrKYE
Lacadaemon
28-11-2007, 06:11
Paradise by the dashboard light is clearly about date rape.
Bann-ed
28-11-2007, 06:13
BTW have you seen the remake?

IT sure freaked my hardcore catholic parents out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OUVDqCrKYE

That slightly disturbed me as well.
I was so confused.
UpwardThrust
28-11-2007, 06:18
Paradise by the dashboard light is clearly about date rape.

I dont know that whole middle section about "will you take me a way and make me your wife" part sounded more like she was trying to squeeze a confession of love before she allowed it to go any farther
Bann-ed
28-11-2007, 06:19
Yeah the first time I saw it as well, but if thats what she wanted to do ...

Lol at least it was a bit edgy :) got to her props for that

Lets put it this way: If that video was solid and I stumbled into it, I would need about 34 stitches.
UpwardThrust
28-11-2007, 06:19
That slightly disturbed me as well.
I was so confused.

Yeah the first time I saw it as well, but if thats what she wanted to do ...

Lol at least it was a bit edgy :) got to her props for that
The Pastriarchy
28-11-2007, 06:25
Thos girls who say they wish their boyfriends were like the guy from "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder crack me up to no end.
Oh wow. That's pretty special.

Someone else mentioned James Blunt singing You're Beautiful, which may or may not have to do with a breakup, but it's definitely stalkerish. "I saw your face in a crowded place / And I don't know what to do / 'Cause I'll never be with you." SWEET JEBUS! Pathological much?
Lacadaemon
28-11-2007, 06:27
I dont know that whole middle section about "will you take me a way and make me your wife" part sounded more like she was trying to squeeze a confession of love before she allowed it to go any farther

Either no means no, or it doesn't.

In any event, it sets a bad precedent.
Trotskylvania
28-11-2007, 06:51
Some jackass thought'd be appropriate to put the Iron Maiden song "Run to the Hills" in the game SSX 3.

Hmm. Game about snowboarding. Song called "Run to the Hills". Perfect match.

WRONG!

The first lines of "Run to the Hills" are: White man came/ across the sea/ he brought us pain/ and misery/ he killed our tribes/ he killed our creed/ he took our game/ for his own need/ We fought him hard/ We fought him well/ Out on the plains/ We gave him hell/ But many came/ Too much for Cree/ Oh will we ever be set free?

Oh, that so is so totally not about genociding Native Americans. :rolleyes:

Just grab your board and run to the hills man! Forget about the lyrics!
Damaske
28-11-2007, 08:16
Thos girls who say they wish their boyfriends were like the guy from "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder crack me up to no end.

Holy shit! I didn't know there were girls that stupid still out there!

Anywho,

Every Breath You Take-by The Police
..talk about a stalkerish song! And some people play that at weddings!
New Genoa
28-11-2007, 08:31
Meat
Spin.

Like a record baby, right round round round.
Ifreann
28-11-2007, 13:42
Some jackass thought'd be appropriate to put the Iron Maiden song "Run to the Hills" in the game SSX 3.

Hmm. Game about snowboarding. Song called "Run to the Hills". Perfect match.

WRONG!

The first lines of "Run to the Hills" are: White man came/ across the sea/ he brought us pain/ and misery/ he killed our tribes/ he killed our creed/ he took our game/ for his own need/ We fought him hard/ We fought him well/ Out on the plains/ We gave him hell/ But many came/ Too much for Cree/ Oh will we ever be set free?

Oh, that so is so totally not about genociding Native Americans. :rolleyes:

Just grab your board and run to the hills man! Forget about the lyrics!

This. All kinds of this.

Also: Du Hast by Rammstein
Why? Because of this (http://www.flyborg.net/duhastplusrodents.html). Seriously, Du Hast could not have less to do with that viedo.

Also: Space Dye Vest
From the title I was not expecting this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e73OPUs_eMA)

Also: O Fortuna.
Sesriously, the 'Evil Anti-Christ' theme is a love song? What the shit?
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 13:53
I was rather taken aback to discover "Turning Japanese" was British slang for masturbating.

Well not really, but that is surely what the song was about.

I always giggle when I hear about people walking down the aisle to get married to the strains of Billy Idols White Wedding
Aegis Firestorm
28-11-2007, 13:55
It was years before I actually listened to the lyrics to "Stagger Lee" (a song from the 60's). And people complain about rap.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 13:56
Oh wow. That's pretty special.

Someone else mentioned James Blunt singing You're Beautiful, which may or may not have to do with a breakup, but it's definitely stalkerish. "I saw your face in a crowded place / And I don't know what to do / 'Cause I'll never be with you." SWEET JEBUS! Pathological much?

Heh yeah it is about how he spoted his ex girlfreind one day on a tube.
Ifreann
28-11-2007, 13:57
Heh yeah it is about how he spoted his ex girlfreind one day on a tube.

James Blunt is rhyming slang.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 14:07
James Blunt is rhyming slang.

Yep yep! Well it is now. God bless you London for your slang.

It makes me laff everytime I hear that lyric 'ruby, ruby, ruby ruby' I start thinking about curries!
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 14:11
I thought No Woman No Cry was about not getting laid.

What is it about, my guess would be male rape in prison?
Ifreann
28-11-2007, 14:16
What is it about, my guess would be male rape in prison?

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown,
Oba - obaserving the ypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet.
Good friends we have, oh, good friends weve lost
Along the way.
In this great future, you cant forget your past;
So dry your tears, I seh.

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
ere, little darlin, dont shed no tears:
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when-a we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown.
And then georgie would make the fire lights,
As it was logwood burnin through the nights.
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
Of which Ill share with you;
My feet is my only carriage,
So Ive got to push on through.
But while Im gone, I mean:
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
I said, everythings gonna be all right-a!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right, now!
Everythings gonna be all right!

So, woman, no cry;
No - no, woman - woman, no cry.
Woman, little sister, dont shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry.

I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown.
And then georgie would make the fire lights,
As it was logwood burnin through the nights.
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
Of which Ill share with you;
My feet is my only carriage,
So Ive got to push on through.
But while Im gone:

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
Woman, little darlin, say dont shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry.

Eh! (little darlin, dont shed no tears!
No, woman, no cry.
Little sister, dont shed no tears!
No, woman, no cry.)
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 14:23
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown,
Oba - obaserving the ypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet.
Good friends we have, oh, good friends weve lost
Along the way.
In this great future, you cant forget your past;
So dry your tears, I seh.

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
ere, little darlin, dont shed no tears:
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when-a we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown.
And then georgie would make the fire lights,
As it was logwood burnin through the nights.
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
Of which Ill share with you;
My feet is my only carriage,
So Ive got to push on through.
But while Im gone, I mean:
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
I said, everythings gonna be all right-a!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right, now!
Everythings gonna be all right!

So, woman, no cry;
No - no, woman - woman, no cry.
Woman, little sister, dont shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry.

I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown.
And then georgie would make the fire lights,
As it was logwood burnin through the nights.
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
Of which Ill share with you;
My feet is my only carriage,
So Ive got to push on through.
But while Im gone:

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
Woman, little darlin, say dont shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry.

Eh! (little darlin, dont shed no tears!
No, woman, no cry.
Little sister, dont shed no tears!
No, woman, no cry.)

Still no wiser as to what it is about.
Bottle
28-11-2007, 14:24
I had a very clueless but well-meaning aunt who utterly misunderstood the meaning of "Hey Jude." I got to explain it to her over Thanksgiving dinner. Deeeepressing.
Cosmopoles
28-11-2007, 14:35
Still no wiser as to what it is about.

A more accurate title would be "No Woman, Nuh Cry" whre 'nuh' has a similar meaning to 'don't'. So its "No Woman, Don't Cry". A lot of people seem to think that Bob Marley was singing a song about how you won't cry if you don't have a woman.

The release of Perfect Day by Lou Reed as a charity single for Children In Need amuses me no end, considering that its a song about heroin.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 14:41
Still no wiser as to what it is about.

Sounds like a love song to me. Ya'know, don't cry when I'm gone babe, remember the times we had, and anyway I'll be back.
Ifreann
28-11-2007, 14:45
A more accurate title would be "No Woman, Nuh Cry" whre 'nuh' has a similar meaning to 'don't'. So its "No Woman, Don't Cry". A lot of people seem to think that Bob Marley was singing a song about how you won't cry if you don't have a woman.

The release of Perfect Day by Lou Reed as a charity single for Children In Need amuses me no end, considering that its a song about heroin.

Heroin for kids!
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 14:48
Heroin for kids!

I have told you before, smacking children is wrong.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 14:49
I have told you before, smacking children is wrong.

Groan....
Law Abiding Criminals
28-11-2007, 14:52
It was years before I actually listened to the lyrics to "Stagger Lee" (a song from the 60's). And people complain about rap.

That...is positively fucked-up.
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 14:59
Find the list of the top fifty or so "conservative" songs. Insert all of them here.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzZkNDU5MmViNzVjNzkzMDE3NzNlN2MyZjRjYTk4YjE=

That was the first thing I thought too.

Though not sure if the list is willful misunderstanding or cognitive dissonance.
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 15:06
Rufus Thomas' song "Can your monkey do the dog?" is really not about what you would think.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 15:08
Rufus Thomas' song "Can your monkey do the dog?" is really not about what you would think.

What are you saying here, it's not about dancing monkeys?
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 15:10
What are you saying here, it's not about dancing monkeys?

Apparently not - it's about interspecies sex. Who would have thought it...
Muravyets
28-11-2007, 15:16
Some jackass thought'd be appropriate to put the Iron Maiden song "Run to the Hills" in the game SSX 3.

Hmm. Game about snowboarding. Song called "Run to the Hills". Perfect match.

WRONG!

The first lines of "Run to the Hills" are: White man came/ across the sea/ he brought us pain/ and misery/ he killed our tribes/ he killed our creed/ he took our game/ for his own need/ We fought him hard/ We fought him well/ Out on the plains/ We gave him hell/ But many came/ Too much for Cree/ Oh will we ever be set free?

Oh, that so is so totally not about genociding Native Americans. :rolleyes:

Just grab your board and run to the hills man! Forget about the lyrics!
Holy crap. *just gives up*

OK, I'm going to predict the future: Neil Young's "Southern Man" will soon be used in ads for the Georgia or Alabama Tourism Boards.
Ifreann
28-11-2007, 15:17
Apparently not - it's about interspecies sex. Who would have thought it...

*raises hand*
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 15:21
*raises hand*

Nope dancin' monkeys I tells ya.
Aegis Firestorm
28-11-2007, 15:29
Off topic, but "Why don't we do it in the Road?" by the Beatles is *exactly* what you think its about.
Free Soviets
28-11-2007, 15:54
Though not sure if the list is willful misunderstanding or cognitive dissonance.

combination, but you forgot blatant stupidity
Barringtonia
28-11-2007, 16:07
A more accurate title would be "No Woman, Nuh Cry" whre 'nuh' has a similar meaning to 'don't'. So its "No Woman, Don't Cry". A lot of people seem to think that Bob Marley was singing a song about how you won't cry if you don't have a woman.

Well here's a thing - I sat in the smoky back room of a club long ago with African friends who took me to task for my lack of black-awareness. There were a couple of things they pointed out of which one was that I misunderstood the meaning of 'No Woman No Cry'.

I'd thought, without listening to the lyrics too closely, that it was about not getting laid. I was informed it was telling the oppressed women of Jamaica not to cry for lost sons in the struggle for equality.

It's hard to find what it was actually about given a quick search on Google so if anyone can enlighten me as to it's true meaning, I'd appreciate it though it is asking women not to cry as opposed to saying don't cry if you don't have a woman.

As a side note, another thing they pointed out was that the way we eat, where the wife brings in the food to her husband and children sitting at the table with knives and forks, is a very western mode of eating - and that western cultural hegemony in the world can be seen in the fact that most nations eat this way, which is not particularly natural.
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 16:28
combination, but you forgot blatant stupidity

True.

Futher reading lead me to someone arguing that all great artists, no matter how obviously 'liberal' are actually 'conservative,' because, well you need to be a strong individual.


I'm not convinced that are being facetious...
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 16:45
M.A.S.H theme song ... would never guess it being that dark

i love that song!

it was in the movie but they made it a cheery little wordless ditty for the tv show. you never would guess its about suicide.
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 16:47
in case no one else has answered this:

its not about a stalker. its talking about Big Brother.


Or marital collapse.

Whatever floats your boat really.
Rambhutan
28-11-2007, 16:47
My first thought as well! :)







Surely they've already used the reply to that one? (And I wonder how many people will know what I refer to, and that it's a reply to Neil Young...)

Sweet Home Alabama - surely everyone knows that?
Free United States
28-11-2007, 16:48
The famous example of that is 'Every Breath You Take', which is also about a stalker as opposed to an outright love song.


in case no one else has answered this:

its not about a stalker. its talking about Big Brother.

ie. "every breath you take...I'll be watching you."
Daistallia 2104
28-11-2007, 16:48
perhaps one of the greatest song fuckups of all time was in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign when his campaign song was "Born in the USA", which ,despite its patriotic sounding title, is actually a protest song written about the bad treatment of vietnam vets by the US government.

My first thought as well! :)

I thought No Woman No Cry was about not getting laid.

I did too, first time. Then I listened to it.

'In the Navy' by Village People. (apparently) The US Navy were going to use it for a recruitment drive until they found out what it was really about.

Ditto with YMCA. I have a freind who still refuses to belive me when I tell her what that one's about. She finally did figure out Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" wasn't about exercise...

The Young Conservatives in NZ were using "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades" for a while in the 1980s until it was pointed out the song's about nuclear armageddon. The irony here was that party-in-power, Labour, had instituted a Nuclear-free policy, which the Conservatives were campaigning to reverse.

LOL!

"Puff the Magic Dragon" , "Lucy in the sky with Doamonds" & "White Rabbit" are a few psychadelic ones which can be interpreted as you wish.

I still remember the PP&M concert I went to where they went into the whole feds getting on their case over PTMD.

"This Land is Your Land"

There is no 'us' in U.S.A.

Another good one.

I was rather taken aback to discover "Turning Japanese" was British slang for masturbating.

I've been told by Brit's that that's an urban legend.

M.A.S.H theme song ... would never guess it being that dark

"Suicide is Painless" is the proper name. Not hard to guess that's gonna be dark. (Have that many people seen the TV show and not the movie? It's quite clear in the movie...)

Still no wiser as to what it is about.

It's about Bob Marley's growing up in the Jamaican equivalant of a housing project (the government yard) in a slum (Trench Town). It was originally credited to a man who ran a soup kitchen. Also of note was there was a boy who tended the fires at the soup kitchen named Georgie. http://goodrastaman.blogspot.com/2006/11/no-woman-no-cry.html

OK, I'm going to predict the future: Neil Young's "Southern Man" will soon be used in ads for the Georgia or Alabama Tourism Boards.

Surely they've already used the reply to that one? (And I wonder how many people will know what I refer to, and that it's a reply to Neil Young...)
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 16:50
Surely they've already used the reply to that one? (And I wonder how many people will know what I refer to, and that it's a reply to Neil Young...)

Sweet Home Alabama? Largely for the "Well, I heard Mr. Young sing about her" line
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 16:59
Well here's a thing - I sat in the smoky back room of a club long ago with African friends who took me to task for my lack of black-awareness. There were a couple of things they pointed out of which one was that I misunderstood the meaning of 'No Woman No Cry'.

I'd thought, without listening to the lyrics too closely, that it was about not getting laid. I was informed it was telling the oppressed women of Jamaica not to cry for lost sons in the struggle for equality.


oh i thought you were kidding.

the explanation you were given is good enough. its a man comforting a crying woman the same way you talk to a crying child and tell them not to cry it will all be OK. the details escape me but then im not jamaican.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 17:04
in case no one else has answered this:

its not about a stalker. its talking about Big Brother.

ie. "every breath you take...I'll be watching you."

why would big brother say this?

Since youve gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but its you I cant replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please...

its a stalker song.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 17:21
according to an interview w/ sting, its about Big Brother...so that's all i can say.

heheh and accoring to other interviews, with Sting, it's a stalker song.
Free United States
28-11-2007, 17:21
why would big brother say this?

Since youve gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but its you I cant replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please...

its a stalker song.

according to an interview w/ sting, its about Big Brother...so that's all i can say.
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 17:25
heheh and accoring to other interviews, with Sting, it's a stalker song.

Which dovetails quite nicely with Turning Japanese since the writer has claimed that it both is and isn't about masturbation.

I think the latter is the more likely personally
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 17:28
according to an interview w/ sting, its about Big Brother...so that's all i can say.

he seems to have an odd notion of what big brother would think.
Laerod
28-11-2007, 17:36
have you ever had someone love a song for all the wrong reasons--actually because he doesnt realize what the song is really about?A long time ago, when one of our fundamentalist Christian members, Neo Rogolia, was still around, she posted about how she wanted to listen to Tier by Rammstein at loud volume, not knowing that its about carnal desires and incest.

I think I started a thread about that too.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 17:49
A long time ago, when one of our fundamentalist Christian members, Neo Rogolia, was still around, she posted about how she wanted to listen to Tier by Rammstein at loud volume, not knowing that its about carnal desires and incest.

I think I started a thread about that too.

whoa i looked up the lyrics. i sure hope she was listening to the german version and had no idea what they meant.
Peepelonia
28-11-2007, 17:54
sorry if this has already been posted but a lot of ppl think that the song every breath you take (think thats what its called) by the police is about love but it's about a stalker.

Apperntly not! It's about Big Brother!;)
Scrin world
28-11-2007, 17:56
sorry if this has already been posted but a lot of ppl think that the song every breath you take (think thats what its called) by the police is about love but it's about a stalker.
Trotskylvania
28-11-2007, 17:57
Holy crap. *just gives up*

OK, I'm going to predict the future: Neil Young's "Southern Man" will soon be used in ads for the Georgia or Alabama Tourism Boards.

I don't doubt it.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 18:02
besides "independence day" (the husband killin' song), martina mcbride also does another great country anthem "broken wing" about a woman who over comes an emotionally abusive relationship with her husband.

too bad she's dead at the end

"one sunday morning, she didnt go to church
he wondered why she didn't leave
he went up to the bedroom, found a note by the window
with the curtain blowing in the breeze"


if that doesnt describe the scene of a suicide i dont know what does. people really dont fly after they jump out the window, do they.
Trotskylvania
28-11-2007, 18:04
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzZkNDU5MmViNzVjNzkzMDE3NzNlN2MyZjRjYTk4YjE=

That was the first thing I thought too.

Though not sure if the list is willful misunderstanding or cognitive dissonance.

*reads list*

Hmm. Interesting. Let's look at some on the list.

1. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who: since when did disillusion with revolution automatically make one conservative?

6. "Gloria" by U2: WTF! Faith =/= conservative, even if it's done in Latin!

12. "Neighborhood Bully" by Bob Dylan. Another WTF moment. Since when did singing about blowing shit up in the middle east make one conservative?

18. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour. This son is anarchistic, not conservative. It tears down all forms of hierarchy evenly. And we've learned time and time again that conservative =/= small government.

*throw up*

I can't take more of this bullshit.
Laerod
28-11-2007, 18:05
whoa i looked up the lyrics. i sure hope she was listening to the german version and had no idea what they meant.'Course not. Neo R called Landover Baptists blasphemy. There's no way in HECK she knew what she was listening to.

Is there an English version of Tier? :confused:
Laerod
28-11-2007, 18:07
Well, now that I think about it, there's a song I didn't know meant something else until my dad pointed it out to me: Country roads references Western Virginia, and not West Virginia.
Ashmoria
28-11-2007, 18:09
'Course not. Neo R called Landover Baptists blasphemy. There's no way in HECK she knew what she was listening to.

Is there an English version of Tier? :confused:

oh i wouldnt know. i looked up the lyrics and they had an english version.

perhaps it has a great sound like the japanese one nervun was talking about so that its great to listen to even if you have no idea what its saying?
Snafturi
28-11-2007, 18:10
The famous example of that is 'Every Breath You Take', which is also about a stalker as opposed to an outright love song.

Thank you! Eveyone I talk to seems to think it's one of the greatest love songs ever written. The guy in the song is totally obsessive and probably the type of guy that would choke you to death if you ever tried to leave.
Bottomboys
28-11-2007, 18:15
perhaps one of the greatest song fuckups of all time was in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign when his campaign song was "Born in the USA", which ,despite its patriotic sounding title, is actually a protest song written about the bad treatment of vietnam vets by the US government.

Reminds me of Bastile Day in France, and using the 1812 overture when letting of fireworks - ignoring that the 1812 overture celebrates France's defeat to Russia.
Damaske
28-11-2007, 18:34
according to an interview w/ sting, its about Big Brother...so that's all i can say.

:confused: Big Brother was around in 1983?
Laerod
28-11-2007, 18:36
:confused: Big Brother was around in 1983?According to the novel 1984, yeah.
Snafturi
28-11-2007, 18:59
I don't think many people really stop to listen to the lyrics of In the Air Tonight. That song is just unnerving.
Damaske
28-11-2007, 19:29
According to the novel 1984, yeah.
yeah I was a little confused there for a second..I need some coffee.
The Pictish Revival
28-11-2007, 19:31
Yesterday, I told my girlfriend what 'I Don't Like Mondays' was actually about. Which surprised her, especially as she'd just been trying to tell me that high school shootings are purely a recent phenomenon.

This one time, I saw a documentary about a man who'd been badly injured when someone attacked him in a bar. He was confined to a wheelchair.
The song they played during the documentary's end credits was Tubthumping, by Chumbawamba.
Now, not only is it most unlikely that the man who'd been 'knocked down' was going to 'get up again', but there's a fair chance that the person who assaulted him had drunk more than his fair share of 'lager drink', and possibly 'whisky drink' and 'vodka drink' into the bargain.

Also, I seem to recall the Daily Mail launching a campaign against Pulp 'Sorted for Es and Whizz', on the grounds that it encouraged drug taking. Duh.
Whereyouthinkyougoing
28-11-2007, 19:32
Yesterday, I told my girlfriend what 'I Don't Like Mondays' was actually about.
Yeah, I only learned that a few months ago. Craziness.
Whereyouthinkyougoing
28-11-2007, 19:33
:confused: Big Brother was around in 1983?

:P
Daistallia 2104
28-11-2007, 19:52
*reads list*

Hmm. Interesting. Let's look at some on the list.

1. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who: since when did disillusion with revolution automatically make one conservative?

6. "Gloria" by U2: WTF! Faith =/= conservative, even if it's done in Latin!

12. "Neighborhood Bully" by Bob Dylan. Another WTF moment. Since when did singing about blowing shit up in the middle east make one conservative?

18. "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour. This son is anarchistic, not conservative. It tears down all forms of hierarchy evenly. And we've learned time and time again that conservative =/= small government.

*throw up*

I can't take more of this bullshit.

That's not to mention The Sex Pistols' "Bodies" being presented as anti-abortion, when it's not (wake up dude! shocking people out of their comfort zone doesn't equal agreement), The Clash's "Rock the Casbah", Iron Maiden's “Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (quoting poetry doesn't equal conservative), and Offspring? WTF was that guy on? Gimme some!
Forsakia
28-11-2007, 20:21
Reminds me of Bastile Day in France, and using the 1812 overture when letting of fireworks - ignoring that the 1812 overture celebrates France's defeat to Russia.

Bastille Day being a revolutionary celebration, and 1812 being the defeat of Napoleon, it makes a fair amount of sense.
Yanitaria
28-11-2007, 20:40
oh i wouldnt know. i looked up the lyrics and they had an english version.

perhaps it has a great sound like the japanese one nervun was talking about so that its great to listen to even if you have no idea what its saying?

Rammstien doesn't do multilingual versions of their songs. They are only ever in the language that they are sung in originally.

Fall Out Boy's "7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)" is about drug abuse, but everyone thinks it's about a girl... not that I listen to that sort of music....
Free Soviets
28-11-2007, 20:46
That's not to mention The Sex Pistols' "Bodies" being presented as anti-abortion, when it's not (wake up dude! shocking people out of their comfort zone doesn't equal agreement), The Clash's "Rock the Casbah", Iron Maiden's “Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (quoting poetry doesn't equal conservative), and Offspring? WTF was that guy on? Gimme some!

i liked jon swift's response of 50 more conservative rock songs (http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2006/05/50-more-conservative-rock-songs.html)

2. Bruce Springsteen
"Born in the USA"
How could the National Review have missed this one? Ronald Reagan loved this patriotic song and used it during his campaign, which must have made Bruce Springsteen very proud. I love to sing the words aloud: "Something, something, something, etc./BORN IN THE USA!"
...
44. Edgar Winter Group
"Frankenstein"
I included this song because the National Review list included "Godzilla," though I'm not sure why. I think it's because monsters are conservative for some reason.
Daistallia 2104
28-11-2007, 20:57
i liked jon swift's response of 50 more conservative rock songs (http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2006/05/50-more-conservative-rock-songs.html)

48. Britney Spears
"Oops...I Did It Again"
Bush supporter, wife, mother and role model Britney Spears doesn't feel the need to apologize for her "mistakes" because the men who might have thought she led them on should take personal responsibility for their actions.


LOL!

Thanks for that, Free. :D
Levee en masse
28-11-2007, 21:12
Iron Maiden's “Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (quoting poetry doesn't equal conservative),

Perhaps the conservative position on opium changed whilst we weren't looking.

Incident, not content to confine his musical ignorance to 50, Mr Miller has announced a futher 50.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWEzNmQwM2NmZWIwYTFhMGJlZDNlNGE1NWY3NGM4NDg=

One of my favorite comments surrounding this was "Papa Don't Preach" should have been nominated, because after all, Madonna keeps her baby :)
Trotskylvania
28-11-2007, 22:47
Perhaps the conservative position on opium changed whilst we weren't looking.

Incident, not content to confine his musical ignorance to 50, Mr Miller has announced a futher 50.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWEzNmQwM2NmZWIwYTFhMGJlZDNlNGE1NWY3NGM4NDg=

One of my favorite comments surrounding this was "Papa Don't Preach" should have been nominated, because after all, Madonna keeps her baby :)

Ugg, that guy has his head so far up his ass, it's not funny. He's finding conservatism wherever he looks. I suggest he changes his search engine filters.
UNIverseVERSE
28-11-2007, 23:43
Ugg, that guy has his head so far up his ass, it's not funny. He's finding conservatism wherever he looks. I suggest he changes his search engine filters.

Well, if he thinks that smaller government means more conservative, I bet he'll be saying that anarchists are really conservatives in a bit.