Songs That Have Been Widely Misunderstood

Like The Who's Pictures of Lilly......

 

Yes, the idea being that if you're a man you're going to get stoned by women. Figuratively, hopefully.

 

Garden Party by Rick Nelson is also misunderstood by many people.

 

Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young

Like Springsteen's Born in the USA, at first blush (at least if you only absorb the chorus) it sounds straight, simple, and patriotic. It isn't. It's amazing how often I come across people who don't know the real perspective.

 

Can I put in a word for a song that seems to be misunderstood by people who sing it? My choice is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Every time I have heard American Idol wannabes grab on to the chorus of Hallelujah and wail as if they are in church leading the choir I want to laugh. Of course my next move is to change the channel.

To my eyes and ears it is a beautiful song of a man's failure in loving a woman who is just not right for him in so many ways. The Hallelujah chorus is mournful and ironic, celebratory of the pain of love not the glory of faith or God. Yet so many singers now want to ignore the verse and go wild with the chorus completely disregarding the power and beauty in this song. No wonder Cohen has asked for a moratorium.

For me, Jeff Buckley got it right.

 

No, it's about women. EVERY song on Blonde on Blonde is about women.

 

Or "Rattlesnake Shake". Best ironic rock peformance ever; Fleetwood Mac performing "Rattlesnake Shake" on Hugh Hefner's "Playboy After Dark". The people in the audience dancing think the name of the song is a new dance. To see Peter Green smiling from ear to ear while he's singing...priceless.

 

Yes, that's a serious error. It's time people learned to request Every Breath I Take by Gene Pitney instead, which has the added benefit of being a much better song!

 

Agreed that there've been lots of bad covers (though I'd put Jeff Buckley's among them), but the song has wall-to-wall biblical imagery, and Cohen's own original arrangement is inflected by gospel. Yeah, the theme is more eros than agape, but the contrast between style and subject is very intentional.

 

Imaginary Lover - Atlanta Rhythm Section

 

I don't know if they still do, but BBC radio used to play Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas" during the festive season, apparently unaware of the song's intention.

 

What he's talking about is getting "stoned" in the Biblical sense, "stoned unto death".

 

What exactly does the phrase "blonde on blonde" mean? It almost sounds like lesbianism.

 

If Dylan intended "they'll stone you" to mean "women will attack men" every chance they get, then I have to wonder what his motivation was for writing such a song. The line "everybody must get stoned" sounds vague in this context, you would think it should have been "every "GUY (or man) must get stoned", if it was about women "stoning" men. Certainly male artists have written negative songs about women over the years, but this one would certainly take the cake, if true, which I'm not totally covinced of.

 

I never took it to mean stalking someone, as in the kind of stalking you could go to jail for. Just a guy who wants his woman to know that he won't tolerate any infidelity. But the song is obviously wide open to interpretation. I guess wedding music has come along way since "The Wedding Song" by Paul Stookey, I wouldn't know from experience.

 

Yes, but to me the singer seems to imply that he fully expects the girl to return his affection, that it's a foregone conclusion.

 

What about the Band's The Weight? No idea.

And Blonde On Blonde?

Isn't it the artist's prerogative to say interpret it the way you want? If there is a grievous misinterpretation then the creator can clarify the nature of the creation.

Not knowing makes these songs more enjoyable in my opinion. Just sayin'...

Except for Rainy Day Women-never could stand that thing...

 

Ted Nugent claimed to misunderstand the intent behind the Amboy Dukes' 1968 hit "Jourey To The Center Of Your Mind" despite his playing lead guitar on it. He said later he had no idea it was about drugs and thought instead it was about contemplative self-reflection.

 

Sting disagrees:

"Sting later said he was disconcerted by how many people think the song is more positive than it is. He insists it's about unrequited love (the song was written at the time he and his then wife divorced), about the obsession with the lost lover, the jealousy and surveillance that followed."

 

Speaking of Imagine, I was in the car the other day and Imagine was on the radio and at the end the DJ spoke about that beautiful "love song" by John Lennon that they had just played. Love song? Well, maybe a love song to the people of the Earth, but that is stretching things lol.

 

Then I'd venture that The Night Has A Thousand Eyes by Bobby Vee is a much better song dealing with this scenario.

 

i've always taken this one at face value.....how is it sarcastic?

 

The story is he was waiting for his wife, Patti, to get dressed for a party and she was taking too long. She kept asking him how she looked. "You look wonderful tonight" he answered, trying to get her to move along.

Maybe so, but I think his intent as a songwriter was to pull up some of the truthfulness in what he was saying, that he was offering more than time-conscious blandishments but earnest if (initially) unrecognized declarations of love. The sarcasm angle works to a point, but the song reveals a reservoir of real feeling, too.

 

Smashing Pumpkins - "Today"

 

I know this is an old thread but when I just saw it, these two were some that popped into my mind. I was about to post about Number Of The Beast, but I figured someone would've mentioned it. Glad I checked before I did post it.

Many of Iron Maiden's early songs are misunderstood. What about "Hallowed Be Thy Name"? People who don't pay attention to the lyrics can easily misinterpret the meaning.

"Better By You, Better Than Me" (Judas Priest cover of Spooky Tooth) is misunderstood because of those kids committing/trying suicide in the '80s. Because of the trial and press, people to this day still think the meaning of the song is about suicide.