Famous Songs With Surprising Backstories
TL;DR — Some of the most famous songs mean the opposite of how they're used. Born in the U.S.A. is a protest about Vietnam veterans; Every Breath You Take is about obsessive surveillance, not romance; Semi-Charmed Life and Pumped Up Kicks hide crystal meth and a school shooting behind bright melodies; Hey Ya! is about a failing relationship.
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Take the quizMistaken for celebrations
"Born in the U.S.A.," Bruce Springsteen (1984). The booming chorus hides verses about a veteran sent to "kill the yellow man," then abandoned. It was famously misread as patriotic, including in a 1984 presidential campaign speech.
"Every Breath You Take," The Police (1983). Sting wrote it amid his divorce and has called it "nasty" and about surveillance. Its gentle melody made it a wedding staple anyway.
"Hey Ya!," OutKast (2003). André 3000's euphoric hit asks whether couples only stay together out of habit. "If what they say is nothing is forever, then what makes love the exception?"
Dark stories, bright tunes
"Semi-Charmed Life," Third Eye Blind (1997). Its "doo doo doo" hook got it onto pop radio, where many listeners missed the lyrics about crystal meth and its comedown.
"Pumped Up Kicks," Foster the People (2010). A whistling summer hit whose lyrics describe a teenager with a gun. Some radio stations later pulled it after real shootings.
Misused and misunderstood
"Hallelujah," Leonard Cohen (1984). Its title makes it a funeral and wedding favourite, but Cohen's verses are about sex, failure and a "cold and broken" hallelujah.
"Wonderwall," Oasis (1995). Noel Gallagher once said it was about his girlfriend, later said it was about "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself." The title came from a George Harrison solo album.
Frequently asked questions
What is Born in the U.S.A. really about? A working-class Vietnam veteran who comes home to no job and no support. The chorus sounds triumphant, but the verses are angry.
What is Pumped Up Kicks about? It's told from the perspective of an isolated teenager planning a shooting. Mark Foster has said he wrote it to draw attention to youth mental health and gun violence.
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