Most misinterpreted songs of all time?

[LumbergTech]

tool - sober

 

[0]

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.

 

[edro]

Stairway to Heaven

Most people think it's a bunch of mixed up nonsensical lyrics, when in fact... well... yeah, I guess that's what it is.

 

[Crazee]

Mack the Knife. Most people think because of its upbeat rhythm and swing it is a happy song but it is about a hitman.


Oh, the shark, has, pretty teeth, dear....and he shows them, pearly white
Just a jackknife, has Macheath, yeah.....and he keeps it, out of sight
When the shark bites, with his teeth, dear....scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears Macheath, yeah..so there?s not a trace, hmmmm of red

On the sidewalk...sunday morning, ...lies a body oozin? life
Someone?s sneakin? ?round the corner...is that someone, Mack the Knife?

From a tugboat.... by the river..... a cement bag?s, droopin? down
Yeah, the cement?s just for the weight, dear...bet you Mack, he?s back in town
Looky here Louie Miller, disappeared dear...after drawing, out his cash
And Macheath spends, like a sailor...did our boy do, somethin? rash?

Sukey Tawdry, Jenny Diver..Lotte Lenya, Sweet Lucy Brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, dears.....now that Macky?s back in town

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Champ
people misinterpret American Woman a lot too but its really anti-American (only a Canadian can write a song that hits #1 with so much anti-Americanism in it)

I don?t need your war machines
I don?t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else?s eyes
Now woman, get away from me American woman, mama let me be.

listen to it as a Canadian and you'll understand

I saw Randy Bachman live and he said it was about the statue of liberty and keeping Americanism imperialism out of Canada and the rest of the world

I remember when I was in Vegas it got a group of 3 american guy so pissed (they didnt know The Guess Who was Canadian) by telling them what it was really about

I was around when that album came out and it was no secret what it was about listening to it as an American. It fit right in with the rest of what was taking place in 1970. (see Steppenwolf's Monster, Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers or albums by any number of US bands releasing albums at the time)

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Crazee
Mack the Knife. Most people think because of its upbeat rhythm and swing it is a happy song but it is about a hitman.

I have never heard or known of anyone that thought Mack the Knife was a happy song.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Crazee
Mack the Knife. Most people think because of its upbeat rhythm and swing it is a happy song but it is about a hitman.

I have never heard or known of anyone that thought Mack the Knife was a happy song.

Many people only know this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG9eiLVT2Rc

 

[GasX]

My first thought was to John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses

Like "Born In The USA", it is a song politicians love to roll out to show their patriotism without ever reading or listening to the lyrics.

Theres a black man with a black cat
Living in a black neighbourhood
Hes got an interstate runnin through his front yard
You know, he think, that hes got it so good
And theres a woman in the kitchen cleanin up the evening slop
And he looks at her and says: hey darling, I can remember when you could stop a clock

Chorus:
Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

Well theres a young man in a t-shirt
Listening to a rockin rollin station
Hes got a greasy hair, greasy smile
He says: lord, this must be my destination
cuz they told me, when I was younger
Boy, youre gonna be president
But just like everyting else, those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

Chorus:
Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

Well theres people and more people
What do they know know know
Go to work in some high rise
And vacation down at the gulf of mexico
Ohhh yeah
And theres winners, and theres losers
But they aint no big deal
cuz the simple man baby pays for the thrills,
The bills and the pills that kill

Chorus:
Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

Oh but aint that america for you and me
Aint that america were someting to see baby
Aint that america, home of the free
Little pink houses for you and me

 

[acheron]

Originally posted by: Auric

Let us call it an "as yet nonreciprocal love song" then. It is a fine line between courting and stalking, after all.

Is that generally misinterpreted though? I figgered it was pretty clear from the first listen.

I remember an interview with Sting, where he said how people came up to him and told him that they used "Every Breath You Take" at their wedding. He said he was thinking, "Uh, ok, good luck with that."

 

[Abel007]

Originally posted by: mugs
Hotel California

Winner

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Shadow Conception
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

dude, I don't know how you can interpret that song as about anything other than LSD

Originally posted by: LumbergTech
tool - sober

Is it not about religion?

 

[Vehemence]

Dying Fetus - Kill Your Mother, Rape Your Dog

It's so deep!

 

[PatrickBateman]

Originally posted by: Caveman
"Campfire at Bitterman's" - Pearl Jam

hahaha


what about " 4 or 5 virgins and a pelican"?

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Champ
people misinterpret American Woman a lot too but its really anti-American (only a Canadian can write a song that hits #1 with so much anti-Americanism in it)

I don?t need your war machines
I don?t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else?s eyes
Now woman, get away from me American woman, mama let me be.

listen to it as a Canadian and you'll understand

I saw Randy Bachman live and he said it was about the statue of liberty and keeping Americanism imperialism out of Canada and the rest of the world

I remember when I was in Vegas it got a group of 3 american guy so pissed (they didnt know The Guess Who was Canadian) by telling them what it was really about

My eyes are opened.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by the Beetles. No so much misinterpreted as mistaken for being a song about tripping on LSD. It was actually written for or about a child's drawing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L..._the_Sky_with_Diamonds

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: Champ
people misinterpret American Woman a lot too but its really anti-American (only a Canadian can write a song that hits #1 with so much anti-Americanism in it)

I don?t need your war machines
I don?t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else?s eyes
Now woman, get away from me American woman, mama let me be.

listen to it as a Canadian and you'll understand

I saw Randy Bachman live and he said it was about the statue of liberty and keeping Americanism imperialism out of Canada and the rest of the world

I remember when I was in Vegas it got a group of 3 american guy so pissed (they didnt know The Guess Who was Canadian) by telling them what it was really about

My eyes are opened.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by the Beetles. No so much misinterpreted as mistaken for being a song about tripping on LSD. It was actually written for or about a child's drawing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L..._the_Sky_with_Diamonds

Paul McCartney recounted trading lyric ideas with Lennon in an interview, saying, "We never noticed the LSD initial until it was pointed out later, by which point people didn't believe us."[6] This is confirmed by a 1971 interview of Lennon, where he admitted to curiously going so far as to search for acronyms in his other work, only to find "they didn't spell out anything." George Martin also denied the song was about LSD in the book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn. However, Lewisohn goes on to say "there can be little doubt that this was the very substance that provoked such colourful word imagery to flow out of Lennon's head and onto paper." [7] McCartney agrees in a 2004 interview, where he noted that Julian's painting had inspired the song, but that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was also inspired by LSD.[8] For his part, Lennon attributed the colourful prose not to the drug, but to the writings of Lewis Carroll. George Martin also accredits the influence of Carroll and Dylan Thomas on Lenno

Wow. Unbelievably, wow. MY BEATLES CLASS WAS ALL WRONG. ALL FUCKING WRONG.

 

[AmberClad]

I don't know that it's so much misunderstood persay, but I still find it odd that the San Jose Sharks played Green Day's "Holiday" (albeit, only 10 secs or so from the "Hey") when they scored a goal, considering the rest of the song could be considered controversial.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: AmberClad
I don't know that it's so much misunderstood persay, but I still find it odd that the San Jose Sharks played Green Day's "Holiday" (albeit, only 10 secs or so from the "Hey") when they scored a goal, considering the rest of the song could be considered controversial.

per se

 

[ed21x]

Puff the magic Dragon

 

[BladeVenom]

Louie Louie, most people get the words wrong.

 

[Ichigo]

None of you watch Arrested Development?

"Afternoon Delight"

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: mugs
Hotel California

I agree. I could care less what the band members have said since, this song is CLEARLY about heroin addiction.

It's a love affair, mainly Jesus and my hotrod. Yeah fuck it!

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: Cogman
I always like the M*A*S*H theme song, I thought it was a catchy sixties style song. Then I had someone tell me what the title was, "Suicide is painless" and all the sudden the happy song turned into a very sad one (Especially when I later heard it with the lyrics)

That's what you get for watching the stupid TV series without having ever watched the feature film.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: LumbergTech
tool - sober

Pray tell, what do you think it's about?

 

[JS80]

I think I'm turning Japanese

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Mardeth
Nightwish - Wishmaster

IMO misinterpreted is the wrong thing for this song

most peopel just miss it totally and dont even get it let along get it wrong