Hey Ya – Outkast
Hey Ya by Outkast was a bit of a phenomenon when it came out, topping charts all over the world, while simultaneously getting people out of their seats to revel in its catchiness. Dive deeper into the lyrics though, and you quickly realize the song is a cynical take on modern-day relationships and the lack of substance behind them.
I Took a Pill in Ibiza – Mike Posner
While I Took a Pill in Ibiza may reference living the high life in Los Angeles, the overriding theme of the song is actually how quickly fame and money can disappear. The lyrics deal with intoxication, addiction and regret, while also warning anyone who is currently riding their own wave of fame of the pitfalls it can bring.
Chandelier – Sia
Chandelier is a song about going out and dancing the night away, but Sia doesn’t approach the topic in the way that pop singers usually do. Chandelier is instead about going out and drinking too much to avoid the reality of the world and the responsibilities it brings. Bleak, huh?
Beautiful Girls – Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls sounds like a simple ode to female beauty, that is until he starts with the references to taking one’s own life. Even if the lyrics didn’t seem as heartbreaking in the times where songs were a whole lot less sensitive to such topics, Mr Kingston was clearly in some pain when singing the song.
Love The Way You Lie – Eminem ft. Rihanna
Eminem has always been a bit of a sucker for violence, having previously made threats of violence and death towards another woman in his song Kim. Love The Way You Lie featuring Rihanna focuses on another violent, dysfunctional relationship, with a graphic, horrible threat at the end, which we shall not repeat.
My Sharona – The Knack
If The Knack were allowed to go back and rewrite the lyrics to their one and only hit, My Sharona, it’s likely they would take up the offer in a heartbeat. While the song seems fairly innocuous on first listen, the lyrics actually touch on what appears to be the narrator’s attraction to young women.
MMMBop – Hanson
Hanson’s MMMBop is the very definition of upbeat: performed by kids and marketed to kids. By all accounts, the song was written to be as simple and saccharine as possible, and it was performed as such. However, peel back the layer of pop fluff and you’ll find that the lyrics are about how all good things come to an end.
Every Breath You Take – The Police
The Police’s biggest hit, and one of commercial radio’s most played songs, Every Breath You Take is actually far creepier than it would first appear. It originally seems as though the narrator is singing about their love for someone, but when you read the lyrics on their own, you’ll find the narrator is actually stalking their desired lover, watching them from afar everywhere they go.
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car gives the impression that the struggling lead character managed to escape a life of hardship looking after her alcoholic father, by leaving with her lover in a fast car. However, towards the end of the song, we find out that her lover has also succumbed to substances, choosing to spend his time at the bar rather than with his own children.
Come on Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners
Come on Eileen is a classic, one usually played in the last minutes before closing time at the club to get revellers involved in a good old sing-song. However, the more you listen to the words, the creepier they get, as the narrator is clearly trying to trick a woman into going home with him.
We Are Young – Fun ft. Janelle Monáe
We Are Young, by Fun featuring Janelle Monáe seems like a rousing anthem to encourage everyone to enjoy themselves while they are still young. However, it is littered with subtle references to illegal substances, with one line even hinting towards domestic abuse.
Delilah – Tom Jones
Tom Jones’ Delilah was recently banned by the Welsh Rugby Union from being played before games, as it heavily promotes violence against women. The song references a brutal murder of a woman by the jealous, and unhinged character that Jones is portraying.
99 Luftballons – Nena
Nena’s 1980s global hit 99 Luftballons initially sounds like your average synth-heavy pop song, but it’s actually about the start of a new, more violent kind of war. The premise of the song focuses on 99 red balloons that were released into the sky, accidentally crossing over the East/West Germany border. These balloons are wrongly interpreted as enemy weapons, promptly sparking a catastrophic, deadly conflict.
American Pie – Don McLean
American Pie is a classic singalong anthem, spanning over eight minutes, and running listeners through a lyrically dense story. What you might not know, however, is that the song is actually about the culturally significant years that followed the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Big Bopper in a tragic air crash in 1959.
I Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
The Weeknd’s I Can’t Feel My Face was surprisingly nominated for best song at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards the year of its release. The Weeknd references this nomination in his song, Reminder, explaining that the track is actually about not being able to feel your face after consuming a heavy amount of an illicit substance.
Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers is actually based on a true story, one that highlights the risks and consequences of substance abuse. The bridge in question is a place where singer Anthony Kiedis used to go during the height of his problems, where he would hang out with other lost folk rather than being at home with his girlfriend.
Hotel California – Eagles
Eagles’ most popular song Hotel California is not actually about a real establishment of the same name, but rather about the dark, untold truths of the American Dream, and how it often promises a whole lot more than it ever truly offers in return. That’s far scarier than a hotel where you end up living the same day over and over again.
Gangnam Style – PSY
Anyone who was active on the internet when PSY released Gangnam Style in 2012 will know the frenzy the song caused, how it became one of the first Korean songs to enter the mainstream, and how it prompted all sorts of people to attempt its famous dance. What non-Korean speaking people may not know is that the song is speaking out against a supposed Korean mentality of having to keep up materially with other people in order to feel valuable as a human.
Electric Avenue – Eddy Grant
Electric Avenue gives the impression that it is an upbeat, danceable song, but it actually highlights the problem of poverty and inequality among minorities in London. The song also references the Brixton riots of 1981, in which violence broke out between a group of young black men and the Metropolitan Police.
Run For Your Life – The Beatles
Despite being one of the greatest albums ever recorded, Rubber Soul by The Beatles ends on a rather sour note with John Lennon’s severely bitter Run For Your Life. The song highlights Lennon’s historic jealousy, threatening to kill his lover if he ever finds her cheating on him.
Born in The USA – Bruce Springsteen
It’s well known that Bruce Springsteen managed to hide his anti-USA message in a song that you’d have thought could only be about nationalist pride. Springsteen’s Born in The USA actually laments the way that army veterans were treated once they had returned from the horrors of the Vietnam War.
Macarena – Los Del Río
Everyone knows the song, and everyone knows the dance, but few people actually know the lyrics, which is not such a bad thing. The famous party song Macarena focuses on a woman who is cheating on her boyfriend, who has been conscripted into the armed forces, with two other unknown men. Think about that next time you’re dancing to it at a wedding.
You Are My Sunshine – Jimmie Davis
You Are My Sunshine is a popular lullaby sung to unsuspecting little babies to try and send them to sleep. There is more to it than that though, as the song’s lyrics talk about the narrator’s feelings of anguish now that his lover no longer reciprocates his feelings.
Barbie Girl – Aqua
It’s so easy to take Aqua’s Barbie Girl at face value, especially if you’ve had the misfortune of watching its accompanying music video. However, some of the lyrics suggest that the song is less about Barbie dolls, and more about the coercive, creepy treatment that women receive in the music industry.
Blackbird – The Beatles
Blackbird’s beautiful acoustic guitar melody has stood the test of time, with many budding guitarists still trying their best to replicate it. Paul McCartney’s lyrics aren’t actually as innocent as they seem though, as the song isn’t about birds at all, but rather the injustice brought on by white supremacists and lawmakers in the 1960s Civil Rights movement in the USA.
Slide – Goo Goo Dolls
Slide by Goo Goo Dolls seems like a generic love song but actually follows the story of a Catholic girl who has become pregnant outside of marriage, a pretty big sin in the Catholic faith. The girl then faces a dilemma of whether to marry the baby’s father or terminate the pregnancy.
Baby It’s Cold Outside – Johnny Mercer
Baby It’s Cold Outside was a staple of many people’s Christmas playlists for years, but it was only recently pointed out that the lyrics are incredibly creepy. They involve a male, who is trying very desperately to convince his lover to stay, even to the point where he’s trying to force alcohol on her. That’s not very festive!
Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People
Scratch beneath Pumped Up Kicks’ extremely catchy surface and you’ll realize the lyrics are telling a story of a lone gunman. Singer Mark Foster wrote the song as a response to a worrying spike of mental illness in young people that he had been reading about. Unfortunately, mental illness in children and the number of gun violence fatalities have both risen in the years since the song was released.
Looking For Somebody (To Love) – The 1975
The 1975’s Looking For Somebody (To Love) tackles the difficult topics of toxic masculinity and incel culture, with lyrics depicting young people running away from a scene of gun violence. Matty Healy plays the part of a crazed gunman, trivializing the crime he has just committed while taking pleasure in the panic it caused.
One Way or Another – Blondie
One Way or Another is one of Blondie’s standout hits, with its catchy hook and vocal lines. However, Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry wrote the lyrics to the song from the perspective of one of her ex-boyfriends, who had been stalking her ever since their relationship came to an end.
In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins
You probably remember In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins for its intense but iconic drum solo, or maybe even for its haunting vocal delivery. What may have passed you by is the lyrical content. The song is about Collins’ painful divorce from his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli.
Hello – Lionel Richie
Hello seems like another easy-listening classic from Lionel Richie, and it can stay that way, as long as you don’t watch its music video. The video suggests that the song is about a teacher who falls in love with a blind pupil, and proceeds to follow her around the school.
Who Let The Dogs Out – The Baha Men
The Baha Men’s Who Let The Dogs Out is a party favorite, and it being played usually ends up with the room barking along with the song. However, its meaning is less trivial than you might expect. The song was written about the uncomfortable treatment of women on the street, with the barking meant to represent men catcalling.
You’re Beautiful – James Blunt
A charming little song about a man who has fallen in love on the subway? No, James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful is actually about a man who, as a consequence of various illicit substances, has taken to stalking and staring intently at an innocent woman while in the presence of her boyfriend.
Copacabana – Barry Manilow
Copacabana might be an uncool, cheesy pop song, but at least it’s an uncool, cheesy pop song with relatively interesting lyrics. The song is about a showgirl called Lola and her bartender boyfriend Tony who work at the Copacabana club. Tony attacks a man for trying to seduce Lola, but ends up being killed in the fight that ensues. The song then fast forwards to 30 years later, where Lola sits alone at the Copacabana, thinking of Tony.
Mack The Knife – Bobby Darin
The character Mack, whom Bobby Darin’s classic song Mack The Knife is named after, is actually a rather distasteful human being. He is an arsonist and murderer, who has committed a number of crimes against women and yet has not yet been caught. The blasé manner in which the character is sung about almost causes you to mentally breeze past Mack’s behavior.
Adam’s Song – Blink-182
Adam’s Song by Blink-182 was based on a story Mark Hoppus read about a young person called Adam who tragically took his own life. Adam had initially survived an incident with a lone gunman but had lost a close friend and a teacher whom he greatly admired. Hoppus wrote the song as a tribute to Adam and the pain he went through.
The A Team – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran’s early break-out hit, The A-Team, may originally sound wistful and pure, but it is actually based on a rather upsetting true story, about a girl he met while volunteering for a homeless charity. He met a girl named Angel who had become homeless after struggling with an addiction to class-A substances, which Sheeran references heavily in the song.
Help! – The Beatles
Help! by The Beatles originally started off as a slow piano ballad written by John Lennon as a literal cry for help when he was struggling with the pressures of fame. As The Beatles’ fanbase was craving pop hit after pop hit, producer George Martin suggested the band speed the song up and release it as an up-tempo single.
Camisado – Panic! at the Disco
Camisado was written by former Panic! at the Disco guitarist Ryan Ross, who based the lyrics around his father’s struggles with alcoholism. The song references the violence that Ross experienced at the hands of his intoxicated father and also talks about the time that Ross had to care for his father after one of his many relapses.
