Songs that are often interpreted the opposite of intended

[repoman]

The biggest example that comes to mind is "Born in the USA".

But I also think that there is a Gil Scott Heron song as well, but can't place it. When a song is against bigotry it can be seen as an endorsement of their own attitudes by bigots that aren't listening closely.

Any else?

 

[Keith&Co.]

When i stood Shore Patrol in Scotland, one of the bars sailors hung out it was attempting to be a Country Western bar for the 'Mericans. The night we cruised through there with one SP being a black sailor, three idiots raced to be the guy to call up 'She Ran Off With A Nigger' on the jukebox.
I asked him if he wanted to leave. He smiled and said, no, he'd heard this song before. I hadn't.

We waited it out, the jackasses laughing their fool heads off. At the very end of the song, he turned the volume up to maximum and we all heard
'She broke my heart, and now I know,
I never should have married that black little bitch anyway.'
Then we left.

 

[beero1000]

How about "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)"?

From the wiki page:

Perceived ambiguity of "that"

Meat Loaf says that the question, "What is 'that'?" is one of the most popular questions he is asked.[4]

Each verse mentions two things that the man would do for love, followed by one thing that he will not do. The title phrase repetition reasserts that he "won't do that". Each mention of "that" is a reference to the particular promise that he made earlier in the same verse.[5] The four things he says he will never do are:
"forget the way you feel right now"
"forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight"
"do it better than I do it with you"
"stop dreaming of you every night of my life"[6]


At the song's conclusion, the woman predicts two things that he will do: "You'll see that it's time to move on", and "You'll be screwing around". To both of these, the male emphatically responds, "I won't do that!"

In his 1998 VH1 Storytellers special, Meat Loaf even explained it on stage using a blackboard and a pointing stick.[5]

In a 1993 promotional interview, Steinman states that the definition of "that" is fully revealed in the song in each of the several verses in which it is mentioned.It sort of is a little puzzle and I guess it goes by - but they're all great things. 'I won't stop doing beautiful things and I won't do bad things.' It's very noble. I'm very proud of that song because it's very much like out of the world of Excalibur. To me, it's like Sir Lancelot or something - very noble and chivalrous. That's my favorite song on the record - it's very ambitious.[7][8]

Meat Loaf believed that the lyrics were unambiguous, but Steinman predicted that they would cause confusion.[9] An early episode of the VH1 program Pop-up Video made this claim at the end of the song's video: "Exactly what Meat Loaf won't do for love remains a mystery to this day."[10] A reviewer writing for Allmusic commented that "The lyrics build suspense by portraying a romance-consumed lover who pledges to do anything in the name of love except 'that,' a mysterious thing that he will not specify."[11] Frank O'day says the lyrics provide "an enlightening example of how listeners project their own thoughts, values, and concerns onto the meaning of the song with misconstrued lyrics."[3]

 

[thebeave]

Well, there's always the old standby Police song, "Every Breath You Take". Supposedly, its intended to be a creepy song about stalking, etc., but people take it as a love song and play it at their weddings. *shivers*

 

[Godless Raven]

I've attended at least 4 weddings that cranked out Billy Idol's "White Wedding"

"White Wedding"

Hey little sister what have you done?
Hey little sister who's the only one?
Hey little sister who's your superman?
Hey little sister who's the one you want?
Hey little sister shot gun!

It's a nice day to start again.
It's a nice day for a white wedding.
It's a nice day to start again.

Hey little sister who is it you're with?
Hey little sister what's your vice and wish?
Hey little sister shot gun (oh yeah)
Hey little sister who's your superman?
Hey little sister shot gun!

It's a nice day to start again (come on)
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again.

(Pick it up)

Take me back home

Hey little sister what have you done?
Hey little sister who's the only one?
I've been away for so long (so long)
I've been away for so long (so long)
I let you go for so long

It's a nice day to start again (come on)
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again.

There is nothin' fair in this world
There is nothin' safe in this world
And there's nothin' sure in this world
And there's nothin' pure in this world
Look for something left in this world
Start again

Come on
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again.
It's a nice day to start again.
It's a nice day to start again

Writer(s): Billy Idol
Copyright: Boneidol Music, Chrysalis Music


Makes you wonder if any of them paid attention to the lyrics beyond "it's a nice day for a White Wedding"

Despite rumors to the contrary, this song is not about Idol's actual little sister. "Little sister" is slang for girlfriend. He is singing about a woman/girl he loves marrying someone else while he still loves her.
Idol did have a sister who was getting married, but on an episode of VH1 Storytellers, he explained that his sister's wedding simply gave him the idea for the song. Like many of Idol's compositions, he started with the title and wrote the song from there...


This song is very anti-marriage song, and yet many people have it played at their weddings simply because it mentions a wedding.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1129

 

[credoconsolans]

Meatloaf's "Two out of three ain't bad".

You start off listening, thinking the guy singing it is a real asshole. Then you hear near the end,

"There's only one girl that I will ever love
And that was so many years ago
And though I know I'll never get her out of my heart
She never loved me back, ooh I know
I remember how she left me on a stormy night
She kissed me and got out of our bed
And though I pleaded and I begged her
Not to walk out that door
She packed her bags and turned right away...

And she kept on telling me
She kept on telling me
She kept on telling me
I want you
I need you
But there ain't no way
I'm ever gonna love you
Now don't be sad
'Cause two out of three ain't bad..."

 

[Underseer]

Mercedez Benz by Janis Joplin was actually used in a Mercedez Benz commercial.

A more recent one is the use of Eminence Front by The Who in a commercial for a luxury pickup truck.

The sun shines
And people forget
They spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget
Forget they're hiding
The girls smile
And people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
And people forget
Forget they're hiding.

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front - It's a put on.
It's Eminence front
It's Eminence front - It's a put on.
An Eminence front
Eminence front - It's a put on.
Eminence front
It's Eminence front
It's Eminence front - It's a put on.
It's a put on
It's a put on
It's a put on

Come and join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join the party
Dress to kill.
Dress to kill.

The drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding.

Behind an eminence front
An Eminence front - it's a put on
It's just an Eminence front
An Eminence front - It's a put on.
An Eminence front
An Eminence front- It's a put on.
Eminence front
It's Eminence front - It's a put on.

It's a put on
It's a put on
It's a put on
It's a put on

Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Dress yourself to kill.

The song mocks the rich and upper class for becoming so obsessed with luxury and pleasure that they lose sight of what is important, and someone thought it would be a good idea to use it in a commercial for a luxury item?

 

[Underseer]

Oh, and this one was misunderstood because people didn't know the inspiration for it:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2007/11/photo_hulton_archivegetty_imag.html

Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline was inspired by a photograph of an underage Caroline Kennedy. Yeah, it's essentially a pedophile love song.

 

[prideandfall]

biggest one that jumps out at me is Closer, by nine inch nails.
just about EVERYONE only listens to 7 words in the song and so utterly misunderstand it that i find it hilarious.
anyone not familiar with nin probably at least knows the infamous chorus words, "i want to fuck you like an animal", but what amuses me is to look at the song absent just the chrous:

you let me violate you. you let me desecrate you. you let me penetrate you. you let me complicate you.
help me, i broke apart my insides.
help me, i've got no soul to sell.
help me, the only thing that works for me...
help me get away from myself.

my whole existence is flawed.
you get me closer to god.

you can have my isolation, you can have the hate that it brings.
you can have my absence of faith, you can have my everything.
help me, you tear down my reason.
help me, it's your sex i can smell.
help me, you make me perfect.
help me think i'm somebody else.

my whole existence is flawed.
you get me closer to god.

through every forest, above the trees, within my stomach, scrapped off my knees.
i drink the honey from inside your hive.
you are the reason i stay alive.

 

[Underseer]

One of the funniest ones is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, which came about because of something the songwriter misunderstood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smells_Like_Teen_Spirit

Cobain came up with the song's title when his friend Kathleen Hanna, at the time the lead singer of the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been discussing anarchism, punk rock, and similar topics, Cobain interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. What Hanna actually meant, however, was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail wore. Cobain later claimed he was unaware that it was a brand of deodorant until months after the single was released.[10]

 

[fta]

 Honky Tonk Angel (Cliff Richard song)

While recording the song [as a cover version], Cliff Richard incorrectly assumed that the song's lyrics were about a piano player, unaware that the phrase 'honky-tonk angel' was used in America as a synonym for 'prostitute'. Some of his fans and friends, aware of the true meaning of the song's title, expressed surprise that he had chosen to cover the song, given his Christian beliefs. When the singer himself learnt the meaning of the slang term, he decided to make a television announcement about the withdrawal of the record and refused to promote it.

Poor Cliff...

 

[Underseer]

Oh, and Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones is about a slave owner raping his slaves.

 

[Playball40]

I think the new Nathaniel Rateliff song, "SOB" is heading in that direction.

"S.O.B."
(with The Night Sweats)


I'm gonna need someone to help me
I'm gonna need somebody's hand
I'm gonna need someone to hold me down
I'm gonna need someone to care
I'm gonna writhe and shake my body
I'll start pulling out my hair
I'm going to cover myself with the ashes of you
And nobody's gonna give a damn

Son of a bitch, give me a drink
One more night escaping me
Son of a bitch
If I can't get clean I'm gonna drink my life away

Now for seventeen years I've been throwing them back
Seventeen more will bury me
Can somebody please just tie me down
Or somebody give me a goddamn drink

Son of a bitch, give me a drink
One more night
This can't be me
Son of a bitch
If I can't get clean I'm gonna drink my life away
Hey, Yeah now

My heart was breaking, hands are shaking
Bugs are crawling all over me
My heart was breaking, hands are shaking
Bugs are crawling all over me
My heart was breaking, hands are shaking
Bugs are crawling all over me
My heart was aching, hands are shaking
Bugs are crawling all over me

Son of a bitch, give me a drink
One more night
This can't be me
Son of a bitch
If I can't get clean I'm gonna drink my life away
Son of a bitch, give me a drink
One more night
This can't be me
Son of a bitch
If I can't get clean I'm gonna drink my life away
Yeah ah

 

[Godless Raven]

Oh, and Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones is about a slave owner raping his slaves.

It is!? I've never paid attention to any of the lyrics. Doh!

 

[Keith&Co.]

Oh, and Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones is about a slave owner raping his slaves.

It is!? I've never paid attention to any of the lyrics. Doh!

Well it IS Mick Jagger. Hearing the lyrics is only half the battle...

But that old slaver down in New Orleans, thinks he's doin' alright, hear him whip the women just about midnight...

 

[repoman]

I thought this song was about sex, I guess I was wrong:

 

[Uwe]

I've been to post-breakup Pink Floyd concerts, and seen teh obvious KKK-types cheerfully screaming along with:

http://www.pink-floyd-lyrics.com/html/in-the-flesh-2-wall-lyrics.html
In The Flesh (Waters) 1:36

So ya
Thought ya
Might like to
Go to the show.
To feel that warm thrill of confusion,
That space cadet glow.
I've got some bad news for you sunshine,
Pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel
And they sent us along as a surrogate band
We're gonna find out where you folks really stand.

Are there any queers in the theater tonight?
Get them up against the wall!
There's one in the spotlight, he don't look right to me,
Get him up against the wall!
That one looks Jewish!
And that one's a coon!
Who let all of this riff-raff into the room?
There's one smoking a joint,
And another with spots!
If I had my way,
I'd have all of you shot!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Dido has a song called "Don't Leave Home", a song that is clearly about either dependency or a very emotionally abusive relationship, but apparently some fans think it is a love song.

Well, there's always the old standby Police song, "Every Breath You Take". Supposedly, its intended to be a creepy song about stalking, etc., but people take it as a love song and play it at their weddings. *shivers*

Well, in the sense it is clearly a song about stalking.

 

[credoconsolans]

Dido has a song called "Don't Leave Home", a song that is clearly about either dependency or a very emotionally abusive relationship, but apparently some fans think it is a love song.

Well, there's always the old standby Police song, "Every Breath You Take". Supposedly, its intended to be a creepy song about stalking, etc., but people take it as a love song and play it at their weddings. *shivers*

Well, in the sense it is clearly a song about stalking.

The song clearly about stalking is Lionel Richie's "Hello"

I've been alone with you inside my mind
And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
I sometimes see you pass outside my door
Hello, is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it in your smile
You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide
'Cause you know just what to say
And you know just what to do
And I want to tell you so much, I love you ...
Ohh yeahh...
I long to see the sunlight in your hair
And tell you time and time again how much I care
Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow
Hello, I've just got to let you know
'Cause I wonder where you are
And I wonder what you do
Are you somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you?
Tell me how to win your heart
For I haven't got a clue

 

[thebeave]

Dido has a song called "Don't Leave Home", a song that is clearly about either dependency or a very emotionally abusive relationship, but apparently some fans think it is a love song.
Well, in the sense it is clearly a song about stalking.

The song clearly about stalking is Lionel Richie's "Hello"

I've been alone with you inside my mind
And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
I sometimes see you pass outside my door
Hello, is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it in your smile
You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide
'Cause you know just what to say
And you know just what to do
And I want to tell you so much, I love you ...
Ohh yeahh...
I long to see the sunlight in your hair
And tell you time and time again how much I care
Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow
Hello, I've just got to let you know
'Cause I wonder where you are
And I wonder what you do
Are you somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you?
Tell me how to win your heart
For I haven't got a clue

More like he's longing for her, or obsessed with her. I don't see any stalking behavior in those lyrics.