Name: Top 50 Song Meanings That Everyone Gets WRONG
Uploaded: 2025-11-27T16:53:25.000Z
Duration: 46 min 46 s
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Adverbs of degree

Welcome to watchmojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 50 song meanings that people still manage to get totally mixed up about, sometimes even decades later.

Adverbs of manner

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince Taylor Swift Although Taylor Swift is not likely to run out of inspiration anytime soon, when it comes to masterfully crafting songs about love, this entry into her catalog isn't one of them.

Ms. Americana and the Heartbreak Prince could be interpreted as a love song, but the more interesting meaning behind it is that it's a dive into her own political awakening.

Experiences in Swift's priority personal life led her to become a bit more outspoken, and the shifting political climate in the United States helped in compelling her to express herself more directly.

BYOB system of a Down People were very prepared to jump to the obvious conclusion when System of a Down put out a song called byob.

Surely Serj Tankian was telling people to bring your own beer, right?

Chickfila Hypocritic and hypnotic computers, you depend on our protection.

Well, the overtly perfect political nature of some of the band's earlier work wasn't enough to make this one obvious enough, it seemed.

The track is in fact titled Bring youg Own Bombs and is pretty clearly a protest song directed at the US Government's war with Iraq.

The song went on to become a pretty big commercial success for the band, becoming their only Billboard top 40 hit, peaking at number 27.

White Lightning def Leppard Def Leppard is one of those bands that has more than a few songs about the party heavy lifestyle of rock and roll.

You wanna write White Lightning inside your name.

However, for as much as White Lightning has been misinterpreted as just another generic rock song, the track is actually dedicated to their guitarist Steve Clark.

Just one year prior to its release, Clark passed away from a lethal mix of alcohol and prescription drugs, leaving a huge void in the band.

The song's title is a reference to Clark's nickname and according to the band is littered with a range of in jokes at his expense, something they are certain he would have enjoyed.

Martha my dear the Beatles the Beatles were responsible for some of the biggest lyrical head scratchers of all time.

Martha My Love, don't forget me Martha My Dear Martha My Dear from the White Album is the type of song that could have very easily been about one of Paul McCartney's exes, but as it turns out, it's not even about a human.

When you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you.

The song is quite literally about McCartney's old English sheepdog Martha.

If you ever thought that there weren't enough love songs about dogs, well, thankfully the Beatles have got you covered.

Mbop Hanson Surely the Hanson teen bop classic Mbop is pretty confidently understood by now.

Although we're not going to try and claim that the song is filled with scathing political commentary or philosophical messages, it's not as senseless as some people think.

M' Bop is actually a pretty poignant song about the passage of time and how fleeting things can be.

Life moves fast, and for Hanson, understanding how people come and go is essential in the pursuit of peace.

Sure, the iconic chorus is literally gibberish, but if you don't pay attention to the verses, you might just miss a neatly packaged message.

Swimming pools drank Kendrick Lamar there's no shortage of songs in the mainstream market that are geared towards celebrating the high life joys of money, liquor and excess in all forms.

However, Kendrick Lamar was not trying to do this with swimming pools, no matter how much it may seem.

So the song might sound like it's glamorizing a certain lifestyle, but the lyrics are very obviously a warning about the disastrous effects of alcohol dependency.

Hendrik reflects on his own life as well as his family history and how it all affected his own relationship with alcohol.

It's the type of song that really takes on a whole different meaning upon closer inspection.

King of Anything Sara Bareilles Self empowerment anthems are as common as can be, but if you thought that King of Anything by Sara Bareilles was just one more example, think again.

You've got opinions man, we're all entitled to em, but I never asked.

The song might be masquerading as a generic tune about self confidence, but in reality Bareilles crafted something a lot more interesting.

She uses the track as a clapback against a particular person who was offering her a whole load of unsolicited advice.

In other words, this person was getting a little too big for their boots, thinking they could offer insight into someone else's life in a way that Bareilles someone saw as patronizing.

All in all, King of Anything is one hell of a response.

Hook Blues Traveler There are probably many listeners who know the song Hook by Blues Traveler quite well without actually understanding its lyrics or overall intention.

The song isn't the straightforward, forward, formulaic pop song it claims to be.

Instead, it is a cutting satire of the entire idea of pop music and how shallow it can be.

Even the title alludes to the fact that the track is about to dive into the idea of hooks in music.

Blues Travelers succeeded in crafting a memorable pop song nonetheless, but the fact that they did it by taking aim at memorable pop song structure is pretty, pretty hilarious.

Crash Into Me Dave Matthews Band the song Crash Into Me by the Dave Matthews Band doesn't pull any punches when it comes to its subject matter.

It is openly romantic and even a little risque from time to time, detailing some pretty intense passion and longing.

On first listen, it might seem like the track is about a normal relationship, but as you continue to listen, things become a little clearer.

The song actually details a stalker who is infatuated with a woman, watching her from afar without her knowledge.

This knowledge recontextualizes the song pretty heavily, making it a much less charming release from Dave Matthews and company.

Wolves and marshmallows When Selena Gomez revealed to the world that she was battling Lupus, the track Wolves was seen by many as her first major artistic statement on the topic.

In your eyes there's a heavy blue one to laugh and want to lose Lupus, after all, translates to wolves in Latin.

However, the song isn't just a cut and dry take on her illness.

The lyrics dive into a range of different subjects.

Romance and her health are indeed at the core of it all, but to try and narrow the song down to those two topics would be ignoring the bigger picture.

Selena doesn't confine herself to one area of her life here, and the song resonates even more as a result.

Number 40 the A team Ed Sheeran When Ed Sheeran burst onto the scene, he was an instant success.

Ripped gloves, raincoat tried to swim to stay float not only did he have the hooks and melodies needed to crack the top of the charts, but to say his lyrics delivered would be an understatement.

The A Team was one of the first major standouts in his repertoire, but a surprising number of people don't actually know what it's about.

No, the song isn't about BA Baracus and those lovable soldiers of fortune.

Instead, it deals with an unhoused woman with a substance use problem.

Pretty heavy subject matter for such a mainstream success.

39 feel it still Portugal the Man Portugal the Man had been around the music business for quite a long time before they eventually scored their biggest hit.

Considering that the song is so breezy and easy to listen to, you'd be forgiven for assuming that it's not any deeper than that.

The lyrics go quite a lot deeper, though, dealing with themes of social unrest, rebellion, and anxiety over being a parent to a daughter who will inherit a fractured world.

On the surface, the words could have easily been placeholders, but the band succeeded in imbuing the track with some serious depth.

Bullet Hollywood Undead Hollywood Undead's track Bullet is a classic example of why it's always important to read a little deeper into the ly.

To a casual listener, the song seems to be quite cheerful and upbeat, the perfect soundtrack for a summer evening.

However, once you actually begin to take note of what the lyrics are referring to, it does a total U turn.

Not only does this track deal with incredibly heavy subject matter in a very honest manner, but it also intentionally throws its audience for a loop from its opening bars onwards.

I wish that I could fly way up in the sky like a bird so high.

That said, the protagonist's struggle with depression and self harm comes through quite vividly in the lyrics.

37 rainy day women 12 and 35 Bob Dylan any song that repeated the refrain Everybody must get stoned and came out in the mid-60s was gonna come under some serious scrutiny.

While it must have been easy to pigeonhole the opening track to Bo Dylan's Blonde on Blonde as little more than an attempt to provoke the censors, that's not quite accurate.

The idea of being stoned is taken more from the very public death sentence act of stoning rather than anything you might inhale.

Dylan is speaking about widespread condemnation and criticism, and when you consider how much of that he had experienced after Going Electric, it makes total sense.

As for the double meaning, we're sure he enjoyed the outrage a lot.

36 I don't like Mondays the Boomtown Rats A song with a title as forthcoming as I Don't Like Mondays shouldn't really require a closer look.

Nobody's gonna go to school today, she's gonna make them stay at home.

The track certainly could be interpreted as a cheeky and juvenile distaste for school or professional life.

However, Bob Geldof later revealed that the song was directly inspired by the shooting spree carried out by Brenda ann Spencer in 1979.

The young girl opened fire on a school playground, killing two adults and injuring eight minors.

In a truly cold and remorseless statement to the public, she explained her actions by saying, quote, I don't like Mondays.

In this context, the song makes a whole lot more sense.

Total Eclipse of the Heart Bonnie Tyler Chances are, if you've heard Total Eclipse of the Heart before, you have a pretty solid grasp about the song's subject matter and themes.

It's not exactly trying to hide what it's about.