10 Famous Hit Songs With Hidden Meanings
Music has always been a form of expression.
So of course there are many meanings layered into songs that only the artist knows about.
Here are our Top 10 Hidden Meanings in Songs.
Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen’s classic Hallelujah sometimes
sounds like the most covered song ever.
Its been covered by such artists as k.d lang, Regina Spektor, and even Justin Timberlake,
in addition to the iconic version by Jeff Buckley.
It makes its way into films such as Shrek, performed by John Cale in the film itself,
with Rufus Wainwright covering it on the soundtrack.
What you probably didn’t know is the song’s meaning.
When Leonard Cohen wrote the song, he actually wrote it about sex and orgasm.
Lyrics like the minor fall and major lift, serve as metaphors for sex.
The song was used in its most literal context during the film Watchmen…
y’know the scene we mean.
Due to the vague lyrics, a lot of people have taken more literal interpretations of the
lyrics.
From it being about domestic abuse, religion and much more.
However this is Cohen’s interpretation…
unless he changes his mind.
The Beast and the Harlot – Avenged Sevenfold It’s quite common that lyrics get overlooked
in metal.
Between the epic guitar solos and riffs, it’s quite common for the singer to just be there
to fill out the sound.
Which is why modern metal often lacks in lyrical quality.
The Beast and the Harlot is different though.
Despite talking about the biblical story “The Fall of Babylon” from the Book of Revelation,
the song is actually about Hollywood.
The music video takes this a step further with the Harlot and a literal contract corrupting
the denizens of Hollywood.
While using metaphors in songs is far from anything remotely new, Avenged Sevenfold use
this tactic quite a lot.
Often using works of literature as the backdrop for their other hits such as “Bat Country”,
or using Jacob’s Ladder as the basis for the video “Nightmare”.
One in a Million – Guns N’ Roses Always one for controversy, Guns N’ Roses
sparked a huge one with their song One in a Million.
Frequently this song has been interpreted as bigoted due to the racial and homophobic
slurs in the song.
In spite of this however the song also attacks “Radicals and Racists” making more of
a song that is going after everyone.
The song is sometimes cited as an amalgam of things that Axl Rose heard growing up in
Indiana, and is intended to spark both controversy and conversation.
Classic rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin’ has said that the song is not racist but is
actually about the racial divide in L.A. at the time of writing.
While interpretations of the song vary from band member to band member, none of them actually
seem to view the song as racist.
Especially not Slash, who is in fact Black-British (and identifies as such), said that while
he wasn’t completely cool with the lyrics, he doesn’t regret making the song he does
regret how the song was misinterpreted.
All of Me – John Legend This new song by Soul and RnB legend…
John Legend, has been hugely popular lately.
With it being praised for seeing the beauty in a person beyond the mere physical; however
the song goes deeper than that.
The song is about trying to make a difficult relationship work.
Throughout the song John deals with his partner’s sarcasm and putdowns, but also loves her despite
of her imperfections and tries to console her during her sad times.
The song is about how no relationship is perfect and the strive to make an imperfect work.
This is actually pretty refreshing in a pop music scene that is so entrenched in shallow
subject matter.
Sad love songs are a dime-a-dozen, as our songs about sex, so it’s nice to see a song
that brings some realism and depth to the genre.
And we expect nothing less from John Legend.
Just a Car Crash Away – Marilyn Manson Actress Jennifer Syme attended a party that
Manson threw, after being driven home by another party goer, Syme decided she wanted to go
back.
She attempted to drive back to the party, but due to her lack of seatbelt, and being
heavily inebriated, crashed into a row of parked cars and was killed on impact.
Syme’s parents attempted to sue Manson, but the shock rocker denied responsibility
as he hadn’t forced drugs upon her.
Regardless the song served as the dark inspiration for the Manson classic “Just a Car Crash
Away”, which uses the imagery of a car crash to describe a failed romance.
Despite denying responsibility, the lyrics convey the feeling of guilt throughout the
song.
While we don’t know for sure, it seems like this song was Manson’s way of working out
his grief.
A-Team - Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran has never been one to stray from
difficult subject matter.
So it stands to reason that his most iconic song would follow suit.
A-Team was in fact heavily inspired by the time Ed Sheeran performed at a homeless shelter.
During the time he spent there he spotted a woman dealing with addiction to class-A
drugs.
It’s really easy to spot when you look at it, as the song has numerous references to
crack cocaine, even flat out saying that the subject of the song is in the “Class-A team”.
In order to prevent himself from sounding like he was preaching, or beating the audience
over the head with the song’s message, he deliberately paced the song in a cheerful
upbeat manner.
Which strangely, ends up drawing more attention to how dark the lyrics actually are.
Helena – My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance are kind of like if Green
Day were channelled through Queen.
Whereas a lot of pop punk artists were politically driven, or at least tried to be, MCR were
a big, bombastic band with dark lyrical themes often dealing with darker subjects like depression
and grief.
Helena (pronounced Hell-Ain-Ah) was one of these songs.
Despite being part of a concept album that was largely a horror story, Helena was a tribute
to Gerard and Mikey Way’s deceased Grandmother.
The music video for the song is set around a funeral and ends with the band carrying
Helena’s coffin to the funeral car.
This wouldn’t be the last time My Chemical Romance dealt with death, as their next album
“The Black Parade” was themed entirely around reflecting on a life lived in the face
of terminal illness.
In a time of typical pop punk, My Chemical Romance managed to be that little bit deeper.
Chandelier - Sia This song became ludicrously popular upon
release, with many music critics and fans praising Sia for not showing her face in her
music videos and putting the focus on the song and music video.
The music video is so poignant, and the crazed dancing makes it clear that the song is about
instability.
In particular this is a song about Sia’s alcoholism.
This is quite clear when the song talks about Sia’s wants.
Living like tomorrow doesn’t exist.
Wanting to fly.
The song’s dark lyrics reek of depression and addiction which alcohol can bring.
The song is a very sad one.
Yet it’s still synonymous with Sia, with very few of her songs having near the popularity.
Much like John Legend earlier, we love when pop songs talk about darker subject matter,
and elevate the art of music.
Gangnam Style - Psy You thought you’d escaped this song, but
you haven’t.
While known as a fun dance song by some, and a blight on humanity by most, believe it or
not the song is actually about something.
It’s not only a satire on the Gangnam District in Seoul, but the pursuit of young Koreans
to obtain a “Gangnam Style” life of wealth and spending money to look wealthy, even if
it’s money you don’t have.
That’s right, Gangnam Style has a political and social message, not only that but it and
Psy’s later song “Gentleman” were banned by certain South Korean radio stations.
Music will always be tied to politics, but its very rare that popular dance music ever
contains such a message.
I bet you didn’t expect Psy of all people to cause a fuss anywhere other than on the
dance floor.
10.
No One Knows I’m Gone – Tom Waits In the darkest song on this list, Tom Wait’s
haunting ballad “No One Knows I’m Gone” has a horrific inspiration.
The song’s line “Hide from Graveyard John” directly references the kidnapping and death
of the infant Charlie Lindberg, son of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, in 1932.
The baby was kidnapped and a man going by the name John who collected a fifty grand
ransom in a Bronx cemetery.
The baby wasn’t found until seventy two days later when he was discovered dead.
Waits’ song is told from the perspective of the dead child, lost under the leaves in
the woods.
Tom Waits has often based his music off of real life events, such as the suicide of Jeff
Lucey, a veteran of the war on terror who committed suicide and became the basis of
the song “Hell Broke Luce”.
Waits’ music comes from a very dark place, and “No One Knows I’m Gone” has some
of the darkest subject matter of any song ever written.
Is there any song that you wish we’d included?
Leave a comment and let us know!
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