Ask Lemmy

Sting. Every step you take. It's actually angry and malicious. There's an interview with Sting saying something to that effect.

I think it's really interesting how people interpret music completely different than other forms of art. People sometimes assume the worst instead of realizing that the singer is speaking from another perspective. So for example if a writer has a first person perspective of a killer/rapist you wouldn't make an association that the author is anything of the sort. But if they wrote a song and sang it then people would question if they really felt that way. Polly is a great example. By many accounts (Kathleen Hanna , Kim Gordon) Cobain championed feminism and woman's rights but the lyrics of Polly are brutal and from the perpetrator view. Randy Newman's - Rednecks is a tough one to listen to. You can understand how it is trying to point out ignorance and racism like Blazing Saddles but it's sung in first person and should never be played in a public setting. Oingo Bongo's - Little Girs was always a bit creepy now seems to age poorly the more time has gone on. Minor Threat - Guilty of being white is a tough listen because you know racist people think this is a rallying cry instead of the emotionly reaction from a a teenage kid who was bullied in highschool for being white.

This song is cute and happy but the lyrics are absolutely devastating and make me cry. https://open.spotify.com/track/2E3hdMguyNDQswLXyUotYR

https://genius.com/Bloc-party-signs-lyrics

[Verse 1]
Two ravens in the old oak tree
And one for you and one for me
And bluebells in the late December
I see signs now all the time
The last time we slept together
There was something that was not there
You never wanted to alarm me
But I'm the one that's drowning now

[Verse 2]
I can sleep forever these days
Cause in my dreams I see you again
But this time-fleshed out fuller face
In your confirmation dress
It was so like you to visit me
To let me know you were okay
It was so like you to visit me
You're always worried about someone else

[Bridge]
At your funeral I was so upset
So, so upset
In your life you were larger than this
Statue statuesque

[Chorus] (x2)
I see signs now all the time
That you're not dead, you're sleeping
I believe in anything
That brings you back home to me

I hate this song. Literally sobbing at the fear of the state my mental health would be in if my wife suddenly passed.

Baby, It's Cold Outside. It's such a fun song as the guy and girl go back and forth. Until you realize that he's guilting her into sleeping with him. Eww!

Stinkfist - Tool

You think from the title it would be obvious. Never thought why it was named like that until after I realized what the song was about.

Hard Habit To Break by Chicago is pretty straightforward, but I liked it on the radio as a kid because it's peppy and has an orchestra.

Decades later I get access to music service libraries and give it a listen.

I was a jerk and you left me, and now you're with another guy. I'm not sorry. I'm not going to do better. But I have an orchestra!

I still like it, but have perspective now.

A cute girl I knew a few years ago got the Orion Experience (group) on my radar and I learned recently that while yes the songs are clearly about a sexual deviant (which is what made them cool bruh), it's about that kind of sexual deviant, because Orion very much likes kids apparently

That fucking ruins everything and they're bops that I can't get out of my head sometimes, so that's nice

In my late teens one of my friend gave me thumb stick with some poorly tagged mp3 mess. It was mostly black metal which I kind of liked (still do, some of it, sometimes when the mood is right). Years later I found out it was compilation of some NSBM bullshit. Not that it mattered in lyrics, as it was allindistinguishable, impossible to hear in true black metal "recorded band jam on a tape in one go from room next door" style, but still... People producing that pretty good music were probably the most degenerate retards in their countries (from USA, through France to Russia).

Tears in heaven from Eric Clapton. I always liked this song, and didn't have a special connotation. But after learning its backstory, now I just feel sadness when I hear it. :-(

I don't know what the vast majority of songs I listen to are about. I have some genetic defect that makes it near impossible to hear lyrics. It all sounds like melody to me.

Well, as I said, I never paid attention to the lyrics before I looked them up. 🤷‍♂️