Top 30 Song Meanings That Everyone Gets WRONG

If you failed to understand the true meaning behind these iconic songs, don't feel bad. You're not alone. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those songs that many listeners think mean one thing, but in actuality mean something quite different. Our countdown of song meanings everyone gets wrong includes “The One I Love”, “Hotel California”, "Closing Time", “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, "Like a Virgin", and more! What song do you think has been misinterpreted? Let us know in the comments!

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[WatchMojo]

What song do you think has been misinterpreted? Let us know in the comments!

[amwfan]

There is no lyric "every bone you break" in "Every Breath You Take." It's "every bond you break" and "every vow you break."

[mostly_insane]

Funniest meme I’ve ever seen was “He’s just rode through a whole desert. You think he would’ve named the horse by then.” 😂

[AlmostEthical]

I was young when Puff the Magic Dragon was released. So I knew well it was about a magical dragon that existed in childhood and disappeared with adulthood. The song used to make me cry haha. The tale is a bit like My Dog Skip, but imaginary - the loss of magic and innocence as we move from wide-eyed wonder to the loony teens until we reach the neurotic world of adulthood.

[Michaelthekiwi]

I think people get the following wrong:

Otis Redding - Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay. It's not about passing time relaxing, the singer is broke, unemployed and homeless so has nothing to do.
I Will Always Love You. Whitney Houston's cover sounds like a profession of romantic love, when Dolly Parton wrote the song as a dedicated thank you to her mentor Porter Waggoner when she was moving on to bigger things.
Woody Guthrie - This Land is Your Land. Not a patriotic anthem, but calls for the abolition of private property in the United States.
Psy - Gangnam Style. This is obvious to Korean speakers, but it's a takedown of spoilt rich kids from the rich area of Seoul.
Ed Sheeran - The A Team. Sounds like a love song, but it's about a drug addict who eventually overdoses and dies.

[JohnGrapes]

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a romantic song with the characters exchanging in playful banter in flirtatious nature, reflecting the longing for each other and warmth during cold weather. It portrays a consensual back-and-forth dialogue typical of courtship in the time it was written (1944). It’s not some date-rape song.

[ceithor]

"Suicide Solution" by Ozzy Osbourne has been completely misinterpreted. I remember in the 80s when the Karens of the time said it promoted suicide, but it is actually a song about addiction being a form of killing yourself, and the powerlessness addicts feel.

[frankbrodie]

R.E.M.s "The One I Love" always made me sing "This one goes out to my one eyed love.." I liked to imagine the singer is singing the song to his cyclops girlfriend..

[johnconway]

I saw a David Bowie interview from 1999 where he's excited about the interactive possibilities of the new cyberworld unfolding, and he cites the artist Marcel Duchamp: "The piece of art is not finished until the audience comes and adds their own interpretation."

[mattraviler]

You should have added the outcast "Hey Ya!" Witch is a song that talks about a marriage where the partners don't really love each other.... and the song even points out saying "Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance" speaking how the song has a upbeat vibe to the song

[Heather_no_numbers]

Basically this list is teaching us we need to read the whole lyrics of a song and not just listen to the catchy chorus. Also we need to stop overthinking things by thinking everything is an innuendo.

[mightymadzak]

Closing Time: I'm calling bullshit on that one. The dude wrote a song with simple lyrics then later invented the story to make him appear deep, insightful, and poetic.

[DiamondTurtle]

I danced with my Dad to the acoustic version of Closing Time at my wedding. We used to listen to and sing that song all the time when I was little. His face lit up when he realized what song was playing. It was perfect for that moment. ❤

[scdl-mz]

i thought most people knew the meaning of Wake Me Up When September Ends. Billie Joe Armstrong has said multiple times that it’s about losing his father to cancer. he’s said in interviews that, after his father died, he told his mother to “wake me up when september ends”

[dinosoid]

I always took Puff the Magic Dragon as a story about growing up and losing interest in childish things.

[TheBubbaclaw]

I always interpreted Hotel California as pretty straightforward.
He falls asleep at the wheel and wakes up in Hell. "Relax said the nightman, we are programed to receive, you can check out any time that you like, but you can NEVER leave."

[honestgamersjnd]

I never misinterpreted the meaning of More Than Words. I never thought it meant sex. I thought it implied things like holding hands, hugging someone, showing the outside world what the person meant to you. Lines like “Hold me close. Don’t ever let me go.”

[recycledapathy]

In the same vein as "Born in the USA" there's John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" which keeps being used by politicians at rallies - when it's a song about how the American Dream is complete B.S.

[stevo]

I think pumped up kicks should be on here too. Seems obvious but people have no idea 🤦🏾‍♂️

[RobbySealVids]

I've heard people think Meatloaf's 'I would do anything for love (but I won't do that)' as holding back from giving the full love that could be given, but the lyrics actually tell the story of a generous, selfless and faithful love even when she doesn't expect him to be faithful to her. The key thing he won't do is betray her ('Sooner or later you'll be screwing around'. 'I won't do that').