Top 20 Song Meanings That Everyone Gets Wrong

The true meaning behind these iconic tracks will shock you! For this list we’ll be examining songs that have a widely accepted perceived meaning that differs from the song’s actual meaning. Our countdown includes “Poker Face”, "Imagine", “Hallelujah”, "Summer of ‘69”, “Born in the U.S.A.”, and more! Which song did you get wrong? Let us know in the comments below.

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[WatchMojo]

Which song did you get wrong? Let us know in the comments below.

[jessicamarshall]

The first time I heard “Every Breath You Take” I thought it was super creepy but everyone around me kept telling me it’s a love song. Glad to see it’s creepiness is finally being acknowledged.

[MaCabaret]

Hallelujah being used in Shrek explains the meaning of that song more perfectly than words ever could

[kevinw]

Everyone knows "In the Air Tonight" is about sick drum parts

[beachcomberocean]

"My Name Is Luka" by Suzanne Vega ought to be on this list somewhere. I've had so many people tell me what a beautiful song it is, not knowing that it's about child abuse.

[Armageddon]

I live in Japan, and they play Whitney Houston - 'I will always love you' at weddings, thinking it's a romantic song, but it's actually a song about saying goodbye forever.

[petrichorose]

As a kid who went to school in the late 90s/00s, we, of course, voted "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" as our graduation song. Our principal wasn't thrilled with this, but decided it would be allowed as long as we never referred to it by the full title. Everywhere you saw it printed or discussed, it was simply, "'Time Of Your Life' by Green Day", as if pretending the rest of the title didn't exist made it any better. (Yes, we knew it was a mean comment. Yes, we meant it. LOL.)

[heidicross]

"I can Feel It Coming In The Air Tonight". There is more to it than just his divorce. I saw an interview many years ago, when this album came out. It was in a room, filled with different instruments and the interviewer asked Phil very personal questions about the songs on the album, which Phil answered truthfully.
Phil said that his wife had wanted to get an Interior Designer in, to change the decor of their house. Phil agreed. The trouble is that while he was on tour the Interior Designer was working on Phil's wife as well as Phil's house. Phil actually wrote the lyrics for this song on the back of an Invoice that the Decorator had sent Phil, requesting payment for the work he had done. The words "If you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand, I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am.

Well, I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes, so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been.

It's all been a pack of lies" Is TOTALLY directed at the philandering Interior Designer who (along with Phil's wife) broke up his marriage.

[katneko]

I was so glad to see Hallelujah on this list. I don't know how many times I've tried explaining to people that this is NOT a religious song

[cassandraspoelhof]

They don’t say “every bone you break” they say “every *bond* you break* meaning the stalker is watching as their victim breaks up the relationships with friends and family in their life.

[MsRee]

My husband went to Baghdad when this song came out in September. I couldn’t bear to listen to it. And this is a few months after he came home from Mosul. Several years later he went to Korea for two years. Meanwhile I had over 40 surgeries on my mouth due to bruxism and stress. We eloped the day before Basic training and we’re still together 28 years later and now he’s a Lt. Colonel.

[brentsmithline]

I am a boomer. Being of that time, I fully understood what Bruce was singing about. Just like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's song Ohio still raises the hair on the back of my neck every time I hear it.

[Dawnemperor]

A couple others for Bruce Springsteen:

* A number of years ago, New Jersey wanted “Born to Run” to be the state song, even though the song is about “leaving New Jersey”.
* Glory Days: Interpreted as a song about nostalgia for the past, even though the point of the song is about how the characters have gone nowhere in life so they can only reminisce about the past.

[kyliepollert]

I always knew "More Than Words" was about expressing someone's love for their significant other than just saying "I love you", hence the first line in the song.

[purpleiguana]

The lyrics of Every Breath You Take do NOT, in fact, say "every bone you break." It's "every BOND you break." It's not just a song about a stalker, but it's about a very bad place that Sting went when his wife left him. The bond refers to the bond of marriage, which she "broke" when she left him.

[amberfuchscia]

I was in a horrible relationship when "In The Air Tonight" came out. I recognized right away that it was about a very bad breakup. It had so much relevance for me that I bought it 3 times (I traveled a lot back then).

[mikesnyder]

What's odd about "Hey Man, Nice Shot" is that R. Budd Dwyer was actually framed, and it was proven after he died. It just shows how we always only hear part of the story.

[lukasbosina]

I always wonder how one can misunderstand the meaning of "Imagine". It literally starts with "Imagine there's no heaven". Which made it even stranger when it was played as the closing song of the broadcast of the funeral of pope John Paul II on an Austrian radio station. To this day I don't know if it was a very dumb or a very mean choice.

[derekmatchett]

The movie "Shrek" had it right in regards to the song "Hallelujah".

[JaclynOrtiz]

I never once thought wake me up when September ends was about 9-11. That thought never even crossed my mind. Maybe because I actually listened to the lyrics. I always knew it was about his dad. This song really resonated with me when my grandpa passed away.