EVEN MORE of the Most MISUNDERSTOOD Songs in Music History

a song's so catchy most people probably don't listen to the lyrics but they should so in my last video i talked about songs that are misunderstood in one way or another where people think they mean one thing but they really mean another or they don't feel like there's anything to analyze at all but there is actually a hidden message in there and so on everybody loved hearing all those stories i got tons of suggestions for a part two and that's what we're gonna do today with the same goals in mind of giving you the real backgrounds behind these tracks pointing out some irony and just generally dishing out some fun facts here we go first and foremost everybody in the comments wanted me to talk about hey ya by outcast this is one of music history's best examples of the song sounding fun upbeat and catchy so people just assume that the lyrics follow suit nope this iconic track is actually a dark tale about how people stay in unhappy relationships because that's what tradition tells them they should be doing if what they say is nothing is forever then what makes love the exception so why are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here but what sets this song apart from so many others that you'll see in this video is that andre 3000 knew how people would react to heya it sounds so joyous and entertaining that people were never gonna care about the lyrics midway through he predicts that happening by saying y'all don't wanna hear me you just wanna dance and millions of people never realized what went over their heads the weekends can't feel my face is one of those things where sure there's a little bit of a disguise but it should not fool as many people as it does it's like clark kent putting on glasses to hide the fact that he's superman on the outside this is a vague love song about being infatuated with a girl that perspective sent it to the top of the charts it was a massive radio hit and it was even nominated for a kid's choice award but even with the tiniest bit of critical thinking it's comparing infatuation with a girl to a cocaine addiction good work nickelodeon you know randy newman the guy that made you've got a friend in me from toy story you're going to want to buckle up for the story of his track rednecks i would assume that a majority of people know him from that one cute pixar song and that's it but randy has a long relatively controversial career as a singer-songwriter throughout his discography he's written songs that are bullying little people happily inviting slaves into the united states glorifying violence against the lgbtq community and much more but all of these are satirical songs written from the point of view of terrible horrible human beings you're supposed to be disgusted by the lyrics not sing along with them and i'm sure you know where i'm going with this in all of the cases that i've listed so far and especially with his song rednecks the very people that he's satirizing take the songs and use them as celebrations rednecks has lyrics that are anti-semitic and extremely racist the n-word is used more than a few times and the context behind the talk show that he's referencing in the lyrics is super intense but with all that in mind randy newman had to stop playing the song in the south because people at his concerts were singing along to it like it was the national anthem in the previous video i talked about a few different songs that people would not be dancing to at their weddings if they knew what they were actually about misery loves company so here are a few more examples of stuff that isn't as romantic as you might expect lips of an angel by hinder is a power ballad that might feel intimate and lovey-dovey but it's about wanting to cheat on your significant other with your ex sometimes billy idol's white wedding is pretty blatant about being anti-marriage but i've seen plenty of stories about it being played during a reception just because it has wedding in the title it's understandable to want to include the hopeful strings from the verve's bittersweet symphony when you're getting married but trying to make ends meet you're a slave to money then you die wouldn't be my ideal lyrics to hear during my first [Music] and dance by sarah mclachlan is a baffling bizarre case of misunderstood non-romance this song was inspired by actual stalkers that were sending sarah detailed letters about how they were gonna be together forever this chorus that's talking about holding her down and wiping away her tears is incredibly creepy the song title is ominous enough on its own but for whatever reason people still dedicate it to their loved ones on the opposite end of the spectrum and trust me i know this one sounds dumb but it's true people mistake bob marley's no woman no cry as a song for bachelors and the joys of being single it's not no woman no cry as in when i don't have a lady in my life i'm happy it's no woman no cry he's comforting a woman near and dear to his heart at first glance love song by sarah bareilles is a typical track about a relationship's ups and downs i'm not going to write you a love song cause you asked for it because you need one but in reality this was basically a middle finger to her record label they kept rejecting the songs that she was writing and bringing to them they were pressuring her to make safer radio friendly songs and in response she came back with this radio friendly song that was actually super passive-aggressive in the end this tongue-in-cheek track borne out of frustration and written in 30 minutes ended up being her biggest hit ever in a similar meta poking fun at the industry vein we can look at kids electric feel and time to pretend by mgmt this is another one that people in the comments of the last video wanted me to talk about and if you're interested in a more detailed explanation check out middle late's video on the band's history the long story short is that mgmt started out as the management two college kids making experimental noisy loops in their dorm room soon they started playing at house parties but it was practically performance art they were improvising over the ghostbusters theme song for hours on end eventually these two artsy kids started writing the most stereotypical pop songs that they could imagine as a joke with the end goal being to sell out as quickly as possible the song's kids electric feel and time to pretend became popular around campus they put the tracks on their first ep that's what got them a record deal and 14 years and three albums later their joke songs from college are still their most successful tracks [Music] eddie grant's electric avenue is groovy and it's one of those songs that you just have to dance along to when it comes on but its origin story would make you think twice about doing so the title refers to a street in south london that was the first market road to be lit by electricity in the early 80s there was a lot of tension in this area due to caribbean immigrants being unfairly unemployed poor and falling victim to racist policing this hostility led to the 1981 brixton riot that left hundreds of people injured buildings damaged and vehicles burned and while the lyrics of electric avenue are telling you this dark story everybody's too busy dancing to realize it was even featured in pineapple express [Music] feel good ink by gorillaz is about intellectual freedom escapism and in the music video we get references to a corporate george orwell big brother type atmosphere so isn't it funny how this song which is fighting for the little guy and going against the principles of big business has been used in plenty of advertisements for major companies like apple and bbc with 99 love balloons by nina and right as vamos a la playa people aren't only confused by the whole it sounds fun so the lyrics probably are too thing they're also not in english so you know americans are bopping along to these things without a single thought going through their minds we've got this german song that's about balloons and a spanish song that's about going to the beach right i remember learning that phrase in school but no both of these are about the threat of the nuclear bomb the cold war was a crazy [Music] the time league's don't you want me sounds like somewhat of a breakup song and that is the public perception of it if you're half listening to the lyrics but then belting out the chorus you're rooting for this guy after his girlfriend leaves him for bigger and better things he's shooting his shot and you want the best for him but once you actually analyze the verses and the pre-chorus the story reads like a subtle but very real threat guy meets girl when she's a waitress in a cocktail bar he turns her into someone new five years later she's successful and this is where it gets bad but don't forget it's me who put you where you are now and i can put you back down too don't don't you want me you know i can't believe it when i hear that you won't see me this on its own is controlling and the dude sounds like an abuser but once we get to you think you've changed your mind you better change it back or we will both be sorry that is absolutely terrifying yet we're all singing along like he's a knight in shining armor to close all of this out i'm gonna speed through some very obvious examples that i have left over my main point in the first video was wow there's always more to music than you might expect but with these i'm just begging audiences to pay a little bit more attention isn't she lovely by stevie wonder is not a romantic love song it's about the birth of his daughter and in the full version there are long snippets of babies crying and stevie's daughter aisha in the bathtub i can't believe i even have to say this one but hosier's take me to church is not praising religion it's about the ties between sexuality and humanity and the music video was made in support of gay rights last christmas by wham is not a fun song about the holidays it's about a breakup careless whisper by george michael is not a love song it's about feeling guilty after cheating on your spouse [Music] people mistake everybody hurts by rem as a track that's just wallowing in depression but it's really the opposite it's an inspiring song about overcoming your sadness not succumbing to it everybody hurts yes people i hear you pumped up kicks by foster the people is not about a fancy new pair of shoes [Music] and finally i never want to see another tweet of oh it's september 30th time to wake up the green day guy billy joe wrote a beautiful song about his dad dying and now it's been decades of him getting suffocated by memes during this annual traumatic time in his life let me know in the comments which of these surprised you and which of these you can't believe people keep messing up thanks for watching thank you for watching that video if you want to support the channel feel free to like comment and subscribe you can follow me on social media at renshaw.hs you can buy my merch support my patreon and thank you again i'll see you soon you

Channel: Alfo Media

Views: 4,683,536

Keywords: Misunderstood, Songs, Music, Hidden, Meaning, Message, Messages, Wrong, Favorite, Hey Ya, Can't Feel My Face, Rednecks, Lips of An Angel, White Wedding, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Possession, No Woman No Cry, Love Song, Kids, Electric Feel, Time to Pretend, Electric Avenue, Feel Good Inc, 99 Luftballoons, Vamos a la Playa, Don't You Want Me, Isn't She Lovely, Take Me to Church, Last Christmas, Careless Whisper, Everybody Hurts, Pumped Up Kicks, Wake Me Up When September Ends

Id: WC6sBJDQbPM

Length: 11min 58sec (718 seconds)

Published: Fri May 07 2021