13 Songs That Don't Mean What You Think They Do

Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli played this song at their wedding, and since that is documented as a love match, we can imagine that even great guitarists fail to listen to the lyrics. If he had, it'd be pretty obvious to him how inappropriate that song was for such an occasion. But hey, it's an awesome song, and their marriage is over now anyway.

"Hey little sister what have you done?
Hey little sister who's the only one?
Hey little sister who's your superman?
Hey little sister who's the one you want?
Hey little sister shot gun!"

From the lyrics and video (which is awesome!), we get the notion that the speaker in the song (be it Billy himself or someone else), is watching someone he cares about being forced into marriage after he's been gone away. "Shotgun!" is cried three times in the song, leading to the possibility that it's a shotgun wedding--quite the opposite of a white wedding--and there are additional dark lyrics that lend for the song to not be appropriate for weddings or similar affairs of the heart.:

"There is nothin' fair in this world
There is nothin' safe in this world
And there's nothin' sure in this world
And there's nothin' pure in this world"

Nevertheless, there is a positive element to the song. It ends on an optimistic note of starting again and looking for something worth having and living for. Just as the video ends with Billy saving the bride from her would be tragic wedding.

"Look for something left in this world
[...]
It's a nice day for a white wedding
It's a nice day to start again."

Here is another song I love bursting people's bubbles with, since the sweet tenderness of the tune makes the song seem like it's just another love song we can all snuggle up and croon to; however, if you look at the lyrics for even a moment you'll realize there is something far more sinister afoot than your typical romance.

"Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
[...]
Oh can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take"

As you can see from the above lyrics, this song is not about the simple joys of love but rather from the perspective of a possessive lover who must be vigilant, if not in control, of his (or her) lover's actions. Down to the air they breathe.

And, in the off chance, you think I'm just using my fancy liberal arts degree to over analyze and destroy your favorite song, here's what Sting, the songwriter himself, has to say about it from a BBC interview. "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle, little love song." He also claims when people tell him how much they love it, and used it as the main theme for their wedding, he scoffs and says "Well, good luck."

Without question "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party) is one of the greatest party anthems of all time. Everyone gets pumped by mumbling their way through the verses, before shouting the refrain with such ferocity. After all, what is more important than one's ability to have a good time?

Regrettably, that was never what it was intended to be. In fact, it was written as a parody to mock all the play hard party songs that inundated the 80s, such as Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock" and Motley Crue's "Smoking In The Boy's Room". After all, it's about high school kid, and no matter what Hollywood may tell you: 15 year olds are rarely--if ever--that hardcore.

So, despite the fact that it is without a doubt the band's most well known song, the mass majority's inability to get the joke has been a cause of distress for the band, leading them to scarcely play it live and although it appears in their greatest hits--Sounds of Science--Beastie Boys member, MCA, says little about the song other than "it sucks" in the liner notes.

Additionally, Mike D is said to have once lamented: "The only thing that upsets me is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different. There were tons of guys singing along to 'Fight for Your Right' who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them."

So you think "Material Girl" is about a gold digging wh*re? Well, that's not exactly correct.

Although the video directly alludes to Marilyn Monroe's golddigging anthem, "Diamonds Are A Girl's Bestfriend," the song is actually about a working girl who is looking to get into a relationship with a guy who is also successful and working.

She doesn't want someone who doesn't have enough on his plate and is so wholly devoted to her because she can't be devoted to him in kind. One of those "unevenly yoked" kind of deals. She wants to date a man who is headed in a similar direction as her--who has goals of his own--who she doesn't need to give constant attention to.

In a 2009 Rolling Stone interview, Madonna said this about "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl": "I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn't a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They're so geeky, they're cool."

Hipster Madonna was geek chic before it was cool.

So there you have it. Nobody should ever write a sarcastic song ever again -- because they are always misunderstood. There's got to be some satisfaction in having the song you performed condemning a certain part of our culture become their anthem, just in knowing they're inadvertently making fun of themselves; but it seems like when it comes to such huge hits, something gets lost in translation (and that "something" is the meaning of pretty much any song ever, which is why most people writing pop music today probably don't even bother).

This song is particularly interesting because it was not originally intended to be performed by Michael Jackson, but by Donny Osmond. Osmond, however, was on tour and so 14 year old Jackson received the honor and his first number 1 as a solo artist. Which is pretty cool, but kind of crazy when you learn what the song is really about.

Ben the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own I'll never be alone
And you my friend will see you've got a friend in me
(you've got a friend in me)

Ben you're always running here and there
(here and there)
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
(anywhere)
If you ever look behind and don't like what you find
There's something you should know you've got a place to go
(you've got a place to go)

Although it is a song about unconditional love and friendship, as can be expected with lyrics like "You've got a friend in me" and "I used to say 'I' and 'me'/Now it's 'us' now it's 'we'." But what you may not know is that the friendship in question is between a boy and (wait for it) a rat named Ben. And not just any rat, but the gang leader of a group of killer rats. That's right, this sweet and tender ballad is the theme to a film about killer rats.

Coming from the film of the same name, BEN is the sequel to the film WILLIARD (based on Stephen Gilbert's Ratman's Notebook), which also starred Ben and his band of murderous rodents. Although the sequel tries to present Ben ahd his band as protectors of the lonely boy Danny, they still manage to cause several deaths. Imagine it to be Let Me In, but with rats rather than vampires and less sex (thank God).