Ask Lemmy

most of Rammstein, but specifically Mutter

In the other direction from most of them here, “Losing my Religion” hit a lot harder before I realized it was just about anger.

Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones. It's a song about banging a slave, but I didn't know that as a kid.

Not sure, if I stopped listening to mainstream music around that time, but uh, both of my examples are from 2011, apparently:

• Kind of a classic response to this question, is "Pumped Up Kicks" from Foster The People. It's got that upbeat melody, and the lyrics are this:

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You’d better run, better run, faster than my bullet.

• And my other example is "The A Team", apparently originally from Ed Sheeran, and apparently also with an upbeat melody. I think, I only ever listened to a cover version. But yeah, it's about drug use and sex work, and how those kind of necessitate each other...

Closing time by Semisonic I thought it was about going home with someone after a night out at the bar. It’s about the lead singers child being born.

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.

Pretty much all Linkin Park songs.

Listened to it since elementary.

Around high school, I figured the lyrics were kinda dark.

Then the vocalist hung himself.

Constipated by Weird Al. That changed me.

Mr Brightside by the Killers. The tune was good and felt energetic when it came about, but it's about a guy being cheated on. Having had someone cheat on me around the time it came out it hit really close to home and I just don't enjoy listening to the song.

The problem with being in the UK is that it's so overplayed and I just have to tune it out.

Richmen North of Richmond.

I love the sound, and at first it sounds like a pro worker union song (and it kinda is).

But there's way too much dog whistle.... An old soul in a new world.... Dude the south lost and slavery is bad. I'm sorry

And then he slips in some super disappointing language about fat people on welfare.

Semi-Charmed Life, by Third Eye Blind. Basically, it's a song about doing meth... Spent almost twenty years just singing the chorus with absolutely no idea what the rest of the lyrics were. Now, it kinda feels weird, ngl.

Hey there Delilah

The dude who wrote it is a creep

Well, one that maybe went full circle for me is "bring the pain" by mindless self indulgence. At first, it just seemed like a really fun song that I loved. Then one day, a black dude was in my car listening with me, and he was like "wtf is this song about?". That's when it hit me that the song actually sounds REALLY racist. I looked up the lyrics and that just confirmed it for me. And then years later, I found out it was actually a cover of a method man song, and not really racist at all, I guess. But thats a weird one, maybe best not for white guys to be singing it...

“All that she wants” by Ace of Base. I read a deep dive into the band and it seems like they may have been formed after a neo-nazi group and that song might be about Jews trying to dilute the bloodline… so yeah kinda weird now.