Stories Behind Songs

[oh_my_hat]

Have you heard a song and found out it was about a particular person, subject or event that wasn't obvious to you at the time. A couple of examples to kick it off, most people will know these.

1. Candle In The Wind - Elton John was written about the life and times of Marilyn Monroe.

2. Hurricane - Bob Dylan written about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Rueben Carter.

3. Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles is 'rumoured' to be about LSD.

4. Heaven's On Fire - KISS, I used to be so innocent and sung this song with great gusto until I was told 'heaven' was a reference to the male appendage. After that I didn't sing it the same enthusiasm.

 

[brampta]

One that springs to mind is American Pie by Don McLean, talking about the death of Buddy Holly...I think?

I think a lot of the Beatle's music can be traced back to drug use... Strawberry Fields Forever....I may be mistaken

A lot of music to come out of this era was controversial....Walk on the Wild Side...House of the Rising Sun....I don't remember the reasons though

 

[Fire Storm]

If somebody can get the meaning to the Beach Boys Surf's Up, I'll give you a billion dollars.

One awsome song though.



Surf's Up
Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks

Gm7/D
A diamond necklace played the pawn

Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
Dm7/G
To a handsome man and baton
Gm7/D
A blind class aristocracy

Back through the opera glass you see
Dm7/G
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Bb.....Gm7.......F/C.C7.D/C
Columnated ruins domino

G/D................................A9/G
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
............D/A
Are you sleeping?

Gm7/D
Hung velvet overtaken me

Dim chandelier awaken me
Dm7/G
To a song dissolved in the dawn
Gm7/D
The music hall a costly bow

The music all is lost for now
Dm7/G
To a muted trumperter swan
Bb.....Gm7.......F/C.C7.D/C
Columnated ruins domino

G/D................................A9/G
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
............D/A..............D.Em7.Gm7/F.D/F#
Are you sleeping, Brother John?

Fm7/Ab
Dove nested towers the hour was
Cm7/Bb
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Fm7/Ab
Carriage across the fog
Cm7/Bb
Two-Step to lamp lights cellar tune
......Dm7................Gm7/C..C7..F
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne


......Dm7
The glass was raised, the fired rose
.......Gm7/C..........C7.................Edim.F
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
Dm7..............Gm7/C..C7..F
While at port adieu or die


....Dm7
A choke of grief hard hardened I
..Gm7/C............C7............Edim....F
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry


Fm7/Ab.......Cm7/Bb
Surf's Up mmmmmmmm

Aboard a tidal wave
Fm7/Ab
Come about hard and join
......Cm7/Bb
The young and often spring you gave
....Dbmaj9
I heard the word
...Cm7
Wonderful thing
.....Fm7........Cm7...Bb...Cm7
A children's song


Fm7/Ab...Cm7...Bb...Cm...(repeat)


Child, child, child, child, child

A child is the father of the man

Child, child, child, child, child

A child is the father of the man

A children's song

Have you listened as they played

Their song is love

And the children know the way

That's why the child is the father to the man

Child, child, child, child, child

Child, child, child, child, child

Na na na na na na na na

Child, child, child, child, child

That's why the child is the father to the man

Child, child, child, child, child

 

[Nic]

Originally posted by brampta
One that springs to mind is American Pie by Don McLean, talking about the death of Buddy Holly...I think?

Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

U2's 'Peace On Earth' was written in reference to the Omagh bombings.
'Bad' and 'Running To Stand Still' are both about heroin/drug addiction.
'Pride' is about Martin Luther King's assassination.

 

[CharlieG]

American Pie essentially tells the story of the '60s, referring mostly to musicians. It starts with the death of Holly and finishes with the death of Janis Joplin. It also mentions Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Byrds and The Rolling Stones, and maybe others I've forgotten about, without actually naming any of them. Bob Dylan is "The Jester", The Beatles are "The Quartet" and Mick Jagger is "Jack Flash".

McLean's message is very counter-revolutionary. He's basically saying that the rebellion of the '60s was one massive stuff-up, and that America had lost a golden age of innocence that existed in the 1950s.

 

[lioness]

Originally posted by Mark Rudd
If somebody can get the meaning to the Beach Boys Surf's Up, I'll give you a billion dollars.

One awsome song though.

I agree, the song is absolutely incredible!!!! I'll be willing to give this one a bash, if you wanted a definitive answer you could e-mail Van Dyke Parks himself. And I'm not being sarcastic here, he really is contactable! He'd probably be the one to tell you if there actually is a meaning.

The 'Child Is The Father Of The Man' is actually a completely different song, that was added to the end of 'Surf's Up' when the SMiLE project was abandoned. (That particular version of the song wasn't released until 1971. The original version (demo) features Brian Wilson singing alone with a piano and is equally as breathtaking). The entire point of the SMiLE album was (most likely) regaining innocence, whereas it's predecessor, 'Pet Sounds' referred more to the loss of innocence. That's where referring to 'a children's song' comes into it.

Now for the main part of the song. It's believed to be about a rich man who feels trapped in his rich world and sees no future and wants to give up.......then he finds new hope. A light at the end of the tunnel..........

Surf's Up.

If you got more deeply into the SMiLE music, you'd probably see the pattern that emerges out of the songs, the recurring theme of innocence and also of times past........and incidentally, Brian Wilson is doing a concert tour this year performing the SMiLE music, which will include 'Surf's Up'.

I hope I shed at least a bit of light! And if you like 'Surf's Up' so much you would LOVE tunes like 'Wonderful' and 'Cabinessence'.

 

[oh_my_hat]

Originally posted by CharlieG
American Pie essentially tells the story of the '60s, referring mostly to musicians. It starts with the death of Holly and finishes with the death of Janis Joplin. It also mentions Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Byrds and The Rolling Stones, and maybe others I've forgotten about, without actually naming any of them. Bob Dylan is "The Jester", The Beatles are "The Quartet" and Mick Jagger is "Jack Flash".

McLean's message is very counter-revolutionary. He's basically saying that the rebellion of the '60s was one massive stuff-up, and that America had lost a golden age of innocence that existed in the 1950s.

On of many sites devoted to interpreting the meaning of this song... http://bobdearbornamericanpie.cjb.net/

 

[The Passenger]

I always like reading Don McLeans meaning to American Pie.

"It means i'll never have to work again" good on him !

 

[Milkman]

It took me while to realise that the Pink Floyd's - Shine on You Crazy Diamond, was about Syd Barret.

*As all the pink floyd fans go "duh".

 

[Mr Eagle]

Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" - for some reason none of the negativity of the song's lyrics really hit me when I first heard the song. The video clip sorted me out when I finally saw it though. Great film clip...

 

[Magpira]

The songs that probably stand out to me most are:

1. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Where as a boy he saw his babysitter let his friend drown in the pool and years later invited him to one of his concerts and sat him in the front row and dedicated the song to him......Ohhh to see the look on his face

2. Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger's ode to Marrianne Faithful about her herion addiction and the affects it had on him and their relationship.

3. The Living Years - Mike and The Mechanics
Mike Rutherford's song about the death of his father.

4. Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton's song about the death of his son.

 

[Darky]

Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was about the last Seinfeld episode.

 

[Fire Storm]

Lioness? I'm a HUGE Brian Wilson/ Beach Boys fan.

I saw BW is concert TWICE last year. In Sydney and in Melbourne. To see Pet Sounds live blew my mind. It was incredible. He even sang Wonderful and Cabinessence which I LOVE!

Sail on Sailor is another fav. A real bluesy song. And Marcella from the Live album(72/73) ROCKS!! Nothing better!!!!


The album Sunflower. I love it.


Did you catch BW in concert? I heard he started a bit shaky in Brisbane. But by the last night in Melbourne, he and his band were awsome! Hope he brings the SMiLE show here.


Do you go to any BB/BW boards? My fav is Cabinessence.com.










p.s. I can tell your a fan and know your stuff by the way you spell SMiLE!

 

[P_D]

Tori Amos' "Professional Widow" (you've probably only heard the remix) is about her killing Courtney Love. The b*tch cheated with Trent Reznor whilst he was with tori. "Honey bring it close to my lips... we gotta be big" does NOT refer to anything dodgy if that was your impression, rather Courtney "blowing her brains" out with a gun of some description. Lyrics as as follows:

"slag pit
stag sh*t
honey bring it close to my lips
yes
don't blow those brains yet
we gotta be big boy
we gotta be big
starf*cker just like my daddy
just like my daddy selling his baby
just like my daddy
gonna strike a deal make him feel like a congressman
it runs in the family"

 

[M29]

Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2 : Self explainitory
Jesus to a child - George Michael : About his bum chum who was diagnosed with aids
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton : An ode to bad parenting
Dr Feelgood - Motley Crue : Drugs...
Mr Brownstone - Guns and Roses : Drugs...
I am the Walrus - The Beatles : Drugs... ("I am the eggman"? For ****sake!)

 

[lioness]

Originally posted by Mark Rudd
Lioness? I'm a HUGE Brian Wilson/ Beach Boys fan.

I saw BW is concert TWICE last year. In Sydney and in Melbourne. To see Pet Sounds live blew my mind. It was incredible. He even sang Wonderful and Cabinessence which I LOVE!

Sail on Sailor is another fav. A real bluesy song. And Marcella from the Live album(72/73) ROCKS!! Nothing better!!!!


The album Sunflower. I love it.


Did you catch BW in concert? I heard he started a bit shaky in Brisbane. But by the last night in Melbourne, he and his band were awsome! Hope he brings the SMiLE show here.


Do you go to any BB/BW boards? My fav is Cabinessence.com.

p.s. I can tell your a fan and know your stuff by the way you spell SMiLE!

MARK!!!!!!! It is absolutely fantastic to see another fan on the boards. I didn't realise you were such a big fan till I saw your post in the Album Covers thread, so I apologise for assuming you didn't know 'Wonderful' and 'Cabinessence'. I'm a pretty big fan, yes, I have all their official albums, all solo ones (Carl's and Dennis' are only on cassette but hey) and a few bootlegs. And yes I saw Brian Wilson, in Melbourne and it was pure magic.

I visit a few Beach Boys boards regularly......Male Ego (a fan forum), the SMiLE shop, and I have my own Yahoo group, Dennis Wilson 'Forever'. There's others I visit occasionally.

My fave albums are Wild Honey, All Summer Long, Love You, Pet Sounds, 20/20 and the SMiLE stuff.

I've been told by someone who has pretty tight connections with a member of Brian's band that he will be coming back at the end of this year, around December. And he said that if this person said it, it'll happen...........so we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Lady Lawrence]

Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly (yes the original, no the fugees didn't write this classic!!!!)

Written about the first time she saw Don McLean performing.

The Waterboys - Whole of The Moon - written as a dedication to Prince.

The Stranglers - Golden Brown - Heroin use

 

[oh_my_hat]

Originally posted by P_D
Tori Amos' "Professional Widow" (you've probably only heard the remix) is about her killing Courtney Love. The b*tch cheated with Trent Reznor whilst he was with tori. "Honey bring it close to my lips... we gotta be big" does NOT refer to anything dodgy if that was your impression, rather Courtney "blowing her brains" out with a gun of some description. Lyrics as as follows:

"slag pit
stag sh*t
honey bring it close to my lips
yes
don't blow those brains yet
we gotta be big boy
we gotta be big
starf*cker just like my daddy
just like my daddy selling his baby
just like my daddy
gonna strike a deal make him feel like a congressman
it runs in the family"

I've heard this song a number of times and couldn't pick up any of these lyrics with the exception of "we gotta be big" but I heard it as something else (I'm too afraid to say what I thought - along with a couple of girls I was standing with thought, especially after my comment on "Heaven's On Fire" in the original post in this thread). I had no idea in the slightest what this song was about. Good post.

 

[M29]

Originally posted by oh_my_hat
I've heard this song a number of times and couldn't pick up any of these lyrics with the exception of "we gotta be big" but I heard it as something else (I'm too afraid to say what I thought - along with a couple of girls I was standing with thought, especially after my comment on "Heaven's On Fire" in the original post in this thread). I had no idea in the slightest what this song was about. Good post.

I never knew what she was on about in that song either. I always assumed "Honey bring it close to my lips" was a refference to some 'decorations' she had attached to the hair down there.

 

[Altum Volantes]

Originally posted by Milkman
It took me while to realise that the Pink Floyd's - Shine on You Crazy Diamond, was about Syd Barret.

*As all the pink floyd fans go "duh".

Yar, "duh"

Most of the "Wish You Were Here" album is about Syd Barret actually, the craziest diamond of them all.

There is numerous famous songs about famous people, such as "Hey Jude" being Paul McCartney's ode to Julian Lennon - but one person that stands out in my mind is Pattie Boyd (Ex-partner of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton) who has Harrison's "Something" and Claptons pair of hits "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" written about her.

 

[P_D]

Most people think 'it's gotta be big' is actually 'i've got a big d*ck' if that's what you're referring to

Actually the original song is CRAZY - angst ridden, passionate, and damn feisty. You just don't find many people who use the shovelling of cow sh*t as a sound effect in their music... the remix just doesn't do it justice

 

[P_D]

Originally posted by Mark Rudd
If somebody can get the meaning to the Beach Boys Surf's Up, I'll give you a billion dollars.

One awsome song though.

Bahah! I'll give you two billion if you can interpret Tori Amos' 'Space Dog':


way to go mr. microphone
show us all what you don't know
centuries secret societies
he's out commander still
space dog

so sure we were on something
your feet are finally on the ground he said
so sure we were on something
your feet are just on the ground girl

rain and snow
our engines have been receiving your eager call
there's colonel dirtyfishydishcloth
he'll distract her good
don't worry so

and to the one you thought was on your side
she can't understand
she truly believes the lies

lemon pie
he's coming through
our commander still space dog
lines secure space dog

deck the halls
i'm young again
i'm you again
racing turtles
the grapefruit is winning
seems i keep getting this story twisted
so where's neil when you need him
deck the halls
it's you again
it's you again
somewhere someone must know the ending
is she still ****ing in the river now
heard she'd gone
moved into a trailer park

so sure we were on something
your feet finally on the ground he said
so sure we were on something
you feet just on the ground girl
so sure we were on something
your feet finally on the ground he said
so sure we were on something
your feet are just on the ground
(so sure those girls now are in the navy
those bombs our friends can't even hurt you now
and hold those tears cause they're still on your side
don't hear the dogs barking
don't say you know we've gone andromeda
stood with those girls before
the hair in pairs it just got nasty
and now those girls are gone)

 

[Uncle Steve]

Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself - about masturbation

The Vapors - Turning Japanese - about masturbation

Devo - Whip It - allegedly about masturbation

Cyndi Lauper - She Bop - about female masturbation

Tori Amos - Icicle - about a girl masturbating while the rest of her family prays

Gary Numan (the Tubeway Army) - Everyday I Die - about masturbation


(no, I'm not obsessed... )

 

[P_D]

Tori Amos - Icicle - about a girl masturbating while the rest of her family prays

I can extend on that

""In Icicle I try to win back the innocence of my childhood. That girl that masturbates to survive, the vulnerable, innocent flower, has always done good things for us. She's had to fence off certain parts of herself to get ahead. Now it's time to light the candle and melt those parts. Who dares to open him- or herself can also forgive themselves for not having stood up for themselves enough."


and when my hand touches myself
i can finally rest my head
and when they say 'take of his body'
i think i'll take from mine instead

getting off getting off while they're all downstairs
singing prayers sing away he's in my pumpkin p.j.'s
lay your book on my chest
feel the word
feel the word
feel the word
feel it