Oddly enough, but sometimes we perceive a certain song not at all as the author was planning, and therefore we get its meaning false. On the one hand, it's pretty funny, but are you ready to learn the true meaning of songs, which one hundred percent have you previously misunderstood? Let's find out together.
Closing Time by Semisonic
The song was released in March 1998 as the lead single from their album Feeling Strangely Fine. This all-famous composition is the only one big hit of this group, unfortunately, its meaning is perceived for some reason distorted. So, did you also think that this song is dedicated to all bartenders in the world? Actually, Closing Time - written at a time when its author, namely the leader of the band Dan Wilson, was waiting for the moment to become a father and the song is about "being sent out from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar." Consequently, this song is mainly dedicated to his future fatherhood.
Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5
Of course, the whole singer's fifth studio album 'Songs About Jane' is generally dedicated to his relationship. But the exception became the song "Harder to Breathe", which actually tells about Maroon 5's relation to one music label. Levine told MTV in 2002, "That song comes sheerly from wanting to throw something. It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs. It was the last crack. I was just pissed. I wanted to make a record and the label was applying a lot of pressure, but I'm glad they did."
American Girl by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
Most of the listeners are convinced that this composition tells about a student's suicide by jumping from a Beaty Towers balcony. In the book 'Conversation With Tom Petty', the singer says, "It's become a huge urban myth down in Florida. That's just not at all true. The song has nothing to do with that. But that story really gets around." Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell backed up Petty by saying, "Some people take it literally and out of context. To me it's just a really beautiful love song."
In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
The song "In the Air Tonight" was the first single in the solo career of Phil Collins and turned out to be one of his biggest hits. As stated in the most common urban legend about the song, in front of Collins sank his close friend. Independently, he could not save him, because he was too far away. But next to the place of the tragedy was a certain person who did not want to help the drowning man.
Allegedly, Phil subsequently invited the man to a concert and asked the illuminators to keep him in the beam of the searchlight during the performance of "In the Air Tonight". The further fate of the guy is described in various variations: dismissal from work, arrest, prison and even suicide. In fact, nothing like this happened. Collins has repeatedly refuted this story, although many prefer to believe in its reality. As for the phrase about an unwillingness to stretch out a hand to a drowning man, she, according to Phil, is symbolic and has nothing to do with any events. Also, at the time of writing the song, the singer passed the divorce process with his wife.
Every Breath You Take by The Police
"Every Breath You Take" became the most famous song of the British rock band The Police. The listeners considered this to be a gentle composition about love, and for three decades at the numerous weddings the happy newlyweds danced using "Every Breath You Take" song. Only Sting, writing "Every Breath You Take", was full of not touching feelings and put into the text of the song a meaning that does not correspond to such a joyful event. He composed "Every Breath You Take" during the break-up with Francis Tomelti, his first wife. Although, he denied any connection between the lyrics and his personal life but confirmed that the music helped him overcome this such a difficult period of his life.
Hotel California by Eagles
There are not so many rock songs about which there were as many myths as the about legendary "Hotel California" song of The Eagles. But the main mystery of "Hotel California" for a long time was covered in its text. Fans fought in conjecture about what this song really is. Among the huge number of opinions can be identified a few of the most interesting.
In the eighties, a group of Christians suggested that the song tells of a hotel in San Francisco that Anton LaVey bought to turn it into a Church of Satan. According to one of the rumors, the hotel "California" refers to a hospital for mentally ill people in Camarillo, California. No less popular was the version that it was a California rehab center for drug addicts. Many fans were sincerely sure that the "Hotel California" refers to the Scottish castle of the black magician Aleister Crowley or even an unknown hotel belonging to cannibals. Someone even managed to see a strange figure in black on the cover of the album.
Disputes subsided in 2007 when Don Henley dispelled myths about the meaning of "Hotel California". He said that it speaks of "the excesses of American culture and concrete acquaintances to girls", "the shaky balance between art and commerce," and the "Achilles heel of the" American dream. " He also called the song "their interpretation of the life of the secular society of Los Angeles." In the same vein spoke about the "Hotel California" Glenn Fry. He explained that the composition "explores the vulnerable place of success, the dark side of paradise," and confirmed that the California hotel is just a metaphor. Although it is possible that the authors of the song decided to give such an explanation, tired of endless questions. Maybe there was a secret meaning after all?