As I have dug deeper into music through the years, one thing that has become clear:
Judging a song by what you think you know about it can lead one astray from the actual intent of the composer, particularly when that information is limited or erroneous. I certainly have done it.
For various reasons, there are some songs that seemed to have been magnets for misinterpretation. Let’s take a look at a few.
“Short People”
Randy Newman
(1977)
Originally written to highlight the stupidity of prejudice toward any group of people for any reason, “Short People”, with its chorus of “Short people got no reason to live” shot up to #2 on the Hot 100.
This was unexpected, given the subject matter – and the fact that Randy Newman had been releasing albums for nearly ten years and had never charted as a solo artist until then.
With its catchy melody and piano riff, it was basically everywhere.
The backlash came swiftly, as much of the general public totally missed the sarcasm and took it literally, as a brutal bashing of those of diminutive stature. A Maryland state delegate even tried to introduce legislation to make it illegal to play the song on the radio, until the Maryland Attorney General reminded him of a little thing called the First Amendment.
I have a vague recollection of a family member telling a story about a 4”8 spitfire of a gal they knew who was in a store, heard “Short People” playing overhead, and stormed up to the counter and hauled off at the salesclerk.
I was in junior high at the time of its success, and the shortest boy in my grade, which would continue to be the case until my sophomore year of high school, but I don’t remember being teased about the song or getting upset at it. I learned to play it on the piano, so it must not have bothered me all that much.
As for Randy Newman, he was surprised at the intensity of the anger over “Short People”, and the fact that he had even received threats over it. In an interview with Performing Songwriter, he said:
“I had no idea that there was any sensitivity, I mean, that anyone could believe that anyone was as crazy as that character. To have that kind of animus against short people, and then to sing it and put it all in song and have a philosophy on it.”
Though he never cracked the Top 40 as an artist again, he continued to find success as a composer. He is easily recognized for his songs prominently featured in films and television. He has been nominated 22 times for an Academy Award, winning twice, and has also won three Emmys and seven Grammys.
“Short People” eventually faded into relative obscurity and if it’s remembered at all, it would be as a funny or not-so-funny novelty song, though it was so much more than that at its heart.
“(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)”
The Beastie Boys
(1986)
The song was poking fun at frat culture, by assuming its identity. Few people seemed to get the irony, and instead it had the reverse effect, and became a call to arms for party animals everywhere, because of course it did.
Being that it was their first hit off of their debut album, it initially defined the Beastie Boys as completely opposite of what they were.
As Mike D commented, “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.”
Until years later, I had no idea it was meant to be a send up of people who lived for a good time – and basically nothing else. As an outsider to that world, to me it was pretty hilarious, and probably an accurate description of how many kids felt at the time. In particular, I thought it made a good point about the hypocrisy of the dad telling the son he can’t smoke when the dad himself was a chain smoker.
By basically never releasing anything like it again, the boys moved past whatever perception the public had of them from it and didn’t end up being defined by it, at least not by anyone paying attention.
“Born in the U.S.A.”
Bruce Springsteen
(1984)
One of the largest categories of misunderstood songs would be the ones where people only know the words to the chorus or the title, and think the song is saying something completely different than it is.
This song is often cited as an example of that for good reason.
Based on a cursory listen to its anthemic chorus featuring the song’s title, it was seen at the outset as a flag-waving, patriotic tribute to the resilience and greatness of a country and its people.
Numerous right-wing presidential candidates have continued to adopt it for their platform over the years, beginning with the one who was in office at the time of its release.
In reality, it’s a bleak portrayal of a Vietnam veteran from a downtrodden town whose life only spirals further into despair upon his return. Essentially, he is lost. There were those who were paying attention to the verses and took the chorus to infer that being an American means you can overcome any struggles, but there is nothing in the lyrics to suggest that.
The song is many things, but a beacon of hope, a point of pride, or a gleaming portrait of the U.S.A. it is not.
“Only Women Bleed”
Alice Cooper
(1975)
Add this one to the category of songs that were misunderstood because of the title. Feminist groups purportedly protested “Only Women Bleed,” thinking it to be a song about a woman’s period, but the song is not at all about menstruation.
It is, in fact, a sensitive ballad about domestic abuse, sympathetic to the victim.
An unusual song topic for the time and certainly not something people would have expected from Alice Cooper, the original shock rocker. When it was released as a single, the title was changed to “Only Women”, presumably in response to the controversy over the title.
Not everyone misunderstood it. A number of female artists have covered the song over the years, including an emotionally stirring version by Etta James.
“Sympathy for the Devil“
The Rolling Stones
(1968)
Trying to unpack the true meaning of this song can be difficult. The short answer is that it is written from the perspective of the Devil, explaining how they were present and an influence on various events in history, that led to death, devastation, and the corruption of humanity. They want us to guess their name and give them courtesy and sympathy.
From there, people have taken it in myriad directions. It is not easy to say who is right or wrong in their interpretations because of the density of the lyrics, but there are some conclusions that don’t seem to be coming from what is actually being said.
Over the years, some Christians have condemned the song and the band themselves as encouraging the worship of Satan, and though it is easy to see how they could have arrived at that reasoning, there is nothing in the text of the song that confirms it.
The main theme would appear to be what happens when we as humans give in to the force of evil. If anyone were to infer that there is a moral lesson here, and that is taking a big leap, it would not be that we follow the entity behind this.
Thoughts? Suggestions for other songs?
Hit me up in the comment section.
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If I could add one more thing- Driving back from a trip to Florida this past Monday, the song “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp was playing on the radio as we were about 20 miles outside of his hometown of Seymour, Indiana. This is a song that could have been included here as well.
Other examples include “Every Breath You Take” by the Police, “My Aim is True” by Elvis Costello, and “Everyone Says Hi” by David Bowie (happy birthday, spirit dad).
Obligatory mention that I am from the Seymour area, and my grandmother lived in a pink house on a main highway. Mellencamp would have passed it several times. My cousins and I like to think that it influenced him. And, yes, we understood immediately exactly what he meant.
Good job with this, rb. I agree that it’s easy to mishear or misunderstand lyrics and the point of a song.
I also think satire is a tricky thing for pop music. The presentation can easily dwarf the intended message. My regular irritant, Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” is the perfect example of this. I fully understand that Mark Knopfler wrote a song from the perspective of a particular character and that the character, not all that different from TV’s Archie Bunker, says a variety of things that are or can be considered offensive. I also get that this is not necessarily reflective of anything he truly believes. And certainly I support his right as an artist to say what he wants how he wants.
At the same time, I find the use of the homophobic slur within the song unacceptable for me to stomach (I won’t turn off the edit). The context matters not. He put out for public consumption a song with a slur, and lots of people sing right along, oblivious to, or worse, knowing, its impact.
It’s not the only example or the only slur out there — I know there are others. This is just the one that grates on me whenever I hear it or think about it.
Anyhow, again, thanks for the thoughtful take on the relationship between what musicians record and what we hear.
In the mid 1970s when I was in high school, the slur was ubiquitous. 50 times a day; it was the go-to demeaning word, whether implied in jest, or as a cutting put-down. I don’t have any exposure day-to-day to teenagers, but I would like to think that they’re more evolved and better than we were.
I know I’ve told the story here before, so for those of you that will find find it to be a rerun, just skip ahead.
A few years ago I got a one night stand gig as a fill-in keyboard player for an 80s band. They sent me the set list the night before, and I worked on it so that I could hit all of the important parts. When I saw the Dire Straits tune, I was excited because it gives you a chance to noodle on the keys in the beginning with lots of spacey sound effects, etc. It’s not that it’s hard to play; mostly just sounds, but it’s fun to do and people seem to get a kick out of it.
Anyway, the tune comes up, and we’re jamming away. As we’re about to do the turnaround to come into the second verse, it hits me: something‘s coming up. Until tonight, I’ve never met any of these guys in the band, and I have no idea what they’re going to do. I’m a little uncomfortable about it,
The bass player, who is Running the lead vocals is doing his best Mark Knopfler impression and doing a pretty good job. And when he gets to the moment that I’m about to cringe over, he flawlessly sings, “that little poser, he’s a millionaire.“
I remember thinking that this guy is on the ball, and was glad that he did the right thing.
After the tune was over, I caught his eye and I mouthed the words: “ lyrics change“, and then gave him a thumbs up. He gave me an a short nod and a smile; not super obvious, just a subtle “ yes, thanks for noticing.”
It was a fleeting moment, but I remembered it it for a while now.
In those moments where we get a chance to be better, the guy came through.
I was definitely the shortest guy in any grade that I was in, and I recognized the humor in “Short People”. The confusion over the lyrics baffles me…Randy gives away his purpose in the bridge of the song. But, like you say, folks only listen to the chorus.
I actually never knew the purpose behind the Beastie Boys song, so that was good education for me.
Mr. Cooper’s song is honorable in purpose, but the title was so provocative, what did he expect? (Not that Alice ever intended to provoke…)
I am unhappy with myself right now for not being able to think of some other misunderstood songs. I’m certain I know other examples.
There were mitigating factors for anyone who misunderstood what Beastie Boys were doing on Fight For Your Right.
There were sexist and homophobic references in their early songs that they later regretted. As Adam Horovitz later wrote, “Time has healed our stupidity”.
Then there’s the Licensed To Ill tour, featuring a stage set up including scantily clad go go dancers in cages, giant Buswieser cans and a huge hydraulic penis. In their own words they decided to see how far over the top they could make it. Its not surprising people missed the irony when the Boys seemed to have misplaced it as well.
The 1987 UK tour where they were front page tabloid news as the most notorious and unpleasant band since the Sex Pistols whipped things up into a frenzy that was completely unjustified. But then they didn’t help themselves, walking on stage and introducing themselves with the words “F*** you Liverpool” turned out not to be a good idea. Who knew?? That show lasted 12 minutes as a riot took over. Failing to learn they moved onto Glasgow for a similar experience, though they made it to the 25 minute mark that night before being forced offstage.
There’s a vivid firsthand account of the Liverpool show here from one of the crowd.
https://www.gq.com/story/beastie-boys-liverpool-riot-roger-bennett
Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think? One instance of irony leads to another, from the knowing to the unaware.
The opaque quality of satire is a potential feature, as it allows people to speak truth to power with some level of deniability.
But the risk is that audiences miss the intended critique, and then use the artist’s piece to bask in what they had been trying to cut down.
A few years ago, I was talking music with a colleague at work, and I mentioned some songs by Randy Newman. After I described “Short People” and “Sail Away,” this woman grew incensed. She expressed disbelief that anyone would ever want to indulge such hateful and cynical songs, then curtly ended the chat, returning to her work.
Chuck makes a good point that artists should use satire with caution, especially when ugliness can be exalted unironically. But I never understood her outrage. Even if it doesn’t land for her, surely she understands the intent behind satire? Does she get angry over Gulliver’s Travels as well?
The world may never know…
Re: the Beastie Boys, et. al., allow me to quote myself from the What Makes Punk Punk, Part 2 article:
I was from the same punk underground as the Beaties so I got they were saying the opposite of what they meant. Still, it would be easy to miss the satire entirely if you didn’t know it was part of the punk zeitgeist.
And I definitely missed it, at first, with “Short People.” Oops. Shoulda known better.
Let’s hope that “Kill the Poor” never becomes the country’s next “Born in the USA.”
Typical tall-guy bias.
I might have picked “Beast of Burden” over “Sympathy for the Devil” as a misunderstood Stones song.
Sing along, everyone! It’s everyone’s favorite wedding dance song!
Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you
Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I’ll be watching you
Oh, can’t you see
You belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take?
Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I’ll be watching you
Since you’ve gone, I’ve been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace
I keep crying, baby, baby please
Oh, can’t you see
You belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take?
Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I’ll be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you
I thought “I Will Always Love You” was everyone’s favorite wedding song
I understand this to an extent. My sister was one of the most intelligent people that I have ever known, but she had a strange inability to see certain types of sarcasm. She hated “Short People,” just as she hated “All in the Family.” Sarcastic bigotry that was aimed at making fun of itself was not for her. I believe that she must have a lot of company with that blind spot.
Well, my father-in-law was a large 6-2 man who married a 4-11 tiny woman and my wife says when she was growing up, he would sing “Short People” to my mother-in-law all the time. I do not think he got it…
From past reading on the Beastie Boys, I believe they imitated the frat boy culture so much they say they became that way themselves for a couple of years when their initial success occurred. Luckily, they snapped out of it and has already been mentioned, regretted it their previous actions.