“Vamos a la playa” by Righeira is about a nuclear catastrophe, but if you don’t speak spanish, you are likely to assume it’s just a good vibes summer song about going to the beach.

Pumped up kicks. For some reason people don’t process the line “better run, better run, outrun my gun.” It’s about columbine.

Have you watched the music video for Wake Me Up When September Ends? That would explain a lot for you.

Tearjerker is about the moment Anthony Kiedis heard that Kurt Cobain had died. That’s fairly well know by fans but less so by casual listeners. And I remember Kurt Loder / MTV News interrupting normal broadcast to report about Cobain the same way that people remember the JFK assassination or the Challenger disaster. So Tearjerker often prompts flashbacks.

Bon Iver’s second album is mostly inspired by Heath Ledger’s death. He was shooting a music video off in a cabin when it happened and ended up having a 3 day greaving session with the videographer, Matt Amato, who was best friends with Heath. Justin was friends as well, having hung out a few times.

The opening track Perth—where Heath and Matt were from—was just a riff at that point and ended up being about his death. It’s abstract, like the ending lines, “wire it up, you’re breaking your ground” is referencing the common practice of wiring the jaw up post-death for open coffins, then being put into the ground. And some lyrics are simply personal things Matt had said over the days.

It’s unusual since despite Justin explaining this in several interviews, and most recently in the I Am Heath Ledger documentary, many people don’t know. There’s also a lot of fake meanings out there about the song being about war or long-distance relationships.

Is THAT what they’re associating it with? 9/11?

I seriously thought it was a reference to the eternal september of the internet, or potentially the school year.

That makes even less sense than the stuff I thought it was about, and I was fucking REACHING.

Yeah I often skip that song; too sad when you know the meaning.

Very related, but the song that was played over every retirement, graduation, and other big life event photo montages for about 3 years was literally called “Good Riddance” lmao

Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter Paul and Mary is not about smoking weed. It’s about the tragedy of losing your childhood since of wonder and imagination.

Also, Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan was not about a drug dealer. At the time of the writing Dylan was known as Mr tambourine man.

“Brown Eyed Girl” is about an inter-racial relationship, not anal sex.

youtu.be/UfmkgQRmmeE

Alive by Pearl Jam is about a guy who’s dad ended up not being his dad because his real dad died. The guy looks a lot like his dad and his mom misses his dad so they fuck.

Most people just hear the “I’m still alive” and think it’s a victorious song.

Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen

Yeah, it’s not a patriotic boner song…

Semi charmed life is about a meth addiction, not a summer jam

Zombie by cranberries is about the cruelty of war, not a Halloween bop

99 red balloons is about the overzealous nature of countries to go to war, not just a bouncy tune

There’s more but that’s what I have at the top of my mind

Its commonly assumed that Hey Man Nice Shot by Filter was written about Kurt Cobain. It was written about the public tv suicide of R Budd Dwyer.

Rupert Holmes’ song Escape aka The Piña Colada Song a lot of people associate it with beachy vacations or summer flings, when in reality it’s about mutual infidelity.