Nice songs with unexpectedly dark lyrics
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:20 pm
You hear them on the radio, you might sing along, you might not. And unless you really think about it, or actually read the lyric sheet, you might never realize that there's something really dark in there.
The best example from recent times is probably the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLzX0RPquk[/youtube]
It was all over the place about two years ago, very popular, very catchy. But did you know it's about a school shooting? Listen to the lyrics (or if the link above works, read them. It goes dark around the 0:48.
I've been listening to Steely Dan a lot lately, and they seem to be masters at this sort of thing. "King of the World" for instance, is about a survivor of a nuclear holocaust, reaching out via HAM radio to see if there's anyone else still alive. And "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" is about a guy showing adult films to neighborhood kids.
So, what songs do you know that sound nicey-nice but hide dark lyrics?
The best example from recent times is probably the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oLzX0RPquk[/youtube]
It was all over the place about two years ago, very popular, very catchy. But did you know it's about a school shooting? Listen to the lyrics (or if the link above works, read them. It goes dark around the 0:48.
I've been listening to Steely Dan a lot lately, and they seem to be masters at this sort of thing. "King of the World" for instance, is about a survivor of a nuclear holocaust, reaching out via HAM radio to see if there's anyone else still alive. And "Everyone's Gone to the Movies" is about a guy showing adult films to neighborhood kids.
So, what songs do you know that sound nicey-nice but hide dark lyrics?
