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Most Misinterpreted Songs


soundcreation

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So I finally got around to learning Sweet Home Alabama cause..well..it kicks all kinds of ass, and always has. Especially that guitar line...you all know the one...right after the first verse. LOVE that guitar line. (anyone who doesn't? freak.gif)

Anyway...of course it got me thinking of the Neil Young verse and how there really was no feud. Neil loved that song and R. Van Zant was a fan of Young's and wore Neil Young T-shirts during concerts to shut up rednecks.

And how Skynyrd kind of got labeled as a racist band.

Misinterpreted lines in the song like

"In Birmingham they love the Governor " (George Wallace-who was pro segregation)

As them being in favor of Wallace.

But then people forget that "Boo Boo Boo" is sung right afterwards. And the next line is

"Now we all did what we could do"

In other words, we tried, but don't blame all of us for some racists.

And one of the last lines in the song is

"Montgomery got the answer"

An obvious in favor reference to MLK's march..

anyway....this site has an interesting read about the whole thing....

http://thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lynyrd.htm



So what are some other famously misinterpreted, or misrepresented songs?
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Bob Seger's Turn The Page... if i have to hear another {censored}whit, barely coherent douche bag say that song is about riding your Harley, i'm gonna SCREAM!!!mad.gif

the song is about being in a band, specifically the band's front man, and being on the road... i mean really, what part of the song has ANYTHING to do with riding other than "here i am, on the road again"??? last time i rode my bike, it had absolutely nothing to do with "amplifiers ringin' in your head" or being up on a stage and playing starfacepalm.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by Marc G View Post
I think people misinterpret "Born in the USA" big time...
Quote Originally Posted by Meowy View Post
Teh Police Every Breath you Take.
Yes! Very good ones.

The former a scathing indictment of Reagan era bull{censored} capitalism...(that he wanted to use as his campaign song...lol...)

and the later about a stalker, and not a "sweet little love song"
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Yup, "Born In The USA."

Ronald Reagan was praising the feelings of hope and patriotic spirit moving through America and he said, "You can hear it in songs of Bruce Springsteen." Reagan and his staff actually thought "Born In The USA" was a song of great patriotism. I still say "Wow" when I think of that.

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Quote Originally Posted by taxerman View Post
Yup, "Born In The USA."

Ronald Reagan was praising the feelings of hope and patriotic spirit moving through America and he said, "You can hear it in songs of Bruce Springsteen." Reagan and his staff actually thought "Born In The USA" was a song of great patriotism. I still say "Wow" when I think of that.
Republicans don't seem to "get" music very well.[1] Witness Paul Ryan's love of RATM. He might like the beat, but he can't possibly have listened to or thought about any of the lyrics. He also bizarrely tried to use "We're Not Gonna Take It" until Dee Synder told him to stop. Michele Bachmann's use of "American Girl" is another classic example of someone listening to a few words of the chorus and not paying any attention to anything else.

[1] To be fair, ardent left wing folks can have similar issues with business
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Quote Originally Posted by edremy View Post
Republicans don't seem to "get" music very well.[1] Witness Paul Ryan's love of RATM. He might like the beat, but he can't possibly have listened to or thought about any of the lyrics. He also bizarrely tried to use "We're Not Gonna Take It" until Dee Synder told him to stop. Michele Bachmann's use of "American Girl" is another classic example of someone listening to a few words of the chorus and not paying any attention to anything else.

[1] To be fair, ardent left wing folks can have similar issues with business
sadly, that's what most people pay attention to... the hook. the verses could literally be the word blah over and over, but if it has a catchy chorus, or contains one single word that someone deems relevant, it's a hit...

perfect example, Foster The People's Pumped Up Kicks, 98% of the people that like that song haven't got a clue that it's about a school shootingrolleyes.gif
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I had a young girl singing with one of my bands for a bit, and she wanted to do Sweet Home Alabama. What bothered me is that she sang the line honoring the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as "the Swamp Birds" instead of the Swampers, as they were also known. She had no idea what the reference meant, and I imagine the majority of kids singing that song are equally clueless.

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Not a big deal, but I've found that FM radio DJs tend to embrace Rush's "The Spirit of Radio" much more than I think they should. It's not an outright celebration of radio, it's more like a lament, a remembrance of the greatness of radio as it gradually became more corporate. It's bittersweet.

One likes to believe in the freedom of music
but glittering prizes and endless compromises
shatter the illusion of integrity

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Quote Originally Posted by Meowy View Post
Teh Police Every Breath you Take.

In an episode of "Sledge Hammer!", Sledge has to let a suspect go. Before releasing the guy, Sledge says to him, "OK, you can go. But remember - every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you. That's police talk."
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Quote Originally Posted by noisebloom

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Not a big deal, but I've found that FM radio DJs tend to embrace Rush's "The Spirit of Radio" much more than I think they should. It's not an outright celebration of radio, it's more like a lament...

 

Perhaps that's why Triumph (the poor-man's Rush) wrote Magic Power ...
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If there is one song out there I would be happy to never have to play again it would be Sweet Home Alabama! Can't stand anything about it and it is quite possibly the most boring song to play ever for me. I know lots of people love it and that is great to each there own.

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Quote Originally Posted by thecornman

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If there is one song out there I would be happy to never have to play again it would be Sweet Home Alabama! Can't stand anything about it and it is quite possibly the most boring song to play ever for me. I know lots of people love it and that is great to each there own.

 

Yep, its been done to death. For me its Brown Eyed Girl. I change stations immediately if it comes on the radio.
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