10 Famous Songs Whose Meaning The Fans (And The Pundits) Got Wrong
Because sometimes lyrics aren't quite as obvious as they seem.
If songs are poetry put to music, then interpreting even your run-of-the-mill pop tune can be tricky. Unraveling the more abstract examples can be like trying to make sense of Penrose stairs, with the results being by turns hilarious or disheartening.
Take for, example, ‘Get Back’ by The Beatles. A whimsical, nonsense ditty, the song has been interpreted as being about a man named Jojo who met a drag queen lost in his own delusion. In reality, Paul McCartney is on record as stating that Jojo is imaginary. On the other hand you have Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA,’ which sees its serious, even tragic, meaning smothered by a conveniently selective focus on a lone line in the chorus.
The beauty of music is that it is open to interpretation, and in that beauty lies a power that can be cathartic, even transformative. But however passionate (or learned), fans and aficionados can get their interpretation wildly wrong and when the true meaning is lost then the record needs to be set straight. Here are ten examples where long-standing confusion is finally cleared up, and in the artists’ own words.
10. Ring A Ring O' Rosie - Writer Unknown
Bet you didn’t see this one coming.
Arguably one of the most famous songs in history, it is a fixture of kindergartens the world over and one of few songs anyone in the English speaking world will be able to sing until the day they die.
In modern times the meaning of the song has been linked to the Great Plague. The idea is that a rosy rash was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, that sneezing and coughing was a final symptom, and the falling down marked the inevitable end to the matter.
However, this interpretation of the rhyme emerged after World War 2. Before that, there is no mention of the connection to the Black Death. Instead, the song is likely pagan in origin. The theory cities a passage from Jacob Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie which states: “Gifted children of fortune have the power to laugh roses, as Freyja wept gold,” (Freyja being the Norse goddess of beauty, fertility and gold, among others).
Whatever the origin, having children sing about magic is far better than chanting a sarcastic and macabre take on the worst plague in history.