10 Songs That Definitely Don't Mean What You Thought

5. Loves Me Like A Rock - Paul Simon

This is just a personal opinion, but I feel that, although Simon & Garfunkel produced some amazing songs together, like "Bridge Over Troubled Water;" "The Boxer;" "Scarborough Fair/Canticle;" & "America," Paul Simon's work got even better after he and Art Garfunkel broke up. It seems like Simon suddenly felt more free to experiment with different styles of music, ranging from reggae to pop rock to African tribal music to gospel music. The most successful of Simon's experiments with gospel music is his 1973 hit "Loves Me Like A Rock," probably best known today as the song that closes Jon Favreau's 2005 film Zathura. Upon listening to "Rock"'s fast beat, happy-sounding melody, and optimistic first verse, it sounds like the perfect song to underscore the idyllic scene that ends Zathura. However, if one listens closer, one finds that a more pessimistic message is being conveyed. We don't really have any trouble understanding the first verse, in which a young boy is confronted by the devil. The boy scoffs at Beelzebub, saying that his faith in God and the love he gets from his mother has given him the strength he needs to withstand Satan's urgings. The second verse, however, contains a change in wording that conveys subtly how the boy is changing as he grows older. When the devil comes to confront the boy (now a man) in the second verse, the boy again laughs off the Prince of Darkness, this time not placing the emphasis on God but on his own personal pride. This is shown by the boy going from calling himself "a consecrated man" to "a consummated man." He still places a large emphasis on his mother's love, however. The third verse finds our young man, now not so young, in full flower as President of the United States. By this time, he's lost both his faith in God and his faith in himself. He's no longer worried about the Devil; instead, Congress is the monkey on his back. When the House & the Senate attack him, he relies not on himself or on God but on his position as President. However, even though he's become completely cynical, he's still managed to remain a mama's boy, and his mother is still there for him. We could have a long debate on whether faith in God is an intelligent position, but I'd rather not get into that (if you don't mind) because it's not the point of the song. What Simon is trying to convey through "Rock" is how, as we get older, we become more cynical, less likely to use our imaginations or to have our breath taken away. Simon, through his lyrics, is providing us with a cautionary tale against growing up too much, camouflaging it with a jaunty beat and a lively melody. He also couples the caution with a second, more optimistic message about how good parents love their children, no matter what. That's always a nice thing to be reminded of.