10 Weirdest Rock Songs That Became Hits

If you think that the charts are a lot more safe these days though, you can't even imagine what it was like back in the '70s. You have to remember that this was around the same time where people were banning songs from the radio for using the word high, afraid that people were advocating drug use at every turn. The Buoys didn't have to worry about the drug connotations though...they just managed to get away with murder on the charts.

That's not really a joke either. Even though Timothy is a pretty chipper song with glorious '70s pop production, the actual story behind the track ends with the titular character nowhere to be found. Set in a mining disaster, the narrator talks about being stranded with his coworkers Joe and Timothy, only to black out and find himself above ground with a full belly and only Joe by his side. Since they talk about giving anything for a piece of meat, we have no choice but to assume that these guys ate their friend and are trying to justify themselves for it.

Granted, radio at least tried to cover it up for a while, making excuses like Timothy being the name of a horse or just refusing to play it altogether. That didn't account for teenagers though, who were drawn to the song even more when they were told that they couldn't listen to it. It might be a pleasant little song, but there's a bit of a dark streak in between all of those folksy harmonies.