Catchy and upbeat tunes do not always have cheerful meaning. Here is a list of songs that are much darker than they seem whether they are simply misleading in their meaning or they have a dark, hidden story within them.
1. "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor.
This upbeat anthem by Meghan Trainor is a song about body positivity and loving yourself, right? Wrong. This song is packed full of lyrics shaming other women for their body types and glorifying her own. Trainor may have tried to be body positive, but made the mistake of shaming thinner women. Not body positive at all. In the song she claims that men do not want women who are thin or do are not curvy. She calls them “stick figure Barbie dolls.” If you are going for a body positive jam, putting other body types down is not the way to do it.
2. "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
Though this is a favorite holiday song and seems to be about two people cuddling up during a snowstorm, the lyrics are actually extremely creepy. The basic plot to the story is a woman came to the man’s house. When she says thank you and tries to leave, the man does all he can to keep her there. Offering her more drinks, putting on music, telling her how bad it is outside and that she shouldn’t leave. The woman repeatedly comes up with reasons to leave and tries a few times, but the man feeds her more drinks and cigarettes and comes with excuses to keep her there. The song feels lighthearted and cozy, but singing the lyrics aloud makes one realize just how uncomfortable the song actually is.
3. "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson.
One might not realize the meaning of this song until they see the music video. Michael approaches this woman on the street and practically chases her until she pays attention to him. This song is basically one long, rhythmic catcall. Though many women would not be too upset about Michael Jackson dancing around and singing to them, this woman obviously just wanted to go about her business. At one point she even runs into a dark alley just to avoid the pop star and his posse. At the end of the video the woman is surrounded by men as Jackson dances and continues to “serenade” her. This catchy tune has a touch of the dark side with its glorification of catcalling, especially since the catcaller ends up with the girl in the end.
4. "Brown Sugar" by the Rolling Stones.
To most Stones fans, the lyrics to the upbeat tune come as a surprise. Not many who dance and sing to this song realize what it is actually about. The lyrics tell of an adult slaver who has his way with young, female slaves in the middle of the night. The cheery sounding tune leaves a bad taste in most listeners’ mouths after they realize they have been dancing to a song about rape and slavery.
5. "U.O.E.N.O." by Rick Ross.
Rick Ross’ verse in this song is highly problematic. He talks about drugging a girl and having his way with her while she is unconscious. This disturbing and frightening line is then followed by bragging about how much land he owns and how much money he has. The catchy club tune is quickly ruined with this one line and leaves most people eager to leave the club and fearful to finish their drinks.
“Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know. I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know.”
6. "Stray Cat Blues" by The Rolling Stones.
Yet another Rolling Stones song about sexual relations with minors. This song is about a 15-year-old girl who ran away from home and meets an adult man who asks her to come upstairs. Later in the song he asks her to bring her friend too and talks about how wild they are comparing them to stray cats that scratch and spit. This song is disturbing for obvious reasons, but has still managed to be one of the Rolling Stones’ greatest hits.
7. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
-It seems The Police made this song trying to be as creepy as possible. The lyrics are clearly about a possessive partner or a stalker of some sort watching this person’s every action. Sting of The Police acknowledges the song’s sinister lyrics over a seemingly love song melody. Despite the song’s stalker vibes, it was on the top charts for 9 weeks and was nominated for three Grammys.
Despite the creepy vibes in each of these songs, they have been widely successful and popular. This goes to show that lyrics do not always make the song.
