Ever heard a song that sounds very upbeat and happy, or is fun to sing along to but is actually about something sad that you wouldn’t expect? Well, I have come up with a playlist of some of my favorite songs that really do fool the average listener into thinking that they are fun and happy. The reality of these songs is that they have a deeper meaning when you listen and think deeply about them. Here are the 10 songs that I came up with.
1. All My Friends - Snakehips, Tinashe and Chance the Rapper
This song is pretty catchy and upbeat when you are listening to it, but the reality of it is about how millennials care so much about drinking and partying every weekend night, pretending to have a good time half of the time when we are not. Ironic because I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this song played at parties plenty of times…2. Left Alone – Flume & Chet Faker
The beat to this song is so enduring; so much to the point that it is very easy to not listen to the meaning of the song. It is about someone experiencing feelings and emotions of depression and not wanting to be around anybody, and not knowing how to control it. Even DJs can get deep sometimes!3. Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind
As fun as this song sounds, to sum it up the lyrics are about the descent into crystal meth addiction. Never would’ve guessed that one!4. Hey Ya! – OutKast
This is everyone’s favorite dance song and a classic party jam…yet if you listen to the lyrics it is about a relationship that has gone wrong and how the guy is starting to lose feelings and doesn’t know where to turn to fix it.5. Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Another party favorite, but really this song is about the difficulties of an immigrant that fled her country from war, and the chorus is a metaphor for gun sounds being a usual occurrence in her old life. She is trying to explain how people expect the worst of refugees and immigrants, thinking they want to cause violence and rob banks/take people’s jobs or money.6. S.O.B. – Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
This high-energy song is fun to listen to, even though the meaning to it is very sad. The singer is explaining how he has tried to overcome an alcohol problem that he realizes he can’t control, and how it could kill him if he doesn’t stop eventually.7. Spaceman – The Killers
Aside from the Killers being one of my favorite bands of all time and listening to their songs on repeat constantly, this song digs so deep and incredibly sad that I seriously get the feels listening. You wouldn’t expect this upbeat rock hit to be about a boy contemplating suicide, but it is. The whole song is a metaphor for a situation of this boy being taken to a hospital after trying to commit suicide, and waking up back into reality trying to decide whether he should again or not.8. Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
Most people think that this song is about a woman that gives a guy certain feelings that he isn’t used to. Surprise! It is actually a personification of the depth of a drug addiction story.9. Face Down – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Angsty teen music anyone? Well this song is deep and actually a bit depressing to say the least. It is about a guy witnessing a girl who he really likes getting abused by her current boyfriend. He doesn’t know what to do about it as he has tried to tell her that she deserves better, and doesn’t understand why she won’t leave him.10. Breezeblocks – Alt J
I honestly barely understood half of the words in this song until I watched the music video, which is terrifying. The song explains a story of a man who is physically assaulting and abusing his girlfriend who is trying to leave him. He tries to drown her thinking that it will keep her from escaping and leaving him. Pretty terrible.
