The lyrics to Every Breath You Take may describe a devoted lover, so everyone assumes the same. But they’re wrong because having someone profess that every breath you take, every move you make, they’ll be watching, is not even close to romantic.

What that is is the modus operandi of a stalker. Sting says, “I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it’s quite the opposite.”

Most people view “Hey Ya!” as a party song with its catchy and upbeat chorus, but the lyrics actually take on the subject of an unhappy marriage.

The lyrics thank Mom and Dad “for sticking through together / because we don’t know how,” state that “separate’s always better” and “we know we’re not happy here.”

As for shaking it like a Polaroid Picture though? That’s really up to you.

It’s an extravagantly romantic power ballad but the song’s writer Jim Steinman shared that Total Eclipse of the Heart was intended as a supernatural romance that was initially titled “Vampires in Love.”

The lyrics focused on the power of darkness and forbidden love, and it’s actually easy to hear the song’s gothic origins lurking under the surface.

The meaning of Like a Virgin has been discussed since it was released. Some will say it’s about men’s anatomy, while others go for girlish innocence. But as it turns out, neither was intended by songwriter Billy Steinberg.

The song is meant to represent being romantically damaged and starting a new relationship that helps heal the wounds of the past.

Closing Time does sound like a bar that is closing at the end of a night and the staff telling the patrons to leave. This is wrong as it’s actually about a pregnancy.

The band’s vocalist Dan Wilson wrote the song when his wife was pregnant, with Semisonic drummer Jacob Slichter suggesting that the song is about “being sent forth from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar.”

Maroon 5’s Harder to Breathe is definitely about a toxic, high-pressure relationship, but it’s not the one you think. Fans assumed that the song from the band’s breakout album Songs About Jane, refers to Adam Levine’s relationship with the titular woman.

The truth is that Harder to Breathe refers to Levine’s fraught relationship with the industry and label Octone, who did nothing but push the band to write more and more songs.

There’s nothing more wholesome than a bunch of hounds set free to play in the park. That’s what this Baha Men one-hit wonder is about, right?

Who Let the Dogs Out is actually an anthem against catcalling, labeling perpetrators as the “dogs” of the chorus. The words go: “Until the fellas started name callin’ / And the girls responded to the call / I heard a woman shout out / ‘Who let the dogs out?’”

MMMbop sounds like a silly little song full of silly little words. The song’s happy and carefree energy, performed by mop-haired adolescents, is actually about the futility of life.

Listen to the lyrics outside of the fun chorus, “You have so many relationships in this life / Only one or two will last / You go through all the pain and strife / Then you turn your back and they’re gone so fast.”

Start listening to the words outside of the chorus next time.

You might remember how Phil Collins’ iconic drum-led hit In the Air Tonight sparked an urban legend. Listeners believed that Collins actually met a man who refused to save a drowning swimmer.

But it’s a much more metaphorical song, with the lyrics alluding to Collins’ divorce after his first marriage. But he does say that his favourite part of this song is hearing people’s false interpretations.

Considering its anthemic chorus, the Clash’s iconic London Calling is not an exalting of the British capital. Rather, it’s a political piece that criticizes how overrun and unsupported the people of the city were.

The song was written about a fear of drowning. In 1979, the London Evening Standard published an article that looked at the possibility of the Thames overflowing to flood London,. That in turn inspired the Clash’s most famous hit.

Blackbird is a beautiful song, even if many assume it’s about the common garden avian. A song about an injured blackbird learning to fly would be lovely in itself, but it was written about the burgeoning American civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Appalled by backlash to the racial justice movement and inspired by its proponents, the Beatles wrote the song to show their support from across the pond.

The song is perceived as wonderful and romantic, and even partners have serenaded one another with it since it became ubiquitous in 2005. But James Blunt was horrified to hear that many were viewing this as romantic.

Blunt stated that it is about a man who is high on drugs and stalking a woman on the subway. That’s about as far from romantic as we want it.

The meaning of the song has been a hot topic, with Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love claiming it was about her private area. Many listeners believed Love’s explanation, even though Cobain himself described it as being about young children with cancer.

Terminally ill children were the saddest thing Cobain could think of, so this song followed from that thought.

It’s a song heard at large events, proms, and even in the finale of American Idiot, the Green Day jukebox musical. The song lends itself well to these situations, but its intent could not be further from it.

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it about a girlfriend who was moving away and the difficult breakup that came with it. That means it can still be the perfect song for graduations and leaving parties, so it’s not exactly a loss.

Everyone back then had a great time dancing to this catchy tune, and few songs can boast of their own iconic dance routine that even the most choreographically inept can perform.

The real meaning behind the song is about a woman who cheats on her husband while he’s away in the army. That’s way less cheery than our coordinated dance moves, but at least the cheaters were having fun.

This much-loved tune is usually interpreted to be a light-hearted chase between romantic interests, or even a revenge song. But the meaning actually lies somewhere between those two.

Singer Debbie Harry revealed that this was about a time she was stalked. It was a terrifying situation, so she tried to make the song a little more fun than the situation she experienced. She definitely succeeded.

Teens in 2010 may have thought Foster the People’s Pumped Up Kicks was just an oddball tune about cool new shoes. In reality though, the song is about a school shooting in a privileged area.

The ‘pumped up kicks’ in question here show the kids’ family wealth, while the line “You’d better run, better run, outrun my gun” couldn’t make it more evident. The song was pulled from the radio in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

With powerful synths and a confident vocal, the Van Halen hit Jump surely got people into the party spirit. But singer David Lee Roth revealed that this tune originated from a very dark place.

He reportedly saw on TV a man standing at the edge of a building, with a crowd of people below yelling, “don’t jump!” So in a nihilistic moment, Roth thought to himself “Jump.” What resulted was an upbeat song about a downbeat experience.

It’s famous for being the music video that made it to a billion views on YouTube. This catchy K-pop song became loved worldwide as a fun tune that might have something to do with horses, thanks to the accompanying viral dance.

This is not the case though, as the song actually mocks those who try to achieve the appearance of wealth without first taking care of their core needs. It’s a satirical song about consumption and pointless material goods exemplified by South Korea’s Gangnam District.

Rihanna was criticized for a hit song that was about sadomasochism, which referenced whips and chains used for sexual purposes. This imagery is fairly explicit in the song, but Rihanna explained that it is a metaphor for her rollercoaster of a relationship with the media.

The pleasure and pain of being in the limelight can be mixed up at times, saying she does thrive off of the media and publicity, despite how harmful it can be at times.

Macho Man played at parties comes across as a fun song about big buff men. It’s actually quite negative, with the songwriters allegedly believing masculinity was under attack due to the feminist movement.

The music producers wanted a dark and serious production, but it was camped up by the very camp Village People. Thinking about the lyrics being completely unironic is… pretty uncomfortable to say the least.

This German song had a hit English language version, and speaks of 99 balloons with its danceable tune. And it could easily be about balloons but its real meaning is actually related to a nuclear holocaust.

The idea for the song arose came when balloons were released at a concert in West Berlin. The songwriter imagined what would happen if they floated into Soviet airspace and mistaken for UFOs, thereby setting off nuclear weapons all over the world.

The song Royals by the teen pop queen Lorde, is explicitly about rejecting that high-class lavish lifestyle full of fame and fortune. That’s not at all the reason the song was written though.

Apparently, Lorde saw the word ‘Royals’ on George Brett’s t-shirt in a magazine. Enjoying the word on an aesthetic basis, she clung to it and wrote a song based on the word.

The lyrics are fairly ambiguous, mostly about not revealing something to a person. The hidden quality in question here is Gaga’s bisexuality.

She’s always been a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, but her place in the community was often ignored. Poker Face is about being in a relationship with a man while still fantasizing about a woman all at once.

Many say that American Pie is about coming of age, while some think it’s about a drought. There’s also no doubt that the song refers to the tragic plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson, and Ritchie Valens. This is what is meant by “the day the music died.”

The lyrics even suggest that society is heading in the wrong direction with a foretelling of a chaotic future. However, when McLean was asked about the song’s meaning, he tends to drily reply that it means “[he’ll] never have to work again.”

Everyone seems to associate All Star with the much-loved family film Shrek. In the two decades since its release, people assumed it’s a call to action on climate change (“The water’s getting warm so you might as well swim / My world’s on fire, how about yours?),

Songwriter Greg Camp rejected this interpretation.

The song is actually about the upbeat worldview of Americans, and Californians, in spite of oncoming issues. The line “all that glitters is gold” is a repudiation of the famous aphorism and a sarcastic endorsement of the usual rampant consumerism.

This romantic ballad has Eric Clapton gushing over future wife Pattie Boyd, but it’s not actually one of sheer adoration. It came from a night when the couple were late for a party because Boyd could not decide on what to wear.

With every outfit, Clapton would just say “you look wonderful, let’s go now.” He ended up becoming bored so he pulled out his guitar, and that is how Wonderful Tonight came to be. Not exactly romantic, unless you’re in love with punctuality and patience.

I Will Always Love You was made famous by Whitney Houston since she covered it for the hit romance film The Bodyguard, so it’s understandable why people think it’s about the end of a romantic relationship. Houston’s Rachel Marron left secret agent Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner) on the airport tarmac.

But this is not the case, since Parton wrote the song as a farewell to her long-time mentor and singing partner Porter Wagoner. She wanted to convey that she still appreciated him even though she set out on her own path.

Since it’s titled Losing My Religion, it’s easy to assume that this song is somewhat linked to religion in its meaning. Singer Michael Stipe said that it has nothing to do with religion or spirituality, but instead with reaching the final straw that makes one snap.

‘Losing one’s religion’ is a saying that indicates a break from your morality due to being pushed to the edge. This was an archaic saying even in the 90s, so no wonder people didn’t realize what the song really meant.