As the Hold Steady once said: certain songs, they get so scratched into our souls. Some songs help you through tough times; some songs are there because the radio has ingrained them in your brain when you were growing up.
After hearing songs thousands of times, you have to find alternate meanings because listening to the lyrics at face value has become a slog. Why not? Here are a handful of songs that will either be a) easier to listen to or b) completely ruined upon reinterpretation.
Bryan Adams - "Cuts Like a Knife"
I'm surprised the producers of Dexter haven't used this Bryan Adams song over one of the titular character's gruesome murders. It seems like an obvious choice, what with Dex's affinity for knives and such: cuts like a knife / feels so right. That is what the character feels when he kills someone! Make the connection, guys!
Cat Stevens/Sheryl Crow - "The First Cut is the Deepest"
How old little is this girl, one has to wonder? Mere jailbait at 15 or 16, or is it something much more sinister? (Like dungeon in a Liverpool basement sinister.) I mean everything I said, Lennon sings, as if to emphasize that he's not kidding around. No wonder he eventually went on record saying it was his least favorite song he'd ever written and he "regretted writing" it. Even if you don't play up the underage-girl angle, it's still a fucked up song about a stalker threatening a girl because she doesn't want to hold his hand. Doesn't want to hold his ha-aa-aand!
Elvis Costello - "Alison"
Alison has terrible taste in men, apparently. Her husband has apparently removed her fingers and left them in a wedding cake while her ex-lover is a crackshot assassin who tries to comfort poor Alison by constantly saying, "My aim is true." At least it'll be painless.
The Police - "Every Breath You Take"
The song was updated by Puff Daddy years ago as a tribute to the fallen Biggie Smalls, but another update couldn't hurt: Every single day/ Every word you say/ I'll be stalking you on Facebook. Fortunately, Sting isn't as creepy (or violent) a stalker as Mr. Costello, but there is creepiness nonetheless: this young girl won't ever be able to lead a normal life, knowing that this weirdo is constantly watching her (and probably doing some sort of tantric thing while he's watching, right, Sting?). Maybe she'll just start to think of her life as a reality TV show.
As a heads up, the Pixies are playing tonight at the Uptown, and hopefully the wordplay won't ruin "Wave of Mutilation" for you, since they're playing their masterpiece, Doolittle, in its entirety.
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What're the odds that Lennon "regretted" writing RFYL after he hooked up with Yoko.
Check out Gary Puckett & the Union Gap's stuff. Seems that half their songs were about underage girls.
Probably the most famous misunderstood song is Springsteen's 'Born in the USA.' Most people assumed it was a knee-jerk pro-American tune, even Ronald Reagan who tried to co-opt it when he ran for re-election in '84.
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