“Common People” is about class tourism. Specifically: wealthy people romanticising poverty because they know they can leave whenever they want. Jarvis Cocker based the song on a real conversation with a Greek student he met…
Tag: meaning
There is no single universally accepted literal explanation. The song is deliberately surreal. But the strongest reading is that it describes a mysterious encounter involving attraction, intoxication and emotional disorientation. Its writer, Keith Reid, developed…
“Maps” is a love song about missing someone who is constantly somewhere else. Karen O wrote it about Angus Andrew, frontman of Liars, while the pair were dating and spending large amounts of time apart…
“Draw You Out” is about carrying somebody with you after they are gone. For Noah Kahan, that idea comes directly from Haymitch Abernathy and Lenore Dove in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Kahan…
“Enjoy the Silence” is about the idea that words can sometimes make something worse. You have found connection. Peace. Intimacy. Then people start talking. Explanations appear. Promises. Arguments. Misunderstandings. Suddenly something simple becomes complicated. Martin…
“Somewhere Only We Know” is about returning to a place that feels safe because of the memories attached to it. For Keane songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley, that place was connected with the countryside around Battle in…
“Estrus” is the biological term for the period when a female mammal is sexually receptive. In everyday language: in heat. So yes. Tove Lo really named her album after that. But the title is doing…
“Teenage Dirtbag” is about being labelled an outsider and deciding to own the label. The prom story itself is fictional. Noelle is fictional. The fantasy ending is fictional. But the emotion underneath it came from…
“The Dead Dance” is about feeling emotionally dead after a breakup, then rediscovering enough joy to dance again. Lady Gaga has explained the song unusually clearly. A relationship ends. For a while, you stop believing…
“Orbiter” is about the people who keep Noah Kahan grounded when fame makes his life feel unfamiliar. The central image is wonderfully simple. Kahan is the astronaut. Someone he loves is the Moon. He circles…
