“It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over” is Lenny Kravitz trying to save his marriage. That makes its dreamy, romantic sound considerably sadder. Lenny Kravitz wrote the song while his relationship with actress Lisa Bonet was…
Tag: meaning
Cyndi Lauper made “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” famous. But she didn’t write it. A male musician called Robert Hazard did. Even stranger: Hazard originally wrote it from a man’s perspective. Lauper took the…
Natalie Imbruglia did not originally sing “Torn”. This surprises a lot of people. Her 1997 recording became so enormous that the song feels inseparable from her. But “Torn” had already existed for years. It was…
“Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is essentially about realising you weren’t mature enough for a relationship until it was already disappearing. That is what makes it different from a conventional breakup song. Jeff Buckley isn’t…
Stevie Nicks didn’t originally write “Rhiannon” about a Welsh goddess. She didn’t even know the mythology. She found the name in a novel. Loved it. Wrote a song around a mysterious woman. Then discovered afterwards…
No. “Hotel California” isn’t really about a specific hotel. The hotel is a metaphor. Eagles used it to represent the seductive side of California, fame, wealth, excess and the American dream. You arrive because everything…
“Dream On” is about time. Ambition. Ageing. And refusing to abandon what you want before time runs out. Which is extraordinary when you remember Steven Tyler began developing the song while still a teenager. Long…
“Linger” came from Dolores O’Riordan’s first serious kiss. Unfortunately for her, what happened afterwards was considerably less romantic. The future The Cranberries singer was 17. She liked a boy. They kissed. She became completely infatuated.…
If you’re British, you may immediately answer: Toploader. Wrong. If you know older American music, you might answer: King Harvest. Closer. But still not technically the original. “Dancing in the Moonlight” was written by Sherman…
“I don’t want you back. I just don’t want anybody else to have you.” That is essentially “Somebody Else”. The 1975 took one of the ugliest and most honest emotions after a breakup and turned…
