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MOLLY PENNY Molly Penny is a local radio personality and MNSU alum. It was her love of pop culture that got her interested in doing a radio show for KOWZ 100.9, and she is now the music and promotions director at KOWZ & KRUE Radio in Owatonna. She resides in Mankato with her movie buff husband and YouTube obsessed children. Catch her on Twitter at @ mollyhoodUSA.
5 hit ‘love’ songs that aren’t
W
hen it comes to music, people often listen passively, unaware of specific lyrics or the inspiration behind them. For example, many assume the 1984 hit song “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen is a patriotic anthem about being a proud American but, really, it’s an account of a Vietnam war vet who returns home to less-than ideal circumstances. The chorus seems joyful and full of hope while the lyrics tell a story of despair. This is just one small example, but there are many. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to take a deeper look at 5 misunderstood ‘love’ songs that are less than romantic.
1
“I Will Always Love You” (Dolly Parton/ Whitney Houston)
Dolly Parton hit #1 twice with her iconic song, “I Will Always Love You.” Once in 1974 and again when she re-recorded it for the 1982 movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. My generation knows the Whitney Houston version from the 1992 Kevin Costner flick The Bodyguard. I don’t know a single person who hasn’t belted out the chorus in their car. What many don’t know is that it is not a love song at all, it’s actually a song about leaving a job- or work arrangement. The opening lyric of the song goes: If I should stay, I would only be in your way And so I’ll go, but I know I’ll think of you each step of the way
Innocent enough to assume this is a song dedicated to an estranged lover, but in fact the song was directed to Porter Wagoner, Dolly’s longtime mentor and on-screen duet partner. After agreeing to spend 5 years of her early career on The Porter Wagoner Show, Dolly had wanted to move on and have a career of her own. There was tension between the two over this transition. Porter didn’t want to see her go and wouldn’t listen to her reasoning which caused her much heartache, so
4
about love at all
she did what she does best and expressed her love and appreciation, as well as farewell to him, through song.
I didn’t know what I would find there
2
My aunt once told me she liked the Beatles more after they discovered drugs (A Hard Day’s Night and on) and I tend to agree with her. Revolver is the cream of the crop for me. Incidentally a George Harrison song on that album, “I Want to Tell You”, is about being spiritually enlightened through the use of LSD and wishing he could share his experience with the world, while John Lennon’s “Tomorrow Never Knows,” the closing track on the album, is also a homage to psychedelics… So, love songs in a way, just directed towards drugs instead of women.
“The One I Love” (R.E.M.)
Another misconstrued ‘love’ song is R.E.M.’s “The One I Love.” This one means quite the opposite of what the title implies. I don’t know if this is autobiographical at all but if so, I would advise steering clear of Michael Stipe because, despite its sparse lyrics, the song depicts a rather heartless man who manipulates women and uses them before dumping them coldly. I mean, just look at these lyrics: This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind A simple prop to occupy my time This one goes out to the one I love Straight savage! There is no denying the catchiness of the guitar riff of the song and perhaps that is why it was the band’s first hit, but I can’t help but feel a little like we’ve all been played.
3
“Got to Get You into My Life” (The Beatles)
Paul McCartney was known as the most serious and straightlaced Beatle in the early years, but pressure from bandmates and curiosity finally got to him around 1964 when he tried marijuana for the first time with Bob Dylan. Although the songs appear on the label as Lennon-McCartney, Paul primarily wrote the love songs “And I Love Her” and “P.S. I Love You,” so naturally when their 1966 record Revolver dropped the average fan would take the track “Got to Get You into My Life” at face value as just another catchy Paul McCartney love song. You may be surprised to learn that the song is about pot: I was alone, I took a ride
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 | W W W. S O U T H E R N M I N N SCENE. C O M
Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there
4
“Every Breath You Take” (The Police)
I wonder if Sting realized just how creepy the lyrics to the 1983 song, “Every Breath You Take” were when he wrote them. It is clearly not about being with someone or there for someone for their every breath, but rather a song about surveillance, jealousy and control. I mean, drop a beautiful melody behind the words but there is no getting around it, this Police hit has major stalker vibes: Every breath you take And every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I’ll be watching you The song continues, “can’t you see, you belong to me” and more general ownership implications. Sting recounts that he did not intend for it to come across quite as sinister as it does but admits that the lyric writing coincided with a mental breakdown brought on my marital failure paired with the stress of professional success.
5
“With or Without You” (U2)
Featured on their 1987 album Joshua Tree, this one is less obscure… Or so it would seem! It appears to be a song about a troubled romantic relationship, “I can’t live with or without you,” being the main chorus. He is damned if he stays in the relationship and damned if he leaves. U2 lead singer Bono even uses gendered pronouns to imply he is indeed singing about a woman: My hands are tied My body bruised, she got me with Nothing to win and Nothing left to lose But this classic U2 song is, in all actuality, regarding the conflict between his fame and his personal life. Another line in the song you may recall is, “And you give yourself away.” I always assumed he was politely saying his lover was, at worst, loose, or at best, too giving- but what he really refers to with this lyric is the lack of privacy that accompanies celebrity. Either way, if I am Bono, I am probably hoping my wife at the time, Alison Stewart, doesn’t read too deeply into the song. Seems that commitment and responsibility has left him a bit conflicted in comparison to freewheeling musician life. The good news is Bono himself has come to the realization that the exact tension he bemoans in “With or Without You” did not destroy him but in fact made him a better artist. I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of ‘love’ songs that aren’t about love. One thing is for sure, you’ll never hear them the same again. Oh, and before you e-mail me to complain that the title of my column, “What About Love”, is a Heart song and it wasn’t include on my list- I am aware. That song really is about love, I just thought it was a fitting title.
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