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“All These Decades I Didn’t Realize”: 30 People Reveal The Sad Stories Behind Popular Songs
Musicians find inspiration everywhere; not just in happy moments, but also in uncertainty and pain, turning even the darkest experiences into a tune that resonates with the human soul.
So Reddit user Tangre79 decided to broaden their understanding of this complex art form and asked everyone on the platform to list some songs with devastating origin stories.
From popular rock ballads to reggae-pop hits, people immediately started sharing the tracks they can not listen to without getting emotional.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I always loved (and still do) The Show Must Go On, but once Freddie Mercury revealed he was dying of AIDS, those words suddenly made horrible sense.
supergeek921:
He recorded it after his diagnosis. Reportedly he could barely stand in the studio when they recorded it and the band offered to do it another time, but he just said “I’ll sing it darling” and belted it out in one take.
Amazing and tragic.
RELATED:
#2
The best selling song in history, White Christmas, was written by Irving Berlin because his son Irving died on Christmas at 8 days old. Irving married an Irish Catholic girl, Ellin Mackay, whose family disowned her for marrying a Jew. Irving and Ellin would visit their son’s grave on Christmas. The song is about the Christmases he never saw.
#3
Dancing in the Moonlight. One of my favorite songs, very sad, unexpected origin. The songwriter and his girlfriend were on vacation at the beach when he was brutally beaten and his gf r*ped by gang members. He wrote the song afterwards, envisioning an idyllic world where everyone is happy and just dances all the time.
Scotira 6 months ago
Sherman Kelly: "On a trip to St. Croix in 1969, I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered 8 American tourists. At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead. While I was recovering, I wrote "Dancin in the Moonlight" in which I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life. The song became a huge hit and was recorded by many musicians worldwide. "Dancin In The Moonlight" continues to be popular to this day." (Wikipedia)
#4
Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. The final verse where he whistles the melody was a placeholder. He died (I think in a plane crash?) before he could record the lyrics to the end of the song. Hell of a voice in that man.
#5
Definitely "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. Found out he wrote it after his 4-year-old son tragically passed away. Hit me differently ever since.
#6
Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant is about the Brixton riots and living in poverty, not being able to feed your kids despite working full time.
#7
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA. I thought it was a happy song.. about being born in the USA, I guess?
And of course it’s not. According to Wikipedia: “The song addresses the economic hardships of Vietnam veterans upon their return home, juxtaposed ironically against patriotic glorification of the nation's fighting forces.”
Yeah, not a happy song.
#8
Okay, not heartbreaking, but definitely more serious than I ever thought:
The dogs in Who Let the Dogs Out are men who harass women in the clubs. The song is basically “who let in these a******s who don’t know how to act?”.
#9
“House of the Rising Sun.” Most people know it from the Animals’ version, sung by a man. But it is written from the perspective of a young woman, forced into prostitution in the House of the Rising Sun. “It’s been the ruin of many a poor girl, and God I know I’m one.”.
ColdSteelRonin 6 months ago
From Wikipedia: The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate....The song was first collected in Appalachia in the 1930s, but probably has its roots in traditional English folk song. It is listed as number 6393 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
#10
All of My Love by Led Zeppelin is about his 5-year-old son's unexpected death from a virus.
#11
I Don’t Like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats. I heard the song just a few years ago and recently learned the backstory. It’s about the Cleveland school shooting from 1979. When the shooter was asked why she did it, she said it was simply that she didn’t like Mondays.
#12
Wake me up when September Ends. It’s not just a meme. It’s literally all Billy Joe Armstrong said after his dad died when he was a teenager.
The Doom Song 6 months ago
Billie Joe is an amazing songwriter. Green Day are one of my all time favourite bands
#13
Glenn Campbell -- I'm not gonna to miss you -- A song to his wife while he has Alzheimer's, saying goodbye while he can because he knows he's not going to say goodbye later
Ashley Campbell -- Remembering-- A song from his daughter to him in response.
Hippopotamuses 6 months ago
That's really sad. He was the only singer that everyone in my family liked.
#14
When I Lost You by Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin was 24 years old and an early success. He married singer Dorothy Goetz who was in her early twenties. Five months after the wedding she died of typhoid fever. It's the first sad song he wrote. It was a year before he could bring himself to perform it. He didn't marry again for 14 years.
#15
Zombie by The Cranberries is about a bombing that [unalived] children during "The Troubles."
#16
"Jeremy" by Pearl Jam is inspired by the real-life s*icide of Jeremy Wade Delle, a 15-year-old student from Richardson, Texas who shot himself in front of his English class on January 8, 1991.
Nikki Gross 6 months ago
Pearl Jam is amazing and "Ten" is a masterpiece that still musically holds up today. The unedited version of "Jeremy" is especially hard to watch and Eddie Vedder wrote that YEARS before the Columbine shooting happened.
#17
American Pie - I already knew it was heartbreaking, I just didn't know what it was about.
mrglumdaddy:
[it's about] the plane crash that [unalived] Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper among others.
Premislaus de Colo 6 months ago
It's about so much more... There is so much context in this incredible song, just unbelievable
#18
Pink Floyds song dedicated to their former bandmate Syd Barrett who tragically lost his mind/mental state.
Shine on
You crazy
Diamond
"On 5 June 1975, Barrett, now heavyset, with a completely shaved head and eyebrows, wandered into the studio where the band were recording. They did not recognize him for some time because of his drastically changed appearance, but when they eventually realized who the withdrawn man in the corner was, Roger Waters became so distressed about Barrett's appearance that he was reduced to tears." Wikipedia.
Little Wonder 6 months ago
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom / Blown on the steel breeze / Come on, you target for faraway laughter / Come on, you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine
#19
“Take Me To Church”, by Hozier. On first listen, sounds like a love song. Music video with more visual details? OOF.
wootiown:
My whole life I thought it was just some Christian rock song. All the Jesus freaks would play and sing it nonstop.
Had no idea it's about a gay couple explicitly hiding from the church.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
Anybody who listened to the lyrics would know it's NOT a Christian song. But it is a very good song.
#20
My darlin', Clementine is about a man who watches his lover drown in a river because he can't swim.
Final verse goes "Ruby lips above the water blowing bubbles sweet and fine. Alas for me, I was no swimmer so I lost my Clementine.".
#21
Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac.
Recently found out Stevie wrote it when her childhood friend was dying of leukemia. I have incurable leukemia so the lyrics hit harder now for me.
“Faces freedom with a little fear, I have no fear and have only love”.
#22
It's not exactly tragic, but the wedding staple "At Last" by Etta James is actually about a widow who dies and meets her late husband in the afterlife. "My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you," cause she was buried.
Still a great love story that can be used for weddings but a touch darker.
Patricia Sørensen 6 months ago
I can see how you could interpret it this way, but it's really not. If the lyrical subject were reuniting with a lost love in death, the verses "And life is like a song" and especially "I found a thrill to press my cheek to, A thrill that I've never known" wouldn't fit. Life starting anew and being like heaven are fairly standard metaphors for falling in love. The text just doesn't support a "dead widow" interpratation above a "fallen in love for the first time" one. I also haven't found anything extratextual to support it.
#23
Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi. He wrote it for his aunt that took her own life.
#24
Definitely "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. found out it’s about escaping a life of poverty and unfulfilled dreams. hits way harder now.
#25
"Gone Away" is a favorite song by The Offspring, but it can be rough to listen to after reading about it. I can't imagine performing it.
PoetryUpInThisB*tch:
[the story behind it]
His girlfriend who was killed in a car accident.
Leaving flowers on your grave
To show that I still care
Black roses and Hail Mary's
Can't bring back what's taken from me
I reach to the sky
And call out your name
And if I could trade, I would
#26
Vera Lynn's "We’ll Meet Again" is inherently sentimental but it became synonymous with WW2 and the reality that many people were not going to see their friends and loved ones before the war ended. It's implied that "some sunny day" won't be a homecoming but rather a reunion in the afterlife.
#27
Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People, it sounds like a happy song but it’s about school shootings.
cadena kuhn 6 months ago
I'm always surprised people don't know this. The lyrics are pretty clear
#28
The d***s don't work, by The Verve, about Richard Ashcroft's mother dying of cancer.
#29
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. It was in theory about a family planning to move. But it was written and recorded during WWII. Some of the lyrics were later changed. It originally had: >Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow. Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow. So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
#30
I thought the song Wonder by Natalie Merchant was a whimsical song about a supremely gifted child, but it’s actually about a child born with a rare congenital disease. The lyrics fit both ways. It’s brilliant.
What do you think ?
James016 6 months ago
Every Breath You Take by The Police is about a stalker from the perspective of the stalker.
V 6 months ago
Same with You're Beautiful by James Blunt. It's about stalking his his on the subway with her new partner while high.
Load More Replies...
Major Harris 6 months ago
very surprised that "some one saved my life tonight" by sir elton john was not mentioned. in 1975 at the height of his early fame, he was under pressure from the studios to produce more hits, was going to be married to a woman while struggling with his sexuality. so he took d***s and jumped into his pool to end it all. paramedics saved him. the song is about this time in his life.
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
Philadelphia Freedom is about Billie Jean King and the starting of the WTA.
Load More Replies...
Samsquatch & Monko 6 months ago
Literally every song by The Orion Experience; Orion simprini, the lead singer, was a child groomer. All the songs were actually about his victims. Can’t listen to that band without feeling nauseous now.
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
I love finding out stories about songs and why they were written. Kate Bush alone could have a degree course dedicated to her and her songs! Wuthering Heights is based on the book, but only after she’d seen the last five minutes of a tv adaptation; Breathing is taken from the POV of a child in the womb not wanting to be born because of the Nuclear War threat in the 80s; Babushka is about a woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair, so she sets him a trap; Running Up That Hill is about her wanting to experience sex from the male perspective,; Moments of Pleasure is her tribute to friends lost to AIDS; The Sensual World is based on Maggie’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s epic ‘Ulysses’. The Bananarama song ‘Robert de Niro’s Waiting’ is about rāpe, another song of theirs called ‘Rough Justice’ is about them not being taken seriously, a friend of theirs who was killed in an IRA bomb and some at the time children disappearances.
StretcherBearer 6 months ago
Quite a few Joy Division songs are absolutely heartbreaking in context.
Daniel Atkins 6 months ago
Lightning crashes BY Live is about a mother dying from complications after giving birth.
The Doom Song 6 months ago
"The hell song" by Sum 41. Singer Deryck Whibley wrote this song when he found out a good friend of his had contracted HIV from her cheating husband
Dirk Daring 6 months ago
Hey Man Nice Shot by Filter. It's about R. Budd Dwyer killing himself on TV.
Trentin Quarantino 6 months ago
Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen. A beautiful song, even more poignant when you find out what it refers to.
Ola Polowczyk 6 months ago
There's a Polish song called "Windą do nieba" meaning "To Heaven by Elevator". Back in the day, many couples chose it as their first wedding dance song. However, it's about a woman who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She's writing a love letter to a man she saw on tv and fell in love with. She literally sings "I don't love him".
Daniel Atkins 6 months ago
That makes the lullaby version of it creepier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV16UCnoMT8
Load More Replies...
Cj Churchall-McKenzie 6 months ago
any mention of 'happy birthday' by altered images? claire grogan was been interviewed and said it was about someone committing suicide on their birthday
Gracie Mae 6 months ago
It amazes me that apparently most people don't listen to the lyrics of a song? That just blows my mind! I'm a voracious reader, so to me, music has always been a story set to music. Can't imagine not listening & putting 2 + 2 together
Claudia Stieble 6 months ago
am I the only one who thinks that Milo's "You and Me" is disturbing? "I wish you smelled a little funny Not just funny, really bad We could roam the streets forever Just like cats but we'd never stray I sometimes wish you were a mermaid I could raise you in the tub at home We could take a swim together On weekly day trips to the bay I wish you were a little bigger Not just big, but really fat Doors you would no longer fit through In my bed, you would have to stay I often wish that you had feathers I'd keep you in a giant cage All day long I'd sit and watch you I'd sing for you and that would be okay
Jeevesssssss 6 months ago
I've always thought the best songs contain lessons, and the most valuable lessons are usually painful.
KatSaidWhat 6 months ago
Marilyn Manson The Nobodies. A response to being blamed for columbine
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
It’s more about goi g to a brothel, than just buying condoms.
Load More Replies...
James016 6 months ago
Every Breath You Take by The Police is about a stalker from the perspective of the stalker.
V 6 months ago
Same with You're Beautiful by James Blunt. It's about stalking his his on the subway with her new partner while high.
Load More Replies... Major Harris 6 months ago
very surprised that "some one saved my life tonight" by sir elton john was not mentioned. in 1975 at the height of his early fame, he was under pressure from the studios to produce more hits, was going to be married to a woman while struggling with his sexuality. so he took d***s and jumped into his pool to end it all. paramedics saved him. the song is about this time in his life.
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
Philadelphia Freedom is about Billie Jean King and the starting of the WTA.
Load More Replies... Samsquatch & Monko 6 months ago
Literally every song by The Orion Experience; Orion simprini, the lead singer, was a child groomer. All the songs were actually about his victims. Can’t listen to that band without feeling nauseous now.
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
I love finding out stories about songs and why they were written. Kate Bush alone could have a degree course dedicated to her and her songs! Wuthering Heights is based on the book, but only after she’d seen the last five minutes of a tv adaptation; Breathing is taken from the POV of a child in the womb not wanting to be born because of the Nuclear War threat in the 80s; Babushka is about a woman who is convinced her husband is having an affair, so she sets him a trap; Running Up That Hill is about her wanting to experience sex from the male perspective,; Moments of Pleasure is her tribute to friends lost to AIDS; The Sensual World is based on Maggie’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s epic ‘Ulysses’. The Bananarama song ‘Robert de Niro’s Waiting’ is about rāpe, another song of theirs called ‘Rough Justice’ is about them not being taken seriously, a friend of theirs who was killed in an IRA bomb and some at the time children disappearances.
StretcherBearer 6 months ago
Quite a few Joy Division songs are absolutely heartbreaking in context.
Daniel Atkins 6 months ago
Lightning crashes BY Live is about a mother dying from complications after giving birth.
The Doom Song 6 months ago
"The hell song" by Sum 41. Singer Deryck Whibley wrote this song when he found out a good friend of his had contracted HIV from her cheating husband
Dirk Daring 6 months ago
Hey Man Nice Shot by Filter. It's about R. Budd Dwyer killing himself on TV.
Trentin Quarantino 6 months ago
Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen. A beautiful song, even more poignant when you find out what it refers to.
Ola Polowczyk 6 months ago
There's a Polish song called "Windą do nieba" meaning "To Heaven by Elevator". Back in the day, many couples chose it as their first wedding dance song. However, it's about a woman who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She's writing a love letter to a man she saw on tv and fell in love with. She literally sings "I don't love him".
Daniel Atkins 6 months ago
That makes the lullaby version of it creepier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV16UCnoMT8
Load More Replies... Cj Churchall-McKenzie 6 months ago
any mention of 'happy birthday' by altered images? claire grogan was been interviewed and said it was about someone committing suicide on their birthday
Gracie Mae 6 months ago
It amazes me that apparently most people don't listen to the lyrics of a song? That just blows my mind! I'm a voracious reader, so to me, music has always been a story set to music. Can't imagine not listening & putting 2 + 2 together
Claudia Stieble 6 months ago
am I the only one who thinks that Milo's "You and Me" is disturbing? "I wish you smelled a little funny Not just funny, really bad We could roam the streets forever Just like cats but we'd never stray I sometimes wish you were a mermaid I could raise you in the tub at home We could take a swim together On weekly day trips to the bay I wish you were a little bigger Not just big, but really fat Doors you would no longer fit through In my bed, you would have to stay I often wish that you had feathers I'd keep you in a giant cage All day long I'd sit and watch you I'd sing for you and that would be okay
Jeevesssssss 6 months ago
I've always thought the best songs contain lessons, and the most valuable lessons are usually painful.
KatSaidWhat 6 months ago
Marilyn Manson The Nobodies. A response to being blamed for columbine
Chewie Baron 6 months ago
It’s more about goi g to a brothel, than just buying condoms.
Load More Replies... 
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