History MisaimedFandom / Music

* Probably the most common example. Songs that just mention the word "love" are often interpreted as being romantic, while a lot of them are actually a BreakUpSong, a GriefSong, an ObsessionSong (where the desire is rather creepy) or even an AntiLoveSong. With the latter category the message is more often: LoveHurts. The singer feels that love only leads to painful lovesickness or breakups. Or he actually pokes fun at naïve people who value love and as a result the song is flatout about IntercourseWithYou. In some cases the relationship described in a song is actually abusive. And then there are so-called love songs that are actually about different subjects, like love for God (GodIsLoveSongs), love for your country (PatrioticFervor) or love for peace and humanity.

* This phenomenon occurs when listeners [[{{Applicability}} assume a certain musical piece or song has some kind of higher message or deeper meaning]], while in reality it's about [[MundaneMadeAwesome a mundane topic]] or ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. So a song about bread is actually about bread and not about man's life's struggles. This happens a lot to artists who are know for writing more introspective lyrics, so it's hard to blame their followers for assuming they always mean something metaphorically, instead of literally.

* In general songs where religion, God or not thinking for yourself are criticized ''can'' be a critique of religion, but this is not always the case. Sometimes the musician himself is religious and/or only wants to make a statement against religious fundamentalism, not faith in general. Also these are not necessarily songs that are praised by atheists. They can also be songs that are criticized by religious people because they ''think'' it attacks their religion.
* Many fans of modern ChristianRock, or even AmbiguouslyChristian rock, bands don't tend to take the songs into a religious sense. Many are surprised to hear the bands are Christian.

* Songs that mention an office, a brand, spending money and buying products aren't always glorifications of this trope. They usually [[CapitalismIsBad criticize money drift]] and the shallowness of following a certain trend, product or lifestyle that endorses consumerism. Also expect a lot of these anti-consumerism songs to be used in commercials!

* Everything with a catchy beat will have people singing and dancing along, not caring about the lyrics. The same goes for something that seems to be a PepTalkSong that gives you new positive energy to carry on with your life. However, in some cases the lyrics are about rather [[DarkerAndEdgier edgy themes]] that are not quite as uplifting as the melody suggests. This is arguably a case of self-sabotage, since the most popular musicians make their songs happy and bouncy ''just so'' they will appeal to consumers. It's a classic case of the dangers of sweetening a bitter pill: it might make the pill ''too'' sweet, causing the recipient to merely lick off the sugar and discard the rest. See also LyricalDissonance.

* Merely mentioning drugs, alcohol, tobacco in a song, will automatically result in people believe it is a {{Homage}}. Although a lot of [[DrunkenSong drinking songs]] exist and some rock stars have praised marihuana there are also a lot of songs where the drug use is meant to be seen as satire or even a warning. Though, in defense of the audience, it doesn't help that many rock stars who criticize drugs actually indulge in it at the same time.

[[folder: Music that is ''not'' anti-patriotic:]]
* In general: just because a musician writes a ProtestSong [[MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting aimed at his own country]] doesn't mean that he necessarily ''hates'' everything about his country. In most cases the song is only aimed at the government, multinationals or a certain kind of people inside the country. Still, this hasn't prevented many people from accusing them for being anti patriotic.
[[/folder]]

* In general: when a song writer mentions a country or a city in the refrain this doesn't always mean it is a {{Homage}}. On closer inspection of the lyrics it may seem that the song is actually meant to be taken ironically or sarcastically. See also MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting. Some music actually ''is'' patriotic, but was written for a specific country. This hasn't stopped other nations from adapting it to their own. And then there are patriotic songs that are adapted by war hungry people or xenophobic nationalists.

* In general: these songs are often meant as a {{Satire}} or just a romanticized idea of a certain country that doesn't tie in with reality. Also expect a lot of left wing artists to be adored by people with a right wing or even Nazi of Fascist stance.

* Sometimes songs are seen as rebellious, while in reality they are actually nothing of the sort. Or, if they are, they don't advocate the viewpoint of the party or community that tries to adopt them as their own.

* A lot of music is treated as background music. In some cases, like a ProtestSong or a song with a message, this is almost an insult to the creators' original intention. Another example is music that has a gentle, soothing melody but actually tackles topics that most people wouldn't find so relaxing at all.
* To lampshade this attitude, a classical radio station recently advertised a segment as 'Songs that have never been used successfully to put down a child that has been fussing and needs to go to sleep.'

* Many {{Opera}} arias are about murders, suicides, despair, family intrigues... yet most people just admire the vocal abilities of the singers and sit back and enjoy them.

* There are generally two types in this category. 1) Songs that actually criticize religion, but are nevertheless interpreted being about God, Jesus or having faith. 2) And more innocent love songs about real-life topics like partners, family life or being InHarmonyWithNature that are misinterpreted being about God.

* This happens when a satirical song about the shallowness or fakeness of a certain subculture gets popular with the very type of people it is actually attacking. In some cases it even becomes an anthem for those people.

* Often when a singer satirizes something by playing a character in the lyrics people assume he is voicing his own opinion. This ''can'' be the case, but sometimes the singer is just playing an UnreliableNarrator.

* This is when people start to go to concerts to vandalize the place. Soldiers liking music because it has a ''militaristic'' image or criminals engaging in murder, rape or violence because they think a certain song advocates these things.

* Let's face it: we've all been there. We've all loved certain musicians more for their ''badass'' image- [[AlterEgoActing which is often just a role, than who they actually are]], [[ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic left alone their music.]] But in some cases it has attracted rather bizarre followings. Same goes for music that seems to be typical of a certain genre, but is actually a parody of it.

* Due to the rather upbeat and triumphant-sounding intro, Music/TheVerve's song "Bittersweet Symphony" is frequently used as a celebratory song in countries with a low percentage of English speakers. The title should already tell you that the lyrics are not exactly appropriate for that. It's been used on TV a lot in English-speaking countries, but they usually don't include the lyrics, hoping people won't know that the worldwide hit begins "it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life/try to make ends meet, you're a slave to money, then you die."

* "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from ''Music/{{War|U2Album}}'' by Music/{{U2}} is very frequently taken to be a rebel anthem in support of the cause of the IRA. In reality, it's a '[[ShoutOutToShakespeare plague on both your houses]]' song. Perhaps the most famous live performance of it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9c4lLnY0rA a 1987 American concert]] that took place mere hours after a bomb had gone off in Enniskillen and slain 11 civilians. Bono stopped midway through to deliver a moving speech declaring "fuck the revolution". He would later go on to enthusiastically campaign for the Good Friday agreement, including hosting the only public meeting of the main Catholic and Protestant leaders, at a concert rally.

* Music/{{Queen}}'s "Bicycle Race" is often misinterpreted as Music/FreddieMercury's ode to his own bisexuality. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It is simply a song about riding and racing bicycles]].

* "Last Train to Clarksville" by TheMonkees sounds like a happy, feel-good love song. But it's about a young man who's been drafted and desperate to arrange one last visit with his girlfriend before being shipped out.

-->-- '''Music/{{Nirvana}}''', ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'', "In Bloom"

* "Loser" by Music/{{Beck}} is often believed to be a parody of the overly depressive {{Grunge}} songs that were popular in the 1990s, exemplified by the line "I'm a loser, baby, so why don't you kill me?" and was once even listed as such on this page. [[WordOfGod However according to Beck himself it is not,]] and was mostly completely improvised by Beck on the spot during a recording session. Upon listening to his rapping played back, Beck thought it was absolutely terrible and came up with the "Loser" chorus about his own rapping skill, making the song quite literal.

* The Music/BonJovi song "Bed of Roses" is often played at weddings due to its romantic chorus which also vaguely invokes church imagery ("as close as the Holy Ghost is"). Even though the singer admits to drunkenly cheating on his girlfriend or wife ("some blonde gave me nightmares, I think that she's still in my bed" as well as "[I] French kissed the morning" when he was nowhere near his girlfriend or wife).

* If it's possible for a song to subvert this trope, it would have to be a Music/SteelyDan song. The first few times you hear "Barrytown", you absolutely hate the narrator for his blatant bigotry and narrow-mindedness ("''Don't believe I'm taken in / By stories I have heard. / I just read The Daily News / And swear by every word''") Many people have interpreted it to suggest that the person being addressed is gay. But if you visit [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrytown,_New_York the real Barrytown]], or look into the band's history, you'll realize it's probably being addressed to a student at the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Theological_Seminary Unification Theological Seminary]]—i.e. the Moonies' main educational institution, and given the very real perception of that sect as a cult your perception of the song's point of view softens a little bit.

* Similarly to Newman, and as more of a Misaimed Hatedom than a Misaimed Fandom, Music/DireStraits' "Money For Nothing" got Mark Knopfler a whole lot of flak when it was released in 1985, particularly from the nascent gay activist movement, who took issue with the lines, "The little faggot with the earring and the makeup/Yeah buddy, that's his own hair" and subsequently read Knopfler as a homophobe. Knopfler has gone on record as saying that those weren't even his words—he was eavesdropping on a "blockhead" (his words) in an electronics store (which also explains the "we got to install microwave ovens" line, that being an employee order) who struck him as the epitome of everything wrong and reactionary about music fans at the time, and he decided to set the man's words to music. This whole scenario should have been made abundantly clear by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACGUasFWVsI the video]], but still caused considerable alarm. The song was even [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/canada-lifts-ban-on-dire-straits-money-for-nothing-20110901 banned from Canadian radio]] for a short time in 2011 due to this very misinterpretation.

* The American folk song "M.T.A." is all about a man named Charlie who was forced to ride the Boston subways forever because he couldn't pay his fares to get off. Being as popular as it was, "M.T.A." was later used as the inspiration for the MBTA's ticketing system, all adorned with pictures of Charlie happily riding the trains he can never escape from.

* Music/GreenDay's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is very commonly known as the song to play or listen to when you're about to hit a milestone in your life that calls for you to leave your old life behind and start anew (namely, graduating from school). It was even used when ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' was going off the air and they had a clip show thanking viewers for watching the show. However, the song was written when Billie Joe Armstrong (the lead singer) was breaking up with his girlfriend. So a BreakUpSong, but is used to denote love. This confusion is likely due to the lyrics (which by themselves do not express the intended meaning very well) and the predictable habit of radio stations of calling the song "Time of Your Life," since the "actual" title does not appear in the lyrics. WordOfGod is that the song was meant to be bittersweet, not sarcastic.

* Many people think Music/{{Hozier}}'s "Take Me To Church" is a song about how beautiful religion is, comparing Church and/or religion to a lover. According to WordOfGod, it's actually about religion stifles human sexuality, among other things. The fact that the second verse starts adding in pagan imagery should probably be indicative that it's not entirely pro-Christian, or that one of the lyrics in the chorus is "I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies." The music video makes this much more obvious.

* "Last Train to Clarksville" by TheMonkees sounds like a happy, feel-good love song. But it actually about a young man who's been drafted and desperate to arrange one last visit with his girlfriend before being shipped out.

* ''Crash Into Me'' by Dave Matthews Band seems to be considered a sweet and romantic song by the people who don't listen to the lyrics. It's actually about a voyeur wanking and fantasising about the girl he's watching.

* Last Train to Clarksville" by TheMonkees sounds like a happy, feel-good love song. But it actually about a young man who's been drafted and desperate to arrange one last visit with his girlfriend before being shipped out.

* "Imagine" by JohnLennon sounds critical of religion but it isn't per sae. What it's critical of is fighting and killing in the name of religion

* "Material Christ" by Music/PoisonTheWell is not a song promoting atheism, despite the "your god is nonexistent" repeated line. Rather the song is about the commercialism of organized religion and how leaders involved are often more concerned with personal gain than helping others, hence they're seen as worshipping a false god of self-gratification.

* Many people think Music/{{Hozier}}'s "Take Me To Church" is a song about how beautiful religion is, comparing Church and/or religion to a lover. According to WordOfGod, it's actually about religion stifles human sexuality, among other things. The music video makes this much more obvious.

* Similarly, She-Wolf by Music/Shakira is sometimes seen as lesbian coming out anthem, due to the chorus being "There's a she-wolf in the closet, Open up and set it free (Ah-ooh). There's a she-wolf in your closet, Let it out so it can breathe". However, if you play attention to the lyrics, it's clearly about a heterosexual woman who feels she is unappreciated by her partner, so she decides to have an affair "I just want to enjoy (Uh), By having a very good time, And behave very bad in the arms of a boy".

-->''Now, there's a point to this [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Looney Tune]]''
-->''I'm not an [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Animaniac]]''
-->'''Cause there's a lot of praising to do, and cartoons weren't'' made ''for that!''
* It's surprising how many people think "Jesus He Knows Me" by Music/{{Genesis|Band}} is a religious song. This may be due to them just listening to the chorus, which includes "Jesus, he knows me, and he knows I'm right" among its lyrics. In reality, it's a song mocking televangelists who survive on donations from their audience. The song also paints the preacher out as a {{hypocrite}}, with lines such as "I believe in the family, with my ever-loving wife beside me/She doesn't know about my girlfriend or the man I met last night". It also paints such evangelism as done by people OnlyInItForTheMoney, with lines like "if you want to get closer to Him, get on your knees and start paying" towards the end of the song.

* {{Ska}} and {{TwoTone}} have always been popular among the black population of Jamaica and were adopted by Caribbean and West-Indian immigrants worldwide as their favorite music, along with {{Reggae}}, {{Dub}} and {{Dancehall}}. Yet the all-white Music/{{Madness}} had a following among Neonazis because they were the only band in their genre not to have any black members, like Music/TheSpecials had. Madness eventually shook off these idiots by performing at the ''Rock Against Racism'' concerts.

* The American folk song "M.T.A." is all about a man named Charlie who was forced to ride the Boston subways forever because he couldn't pay his fares to get off. Being as popular as it was, "M.T.A" was later used as the inspiration for the MBTA's ticketing system, all adorned with pictures of Charlie happily riding the trains he can never escape from.

* "Forever Young" by Music/{{Alphaville}} isn't about growing up or nostalgia. It's an anti-war song about the Cold War and living under the threat and fear of nuclear holocaust.

* Music/{{Blink 182}}'s music video for "All the Small Things" was a parody of various boy bands. However, thanks in part to the song being so radio-friendly, teenage girls who weren't in on the joke flocked to them for all the wrong reasons. To make matters worse, since the boy band era has for all intents and purposes come and gone, the joke seems to be lost on today's viewers.