![Outkast - 'Hey Ya': While you were busy shaking it like a polaroid picture, you might have missed the song's desperately sad tale of a dying relationship:]()
Outkast - 'Hey Ya': While you were busy shaking it like a polaroid picture, you might have missed the song's desperately sad tale of a dying relationship: "Why are we still in denial when we know we're not happy here?" it asks, later lamenting, "You don't want to hear me, you just want to dance." Can you blame them, Andre, when your song is this catchy?
![Barry Manilow - 'Copacabana': Possibly the most cheesy, catchy song that's ever existed, 'Copacabana' actually tells the story of a man being shot during a brawl over the love of his life, Lola. By the end, Lola's in a bit of a bad way.]()
Barry Manilow - 'Copacabana': Possibly the most cheesy, catchy song that's ever existed, 'Copacabana' actually tells the story of a man being shot during a brawl over the love of his life, Lola. By the end, Lola's in a bit of a bad way. "Faded feathers in her hair / She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind / She lost her youth and she lost her Tony / Now she's lost her mind." EVERYBODY! AT THE COPA!
![Fun - 'We Are Young': You'd be forgiven for only taking note of the chorus's euphoric ode to youth, but listen carefully to the opening verse, and it seems to refer to an abusive relationship:]()
Fun - 'We Are Young': You'd be forgiven for only taking note of the chorus's euphoric ode to youth, but listen carefully to the opening verse, and it seems to refer to an abusive relationship: "My seat’s been taken by some sunglasses asking ’bout a scar, and I know I gave it to you months ago, I know you’re trying to forget."
![Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks': The summer anthem of 2010 is actually about an]()
Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks': The summer anthem of 2010 is actually about an "isolated, psychotic kid" with homicidal ambitions. "Yeah! He found a six-shooter gun in his dad's closet, with the box of fun things. / I don't even know what, but he's coming for you / Yeah, He's coming for you!"
![Van Halen - 'Jump': Probably their most famous song, and the one that signalled the band's transformation from hard rock to pop, 'Jump' was actually inspired by a man on TV who was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Which sort of puts a darker spin on,]()
Van Halen - 'Jump': Probably their most famous song, and the one that signalled the band's transformation from hard rock to pop, 'Jump' was actually inspired by a man on TV who was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Which sort of puts a darker spin on, "Might as well jump. Jump!
Go ahead, jump."
![Paul Simon - 'You Can Call Me Al': It's impossible to resist breaking into dance as soon as the jubilant trumpets kick in on this one. But lyrically, the song quickly descends into something darker:]()
Paul Simon - 'You Can Call Me Al': It's impossible to resist breaking into dance as soon as the jubilant trumpets kick in on this one. But lyrically, the song quickly descends into something darker: "He ducked back down the alley / With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl / All along along / There were incidents and accidents / There were hints and allegations."
![MGMT - 'Time To Pretend': Everything starts out so well in this psych-pop song, but listen carefully, and things sour quite dramatically:]()
MGMT - 'Time To Pretend': Everything starts out so well in this psych-pop song, but listen carefully, and things sour quite dramatically: "The models will have children, we'll get a divorce / We'll find some more models, everything must run its course. / We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end / We were fated to pretend."
![The Cardigans - 'Lovefool': Sure, it's got a ludicrously catchy refrain, and its melody is a pure slice of Swedish pop - but its narrator is so desperately in love with the song's subject that they'll settle for a brief pretence of love, even as they're being abandoned:]()
The Cardigans - 'Lovefool': Sure, it's got a ludicrously catchy refrain, and its melody is a pure slice of Swedish pop - but its narrator is so desperately in love with the song's subject that they'll settle for a brief pretence of love, even as they're being abandoned: "Love me, love me / Pretend that you love me / Leave me, leave me / Just say that you need me."