Pop music is supposed to be a place to forget your troubles, and for most of its history it has kept that promise. Then, in the summer of 1995, aContinue readingThe Meaning of “Waterfalls” by TLC
Song Meanings
The Meaning of “Vienna” by Billy Joel
Some songs shout their meaning from the rooftops, and some wait patiently in the corner until you are ready to hear them. “Vienna” is the second kind. Billy Joel putContinue readingThe Meaning of “Vienna” by Billy Joel
The Meaning of “Creep” by Radiohead
Most love songs are written by people who believe they deserve to be loved. “Creep” is written by someone who does not. It is an unusual premise for a popContinue readingThe Meaning of “Creep” by Radiohead
The Meaning of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
Every bar in America has a story that nobody in it will tell out loud, and sometimes a song comes along that tells all of them at once. “Piano Man”,Continue readingThe Meaning of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
The Meaning of “Black” by Pearl Jam
There is a particular kind of heartbreak that does not announce itself with a scream. It arrives as a slow draining of color, a world that was vivid on MondayContinue readingThe Meaning of “Black” by Pearl Jam
The Meaning of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
Some songs get sung so often that they stop belonging to anyone, and then, once in a long while, a song goes further and becomes a place, a room peopleContinue readingThe Meaning of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
The Meaning of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve
Few songs of the 1990s sound as grand and as tired at the same time. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” opens with a loop of strings that seems to rise from aContinue readingThe Meaning of “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve
The Meaning of “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias
Every summer has its song, but only a handful of songs manage to turn a summer into an era. “Bailando” was one of them. Released in 2014, it was builtContinue readingThe Meaning of “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias
The Meaning of “Father Figure” by Taylor Swift
There is a certain kind of pop song that works like a trapdoor under a familiar floor. You think you know the room, you recognize the furniture, and then theContinue readingThe Meaning of “Father Figure” by Taylor Swift
The Meaning of “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down
Some songs begin like songs, and others begin like an argument you have walked in on halfway through. “Chop Suey!” is the second kind. It arrived in 2001 with aContinue readingThe Meaning of “Chop Suey!” by System Of A Down