Sometimes the quietest songs say the most. “Blackbird,” tucked into the sprawling 1968 double album known as the White Album, is just Paul McCartney, an acoustic guitar, and the faintContinue readingThe Meaning of “Blackbird” by The Beatles
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The Meaning of “American Pie” by Don McLean
If there’s one song that launched a thousand bar-room arguments, it’s “American Pie.” Clocking in at more than eight minutes, Don McLean’s 1971 epic is part elegy, part history lesson,Continue readingThe Meaning of “American Pie” by Don McLean
The Meaning of the Song “Ring Around the Rosie”
You’ve probably heard the story, and you probably heard it from someone who delivered it with a dramatic whisper. Ring Around the Rosie is about the plague. The rash, theContinue readingThe Meaning of the Song “Ring Around the Rosie”
The Meaning of “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi
There are hit songs, and then there’s “Despacito.” In 2017, this Spanish-language reggaeton track by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, featuring Daddy Yankee, turned into a worldwide phenomenon. It smashedContinue readingThe Meaning of “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi
The Meaning of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls
Let’s be real: if you were anywhere near a radio in 1998, “Iris” was inescapable. It floated out of cars, drugstores, and school dances, and it’s still the song mostContinue readingThe Meaning of “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls
The Meaning of “Edelweiss” (The Sound of Music)
Here’s a fun fact that tends to surprise people: “Edelweiss” is not an Austrian folk song. It feels like one. It sounds like something that has been sung in mountainContinue readingThe Meaning of “Edelweiss” (The Sound of Music)
The Meaning of “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano
Every December, a song with roughly two sentences’ worth of lyrics takes over the planet. “Feliz Navidad” is in the mall, in the grocery store, in the car, and stuckContinue readingThe Meaning of “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano
The Meaning of the Song “Kumbaya”
Let’s get something out of the way: “Kumbaya” has a PR problem. Somewhere along the way, a song that began as a sincere cry for help turned into a punchlineContinue readingThe Meaning of the Song “Kumbaya”