3 Classic Rock Songs That Should Always Be Played in Reverse

While rock music isn’t the most important form of musical expression today, there were decades in the recent past when it most certainly was. And when something is at the center of the zeitgeist, many people have opinions about it, pick it apart, and find meaning where meaning may or may not be.

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Below, we wanted to present three classic rock songs that have a bit of mystery about them. Three tracks that are beloved, but that also feature possible eerie meanings when played backwards. What are their secret messages? Let’s find out! These are three classic rock songs always to be played in reverse.

“Darling Nikki” by Prince from ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)

We will see an example of an alleged satanic message below, but playing off that motif, Prince wanted to include a positive religious message at the end of his sexually-charged track, “Darling Nikki”. Fans of the song have surely heard the backwards vocal at the end. But on it, Prince says: “Hello, how are you? I’m fine. Cause I know that the lord is coming soon. Coming coming soon. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.” Fun but also kind of spooky!

“Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin from ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ (1971)

It’s easy to imagine a certain section of fans thinking that Led Zeppelin would interject strange, mysterious messages in their music. Led Zeppelin was big, bold, larger than life. But when it came to “Stairway To Heaven”, the thing was ridiculous. Some claimed that if you played the lyrics: “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now…” backwards, you’d hear: “Here’s to my sweet Satan / The one whose little path would make me sad whose power is Satan, / He’ll give you, he’ll give you 666 / There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.” Who knows if that was intentional?

“Rain” by The Beatles (Single, 1966)

On The Beatles’ 1966 song, “Rain”, John Lennon recorded some backwards vocals. It was one of the earliest examples of this technique. Among the several things he says, he repeats the song’s lyric: “If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads“. The Beatles were always innovating, and it’s their musical offspring above who benefited.

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