3 Classic Songs That Became Famous for a Completely Different Reason Than Intended

Most artists hope their song will be successful. Sometimes that doesn’t happen the way they intend, but hey, a win is a win. The three classic songs below all became famous for reasons different from what the artists thought. They are world-renowned hits, but those successes have been slightly sullied by the audience’s interpretation or acceptance of them.

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“The Weight” (The Band)

The Band‘s “The Weight” has been accepted as a communion song, to be sung along with hands clasped and hearts warmed. The chorus fosters this kind of sentiment. Take a load off, Fanny / And you put the load right on me, has been interpreted as a generous gesture. In reality, though, this song wasn’t meant to celebrate a helping hand; it was meant to elucidate the weight of added responsibility.

The song was written to reflect real life. Good deeds don’t always even out, the band thought. “I saw about three Buñuel movies and there was a thread running through these that fascinated me because it was all about people trying to do something really good,” Robbie Robertson once said. “And you think, oh, that’s great, but it would turn on them just the way things in real life can do.”

“Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen)

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” proves that authorship isn’t the end-all be-all. Cohen’s version was passed over for a decade before other artists helped to revive it.

Both John Cale and Jeff Buckley helped give this song fame, usurping Cohen’s original and thus its intention. But this song could also end up on a list of songs that were never meant to be famous in the first place. Cohen rarely craved mainstream fame, but ultimately earned it thanks to his peers.

“Pumped Up Kicks” (Foster the People)

A newer classic, Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks,” was lost on audiences for a while before the truth got out. As most know now, the band attempted to create a commentary on gun violence, but at the time, it was first beloved as an alt-rock anthem befitting a car ride sing-along.

Foster the People hid their intention a little too well behind this song’s instantly catchy melody. The song itself was so good that it earned fame under false pretenses.

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