There are songs for when you’re sad and songs for when you’re happy. There are songs for just about every complicated emotion a human being could have, and there’s probably a playlist out there dedicated to the most specific feelings in the world. And there are also quite a few songs out there that seem happy and upbeat on the surface, but are secretly really, really sad lyrically. Let’s look at just a few examples of feel-good songs that are actually heartbreakers, shall we? Some of these songs might surprise you.
“Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind
This song is widely considered a feel-good song from the late 1990s. I certainly get why. It’s upbeat and has pleasant energy. However, this song is quite dark when you really listen to the lyrics. “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind is about the perils of drug abuse and self-destructive behaviors. It’s quite heartbreaking, and yet, a lot of listeners have missed the real meaning of its song because of its glittering exterior.
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“Slide” by The Goo Goo Dolls
This is your standard pepped-up Goo Goo Dolls tune. “Slide”, released in 1998, is a jangle pop tune with an alt-rock edge that became really popular upon its release. It was a party song that I heard on more than one occasion back in the day during get-togethers. However, when you listen to the lyrics, this song is actually quite sad.
“Slide” is widely believed to be about a couple who are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, sung from the perspective of the man in the equation who resents the woman in the situation for terminating her pregnancy. And despite feeling raw about it, our narrator still wants to be with her more than anything.
“Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People
This indie sleeze entry on our list of feel-good songs was all over the radio back in the 2010s. “Pumped Up Kicks” is a glittery, chill, breezy song that will get stuck in your head with just one listen. I’m not surprised that it took the masses so long to realize what this song was actually about: A school shooter.
I’ve always found this song to be really gut-wrenching. The narrator resents his well-off classmates for having a better life than he and his poor working-class father do, and plans to take revenge in the worst way possible. Considering this song came out in an era where school shootings were all over the news daily, the story told is devastating in its poignancy.
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