People don’t usually listen to 2000s music to dissect the lyrics or try to find a deeper meaning. On most occasions, they listen because they want to get up and dance. However, if you’re actually paying attention, oftentimes artists are trying to make a statement or send a message beyond that shiny pop exterior. Here are three 2000s hits that might surprise you when you find out what they’re really trying to say.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Hey Ya!” by OutKast
Released in 2003, this song is punchy, upbeat, and quite literally just sounds like a good time. Although the line that captures the attention of most is “shake it like a Polaroid picture,” Andre 3000 eventually revealed that the song is actually an ode to the complexities of modern dating.
“A lot of people stay together for tradition,” the artist explained in a VH1 interview. “All I’m saying is I think it’s more important to be happy than to meet up to somebody else’s expectations or the world’s expectations of what a relationship should be.”
The song actually has some pretty introspective lyrics, but that hip beat just masks them.
“If what they say is / “Nothing is forever” / Then what makes, then what makes / Then what makes, then what makes (what makes, what makes) / Love the exception?”
“Poker Face” by Lady Gaga
Even though this song seems like it’s about trying to hide your true feelings for someone, real Lady Gaga fans know that “Poker Face” is actually about concealing one’s sexual identity. Gaga opened up about the song’s true meaning after being asked about lines like “bluffin with my muffin.”
“Well, I do like women,” Gaga explained to Barbara Walters in 2009. “I’ve only been in love with men, I’ve never been in love with a woman. But that’s really what the song ‘Poker Face’ is about. Why, when I was with my boyfriend, was I fantasizing about women?”
“4 Minutes” by Madonna (feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)
The drum beat behind “4 Minutes” will likely capture anyone’s attention, but if you listen to the lyrics, without context, it’s kind of hard to tell what this anthemic song is really about. In an MTV News interview, Madonna explained that “4 Minutes” is actually a bit of a climate change anthem.
“I think the song, more than anything, is about having a sense of urgency; about how we are you know, living on borrowed time essentially and people are becoming much more aware of the environment and how we’re destroying the planet,” the singer shared. “We can’t just keep distracting ourselves we do have to educate ourselves and wake up and do something about it.”
So I guess it’s true. Justin, Timbaland, and Madonna really do only have “4 minutes to save the world” or get their message across ( 3 minutes and 9 seconds if you’re listening on Spotify).
Photo by: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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