Whether you know these lyrics from an iconic film or from the radio, they still speak volumes today. The year 1985 was full of memorable lyrics from one-hit wonder songs, and these are proof.
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds
“Don’t you forget about me / Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t / Don’t you forget about me.”
Videos by American Songwriter
This song, which went No. 1 in the US and Canada, appears in the film The Breakfast Club. The movie follows a group of teenagers as they take on an afternoon in detention and learn more about each other than they ever expected to along the way. If you’ve ever seen the film, you know that the song plays at the end, after all of the kids part ways. It’s then that the lyrics of the song really seem to reflect the overarching question of the film. Will the characters remain friends after their shared life-changing Saturday, or will things go back to the way they were before?
“St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)” by John Parr
“All I need is a pair of wheels /Take me where my future’s lyin’, St. Elmo’s Fire /Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.”
This is another great example of a song that gained popularity because of an 80s cult-classic film. St. Elmo’s Fire, the film, starred popular coming-of-age faces like Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy, in addition to others. The film centers around the characters’ college hangout, St. Elmo’s Bar. This song, which carries forward that coming-of-age theme, also pays homage to the bar in the film.
“Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday
“I’m in the dark, I’d like to read his mind /But I’m frightened of the things I might find.”
“Voices Carry” is a great example of a song that was given a leg up by MTV in terms of commercial success. “Voices Carry” became a Top 10 Billboard hit, and even earned ‘Til Tuesday an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. The song is about feeling shut down by a partner, but the music video paints “Voices Carry” as sort of an empowering song.
“I wrote it about a friend of mine – a male friend – who was talking about a relationship where the girl didn’t want to be affectionate with him in public, like, ‘Keep your voice down, don’t tell people we’re going out,’” singer Aimee Mann told Conan O’Brien. “The reason I related to that story was because of my history.”
Photo by: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
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