Some songs are pretty clear-cut in their lyrics, while others require a bit of digging and analysis to get the true meaning across. When it comes to the following classic tunes from the 1960s, their lyrics boast shocking, deeper meanings that listeners might have missed the first time around. Let’s take a look!
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“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles
“Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer / Came down upon her head / Clang! Clang! Maxwell’s silver hammer / Made sure that she was dead.”
It only takes one attentive listen to hear how shocking the lyrics of The Beatles’ 1969 song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” are. However, given how cheerful and bouncy this tune is, some listeners might have missed the darker lyrics entirely.
According to songwriter Paul McCartney, this song was written about a man named Maxwell Edison who committed murders with a hammer. However, the song itself is a symbolic exploration of when life goes wrong “out of the blue.”
“Hey Joe” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
“I’m going down to shoot my old lady / You know, I caught her messing around with another man / And that ain’t too cool.”
There’s no mistaking how dark these lyrics are about a man explaining how he’s going to shoot his cheating wife and flee his country to avoid arrest. However, Jimi Hendrix’s delivery on the song is nothing short of casual. That might have led a lot of listeners to totally miss just how dark the song actually is.
Fun fact: Hendrix performed this song at the end of his famed Woodstock set in 1969, closing out the festival. This song also isn’t a Hendrix original, as it was originally a rock standard later copyrighted by Billy Roberts that has been covered numerous times through the years.
“Sunny Afternoon” by The Kinks
“Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze / I got a big fat mama tryna break me / And I love to live so pleasantly / Live this life of luxury.”
This Kinks jam from 1966 has a fun, almost spooky, but unmistakably summery atmosphere to it. But in reality, the lyrics of this song are a bit shocking compared to the delightful 1960s vibe that it has musically. Ray Davies wrote this song while incredibly ill, and it bemoans his then-current tax situation through the surprisingly unsympathetic lens of an aristocrat who lost all of the wealth that he realistically did not earn on his own. It’s a somewhat complicated tune in which Davies sounds like he’s making fun of himself.
Photo by Roy Cummings/THA/Shutterstock
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