3 Songs From the 1990s With Secretly Shocking Lyrics

If you love the type of tunes the 90s were dishing out, chances are you’ve heard the following three songs before. But did you know that these hits from the 1990s feature some pretty shocking lyrics? If you weren’t listening closely, you might have missed the real (and devastating) stories behind them.

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“Jeremy” by Pearl Jam (1992)

“Daddy didn’t give affection, no / And the boy was something that mommy.”

This song is one of the biggest bummers of the 90s in the best way possible. And casual Pearl Jam fans (or non-fans) might have missed the story that this song is actually telling. The truth is, “Jeremy” was based on a real-life tragedy, one that Eddie Vedder poetically explores without getting too explicit, as a top-notch songwriter does.

“Jeremy” was written about a real-life 15-year-old boy who tragically committed suicide in front of his classmates in 1991. Vedder, who read about the tragedy in the news, decided to write a song about the tragedy to “give it more importance.”

“Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind (1997)

“And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse / Chop another line like a coda with a curse / Come on like a freak show takes the stage / We give ’em the games she play, she say.”

That upbeat pop-rock melody, that overall sunny 90s rock vibe… If you weren’t listening to the words closely, you could have easily missed that this delightful song is actually about m*th addiction. It was definitely a trend in the 1990s to produce songs that had a positive edge musically, but a negative or heartbreaking edge lyrically. “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind definitely has that element, and it remains an excellent song because of it.

“Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star (1993)

“A stranger light comes on slowly / A stranger’s heart without a home / You put your hands into your head / And then its smiles cover your heart.”

This dreamy song soothed many listeners back in the 1990s, but its lyrics hide a pretty shocking meaning that you might have missed. This Mazzy Star classic is actually all about being emotionally detached, a lack of connection, and unrequited love. On the surface, “Fade Into You” might sound like a typical love song. But it’s really about something much deeper, and it might just give you an existential crisis.

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