3 Songs From the 21st Century With Lyrics That Mean Something Different Than You Think

Have you ever found yourself singing along to a song and wondering what the words mean that are coming out of your mouth? Sometimes we think we know what a song is all about, and then we stop ourselves and say, “Wait, what?” That’s just what we wanted to explore here. We wanted to dive into three popular songs from this century that have seemingly simple meanings, but that actually mean something else entirely. Indeed, these are three songs from the 21st century with lyrics that mean something different from what you think.

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“Chandelier” by Sia from ‘1000 Forms Of Fear’ (2014)

On the face of it, this song sounds like a party jam. It sounds like it glorifies a good time, as if that’s the only aim one should take. When you put it that way, who doesn’t want to swing from the chandelier. But when you take a closer listen, you can hear the pain and the self-doubt the singer is expressing. She is admitting to all these parts of her life, but deep down, she is not proud of what’s happening. Singing over a beat that sounds made for the club, Sia finally gets to the core of her issues, she sings, “Sun is up, I’m a mess / Gotta get out now, gotta run from this / Here comes the shame, here comes the shame.” It’s not about touching the ceiling. It’s about the difficulty of coming down.

“Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People from ‘Torches’ (2011)

At first, this is a song that sounds like it’s glorifying consumerism. As suburban kids growing up, so many of us wanted those sneakers that could make us feel as if we could fly or run like the wind. But this song moves away from the air bubbles and squishy soles to show you that there is a downside to all this product lust. There are people out there who will put a gun to your temple to take your kicks. They’ll hunt you for them. They won’t think twice about it, so maybe you should. That’s the message of this song that sounds like a sticky pop tune on its face.

“Hey Ya!” by Outkast from ‘Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’ (2000)

No song from the early 2000s captured an audience quite like “Hey Ya!” by Outkast’s Andre 3000. The song, with its acoustic guitars and bubbly rhythms, made people sing and dance for seemingly a decade. But the song is not all about happiness. Sadly, here is heartbreak at its core. As Andre 3000 sings, “If they say nothing is forever…” Indeed, the singer is getting cold feet. Maybe all of the work to keep love going is overrated or impossible? Maybe love is an illusion…

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