Music is unique in its ability to layer emotions in more subversive ways than, say, poetry or visual art. Some songs that sound sad actually have beautiful, romantic, or empowering lyricism. Conversely, songs that sound upbeat, pleasant, and energetic can often hide strange, dark back stories that seem to contradict the bright musical arrangement.
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Take, for example, these four one-hit wonders: all great songs in their own right and well-deserving of any feel-good, nostalgia-inducing playlist. But take a closer look at what the singers are actually saying—or, in the first example, why they wrote it—and suddenly, the music takes a much shadowier turn.
“Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest
King Harvest famously made “Dancing in the Moonlight” a 1972 hit, but it was actually released two years earlier by a band called Boffalongo. Sherman Kelly, the frontman, wrote “Dancing in the Moonlight” as a sort of escapist fantasy while recovering from a harrowing attack in St. Croix in 1969. “I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered eight American tourists,” Kelly wrote on his website.
“At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead,” he continued. “While I was recovering, I wrote ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’, in which I envisioned an alternate reality. The dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life.”
“99 Luftballons” by Nena
Nena’s 1983 hit “99 Luftballons” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, garnering the German singer her first and only American hit. The song is energetic, dancey, and has the kind of melody that will get embedded into your brain for the rest of the day. But for as bright and sunny as the song sounds on the surface, it actually paints a dark story.
Of course, unless you’re fluent in German, you wouldn’t have known that by listening to Nena’s original version. But even the English translation—which isn’t a direct translation but a reinterpretation—recounts a military operation responding to 99 harmless balloons that results in an all-out, catastrophic war with no victor.
“Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant
It’s no wonder that Eddy Grant’s No. 2 hit, “Electric Avenue”, remains a popular hit to this day, considering its infectious rhythm and memorable hook. However, “rocking down to Electric Avenue” isn’t quite the neon-filled adventure that the song makes it out to be.
Grant’s song refers to Electric Avenue in Brixton, a neighborhood in South London with a large Caribbean population. The area devolved into the 1981 Brixton riot after racism, poverty, and tensions with police reached a boiling point, resulting in 13 deaths and countless injuries. “Working so hard like a soldier,” Grant sings. “Can’t afford a thing on TV / Deep in my heart, I abhor ya / Can’t get food for them kid.”
“Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve
Few songs capture the feeling of bittersweetness quite like this 1997 hit by one-hit wonders The Verve, and it’s not just because the word is in the title. The insistent, shimmering strings of “Bittersweet Symphony” are emotionally moving, but in opaque ways. Sometimes, the song sounds uplifting. Other times, the song feels melancholic. And the lyrics? Downright desolate.
“It’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life / Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to money, then you die,” the song’s refrain repeats. Later, vocalist Richard Ashcroft sings, “Well, I’ve never prayed but tonight I’m on my knees / I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me.” Sounds more bitter than sweet, honestly.
Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
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