4 Songs That Make No Sense, but Still Became Chart-Topping Hits (And What They Mean)

Songs that make no sense are not, by default, bad songs. In fact, I’d argue that quite a few of the most nonsensical tunes to make it to the charts through the years have been quite addictive songs. Let’s look at a few no-sense-making hits through the years… and what these bangers actually mean.

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1. “Spice Up Your Life” by Spice Girls

“Yellow man in Timbuktu / Colourful, both me and you / Kung Fu fighting, dancing queen / Tribal spaceman and all that’s in between / Hai si ja hold tight!”

This is probably The Spice Girls’ most misunderstood song. And it makes sense why. The lyrics are quite colorful and strange. But they ultimately aim to tell the girl group’s audience that they accept everyone, regardless of color, background, etc. The commonly misunderstood line “Hai si ja hold tight!” is actually the Spice Girls saying “yes” in Japanese, Spanish, and German.

2. “Loser” by Beck

“The forces of evil in a bozo nightmare / Ban all the music with the phony gas chamber / ‘Cause one’s got a weasel, and the other’s got a flag / One’s on the pole, shove the other in a bag.”

This entry on our list of songs that make no sense is delightfully nonsensical. The whole song is more or less gibberish, as confirmed by Beck in an interview in 1997. He enjoyed throwing out crazy lyrics to see if his audience would catch them.

3. “I Am The Walrus” by The Beatles

“I am he as you are he as you are me / And we are all together / See how they run like pigs from a gun / See how they fly.”

Well, this is probably the most famous track on our list of songs that make no sense. John Lennon intentionally wanted to throw listeners for a loop with “I Am The Walrus”. However, the song isn’t entirely nonsense. Lennon said that he was inspired to write the song after an acid trip, as well as his thoughts on Hare Krishna following a rant from Allen Ginsberg. The Alice In Wonderland references are pretty clear, too.

4. “Around The World” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Ding, dang, dong, dong, deng, deng, dong, dong, ding, dang / Mother Russia, do not suffer, I know you’re bold enough / I’ve been around the world and I have seen your love / I know, I know it’s you.”

Originally, the lyrics of “Around The World” by Red Hot Chili Peppers were intended to be placeholders, as Anthony Kiedis preferred to get the composition out of the way before adding more meaningful words to the song. However, a lot of fans believe that the lyrics of the final cut of the song are placeholder lyrics that Kiedis never removed. He never verified this claim, and some fans believe an alternative theory that the song is based on the childhood babbling of Flea’s daughter.

Photo by David Magnus/Shutterstock

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