Some songs just defy explanation. And some songs, particularly classic rock songs from the 1980s, are intentionally ambiguous in their true meanings. Let’s look at a few songs that aren’t super clear on theme or reason but are still excellent tracks worth revisiting today.
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“Under The Milky Way” by The Church (1988)
This dreamy neo-psychedelia track from 1988 is a favorite among fans of the genre. And it has been the subject of quite a bit of interpretation. Some think it’s about drugs (what a shocker). Others believe it might be a love song about the one who got away, or even a spiritual experience.
Steve Kilbey, the writer of “Under The Milky Way”, said that when writing the song with Curious (Yellow) member Karin Jansson, he “smoked a j*int and started playing the piano and she came in the room and we just made it up.” A press release from the time stated that the song was named after a Dutch music venue that Kilbey spent time at. In more recent years, Kilbey has not elaborated on the song’s meaning, instead opting to say he “stumbled” upon it.
“For some reason it has struck this wonderful sense of universality with people that most of my songs don’t,” said Kilbey.
“Dancing With Myself” by Generation X (1980)
This jam from Billy Idol has always had a little bit of controversy around it. The dance-rock punk song “Dancing With Myself” can be interpreted in one of two ways. Either it’s about m*sterbation, or it’s about social alienation in the age of club culture.
Fans still go back and forth on this Generation X song’s true meaning. However, Idol and co-writer Tony James have said that they were inspired to write the song after witnessing several Tokyo club attendees dancing with their own reflections on the mirrored walls of a Japanese club. Though, that could be a cover for the song’s alleged dirtier meaning. Who knows?
“Bring On The Dancing Horses” by Echo & The Bunnymen (1985)
“Bring On The Dancing Horses” by Echo & The Bunnymen remains one of the most ambiguous rock songs of the 1980s, and the more in-depth meanings behind the song haven’t been broken down by the band’s frontman, Ian McCulloch. Rather, he said that when he writes songs, “the words tend to come first and the meaning later.” Though, he did admit in a print interview with Number One Magazine in 1985 that “Bring On The Dancing Horses” is a “romantic” song, “not in a wishy-washy way, but in a big powerful way.”
That doesn’t reveal very much, though, and fans continue to pick this dreamy alt-rock song apart today.
Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
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