The EditoriaList: Ten Interesting Backstories To Pop Songs
posted in: Features
Ever wonder what that song is about? Here’s what these songs are about:
Cry Me A River “ Justin Timberlake
The video Justin Timberlake made for his solo hit, featuring a familiar-looking blonde and a glimpse of a photo in an errant frame, did nothing to dispel theories that this track was about Britney Spears’ cheating ways. Goddam you, Britney, how could you?!
Smoke On The Water “ Deep Purple
So, there was this Frank Zappa concert in Montreux and some stupid with a flare gun (smooth lyric, dudes) set the casino complex they were playing in on fire. The members of Deep Purple were there to make a record, using the Rolling Stones’ mobile recording setup (the Rolling truck Stones thing, haha), and they watched the fire go down across the lake from the place. Hence, Smoke On The Water. Epic riff.
Let Him Dangle “ Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello gets pissed about the death penalty in this object lesson song, describing the case of Derek Bentley, hanged in 1953 for a murder that his friend committed while they were robbing a warehouse. Bentley apparently had some mental problems, to boot. They’d have loved this case in Texas.
The Spiderbite Song “ The Flaming Lips
Before recording their landmark LP The Soft Bulletin, two members of The Flaming Lips had some close calls with death. The first verse refers to Steven Drozd’s run-in with a spider, which bit him and nearly caused his arm to be amputated (though it’s widely suspected the issue was an abscess from his acknowledged heroin use rather than a spider bite, or perhaps some combination”much less whimsical). Verse two describes a car accident Michael Ivins had, wherein a rogue tire (not attached to his car, mind you) came flying down a hill toward his car, smashing through his windshield and causing a wreck.
Listen To Her Heart “ Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Ike Turner was on the downslide when Tina left him after decades of physical and emotional abuse¦ alllleeeddgedllly. Anyway, he came on real, real strong to Tom Petty’s wife one night at a party, and Tom was less than thrilled about it. You think you’re gonna take her away, with your money and your cocaine¦ Ike should be glad Tina’s biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It wasn’t out yet. Can’t get laid after that shit, Ike.
How Do You Sleep? “ John Lennon
John Lennon pulls no punches in this blatant and vitriolic attack on former bandmate Paul McCartney. There are so many devastating insults here that’s it’s hard to single any out, but Those freaks was right when they said you was dead (referring to the “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy theories) can’t have felt good to hear. Easy John. Easy.
Here, My Dear “ Marvin Gaye
In what sounds like a half-baked plot from a TV script, the judge in Marvin Gaye’s divorce case decided that the singer should forfeit the rights to his as-yet-unmade next album to his ex-wife (Motown founder Berry Gordy’s daughter Anna) as settlement. Gaye wrote a double-album all about the divorce, rather than churn out some weak crap or outtakes that no one would buy (though it was not initially a commercial hit). It’s a difficult and often bitter album, exemplified by the title track.
She’s Leaving Home “ The Beatles
Like several other Beatles’ songs, She’s Leaving Home was ripped from the headlines, so to speak. Paul McCartney read an article about a young girl who ran away from home, and he banged out this classic ballad. The really interesting thing is that, unbeknownst to him, Paul had met the girl a few years before, while judging a contest she was in on the program Ready Steady Go! The mono version of this is much better than the stereo, by the way.
Needle And The Damage Done “ Neil Young
Neil Young lost his Crazy Horse bandmate Danny Whitten to heroin and wrote this simple and heartfelt song for him as well as the many others around him that had fallen to drug addiction. I am not a preacher, Young later wrote, but drugs killed a lot of great men.
Layla “ Derek And The Dominos
George Harrison’s buddy Eric Clapton starting crushing hard on George’s wife Pattie Boyd right around the time George stopped giving a shit. It worked out for everyone, I guess. Clapton wrote this song, demonstrating that he was more emotionally conflicted about the whole thing than Harrison ever was. Pattie later said that she couldn’t resist someone who wrote such a beautiful song for her. Hey, what about Something Pattie? Jeez, baby, you’re tough to please. After Pattie and Eric broke up, he and George started referring to each other as ex-husbands-in-law. Weird.
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