5 Songs from the 90's that have Surprising Stories behind their lyrics

5 songs from the 90’s that have surprising stories behind their lyrics

By: Brian Cotnoir

     The 1990’s was an awesome time for music.  Alternative Rock dominated the airwaves and many underground bands rose up through the mainstream.  With so many awesome songs released by so many talented bands, it’s actually quite amusing how many people often don’t get some of the hidden meanings behind the songs they are singing.  Today, I hope to enlighten you on the hidden messages behind some of the 90’s Most Popular Songs.

1.) The Freshmen- The Verve Pipe

The first thing that I would like to say about “The Freshmen” by the Michigan Alternative-Rock Band, The Verve Pipe is that this is my favorite song.  For many years, I always thought that this song was about a guy who broke up with his girlfriend, and then she committed suicide, and everyone told him that her death was his fault, and then having to deal with the guilt of people blaming you for her death.  Much to my surprise, I found out that this song is not about a suicide, but rather an abortion.  The bands singer/guitarist Brian Van Ark wrote this song about the emotions he felt when he was 15 and he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and she decided to get an abortion.  I never would have guessed that’s what “The Freshmen” was about, and it’s my favorite song for crying out loud!  However, that doesn’t change the fact that it is a great song.

2.) If You could only See- Tonic

The song “If You could only see” by Tonic is the tail of the bands singer/guitarist Emerson Hart who was in a relationship with a woman that his parents do not approve of.  That’s not really all that shocking, but then you find out that this woman in this relationship was older than him.  How much older than him?  Around 15 years.  Hart wrote the song about when he was 17-years-old and was dating a 32-year-old woman!  She must have been one hell of a cougar, and we have her to thank for being the inspiration to Tonic’s only major U.S. Hit.

3.) Come As You Are- Nirvana

Kurt Cobain lied to us all; he did—in fact—have a gun.  That line in the song where he repeats “well I swear that I don’t have a gun/no I don’t have a gun/no I don’t have a gun/”.  This song is a popular today as it was when it was released back in 1991, and yet so many people overlook that one lyric.  Kurt Cobain sings about not having a gun and then three years later chooses to end his own life with a—you guessed it!—a shotgun.  Maybe, Nirvana’s fans should have paid more close attention to Cobain’s pleas in his lyrics, and then maybe perhaps this musical tragedy could have been prevented.

4.) Lightning Crashes- Live

     This song gets my vote for Best Hidden Meaning behind a song: According to sources close to the band, this song is about a woman named Barbara, who was a friend of the band Live before they were famous, and one night after seeing the band perform, she was killed by a drunk driver, and the same night that she was killed by that drink driver, her heart was removed—she was an organ donor—and was transplanted into a newborn baby that was born with a  heart problem.  That’s freaking beautiful, and truly is a wonderful meaning behind a song.

5.) Truly Madly Deeply and I knew I loved you- Savage Garden

Back in the 90’s if you had a crush on a girl and wanted to do something to make her remember you, you’d make a mix tape of songs, and if you really wanted to get her to like you back, you better have included at least one song by the Australian rock band Savage Garden.  What makes this song so much fun is to realize that this song was not written about a woman that the bands singer Darren Hayes was in love with...it’s actually about a guy.  For a great while, Darren Hayes, kept his homosexuality hidden from the public, and no one knew.  Hayes was and still is a very private man, and does not like to leak out his personal life to anyone.  So it was a big surprise to all when he did come out in the early 2000’s.  But really think about all those years that people thought he was singing about a woman, when he was actually singing about a man.  I think that’s pretty awesome don’t you?