Did you know that this song was inspired by an item on a Chinese restaurant menu?
Paul Simon - "Mother and Child Reunion"
Paul Simon was reading the menu at a Chinese restaurant and saw a dish called "Mother and Child Reunion" — something involving chicken and eggs. He loved the title so much, he vowed to use it in a song — though the eventual tune had nothing to do with food.
What was the inspiration for the Beatles' 1967 song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"?
A drawing John's son Julian did in nursery school
John Lennon always insisted the song was based on a picture his young son Julian drew in school of his friend Lucy. Julian called the picture "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" but had no idea why.
This U2 song has many interpretations, but not many people know it was really about a gay man trying to reach out to his disapproving father.
"One"
Bono explained the meaning of "One" to Rolling Stone in 2005: "It's a father-and-son story. I tried to write about someone I knew who was coming out and was afraid to tell his father." Proceeds from "One" were donated to AIDS research.
Who was Sheriff John Brown in Bob Marley's classic "I Shot the Sheriff"?
The doctor of Marley's girlfriend
According to Marley's girlfriend Esther Anderson, Sheriff John Brown was a reference to the doctor who prescribed her birth control pills. Marley was upset that "every time I plant a seed," the seed never became a baby.
No one would believe this song is about impending fatherhood:
"Closing Time" by the band Semisonic has been featured in numerous movies, usually in a bittersweet way. Lead singer Dan Wilson told an audience that he wrote this when his wife was expecting their child: "People think it's about being bounced from a bar but it's actually about being bounced from the womb!"
Who was the "you" in Stevie Wonder's 1974 No. 1 hit, "You haven't done nothin'"?
Richard Nixon
President Richard Nixon was the man who got a tongue-lashing from Wonder for false promises. Nixon resigned two days after the song was released. Coincidence? (Side note: The Jackson 5 sang backup).
Rumor has it this song is about a man who could have saved another man from drowning but chose not to.
"In the Air Tonight"
And rumor would be wrong. Phil Collins said of "In the Air Tonight," in a BBC interview: “I don’t know what this song is about. When I was writing this, I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it’s obviously in anger... So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, ‘Did you really see someone drowning?’ I said, ‘No, wrong’."
What is Maroon 5's song "Harder to Breathe" really about?
A greedy record company
Even though it came from the 2002 album "Songs About Jane," this wasn't about "Jane." Lead singer Adam Levine said the band's record company was pressuring them to produce more songs at the last minute.
This song sounds romantic, but the official title of Green Day's "Time of Your Life" gives you a clue that it's not.
"Good Riddance"
The official title of this '90's prom classic is "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it about a girlfriend who was moving to Ecuador. "I was trying not to be bitter but I think it came out a little bit bitter anyway," he told Guitar Legends magazine.