Famously Misinterpreted Songs and What They’re Really About

Think you know what your favorite song is about? Guess again. Even The Beatles are surprised by what fans think “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is about. And “You’re So Vain” isn’t about a man at all! Here are some classic hits and what they really mean.

“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

Although you may be most familiar with Whitney Houston’s version from her 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” the song was originally written by Dolly Parton. Going by the plot of the movie and its title, the song is often interpreted as being about a romance.

However, it was originally written by Parton about moving on from her mentor and music partner, Porter Wagoner. For seven years, Parton performed with singer Porter Wagoner, and even released a dozen albums with him. When she decided to go solo, she wrote the song to say goodbye.

“Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell

Although it’s easy to think that the song was named as a tribute to Joni Mitchell’s performance at the festival of the same name, there’s one problem: she didn’t perform there. She was scheduled to, but cancelled. Instead, she appeared on the Dick Cavett show.

She wrote the song from an outsider’s perspective.

“Wild World” by Cat Stevens

“But if you want to leave, take good care,
Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear,
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there”

These iconic lyrics by Cat Stevens sound like they are directed at someone. Because the song also contains the line, “I’ll always remember you like a child, girl,” many thought the lyrics were about his girlfriend at the time, Patti D’Arbanville.

But Stevens insists the song is about himself. “I was trying to relate to my life… It’s talking about losing touch with home and reality.”

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

If you don’t know what this song means, you’re not alone— neither did Nirvana’s lead singer. When Kurt Cobain saw “smells like teen spirit” scrawled across his wall in Sharpie, he thought it was a revolutionary slogan about anarchy and punk rock.

That’s not what Kathleen Hanna, the one who’d written it, meant at all. “Teen spirit” was a popular deodorant, worn by Kurt’s girlfriend at the time, Tobi Vail. Kathleen was saying the room smelled like Tobi.