15 Classic Love Songs That Aren’t About Love At All
Humanity is driven at a biological level by two fundamental imperatives: avoid death and pursue lovin’. That’s why 90% of our art is about the latter, as the former is a bit of a bummer. However, some songs that sound like they’re about love are anything but.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinéad O'Connor
Though Prince never confirmed the inspiration behind the song that would become a smash hit for O’Connor, his inner circle agrees that it was largely not any of his lovers but the loss of his housekeeper, Sandy Scipioni. “Sandy ran Prince’s life,” sound engineer Susan Rogers said. “He kept asking, ‘When’s Sandy coming back?’”
“Got to Get You Into My Life” by the Beatles
As with many Beatles songs, the most excitable track from Revolver is about drugs, not the high of falling in love. "It's actually an ode to pot," Paul McCartney said, "like someone else might write an ode to chocolate or a good claret.”
“Angie” by the Rolling Stones
Likewise, the identity of the Angie who inspired the Stones classic has been a topic of heated debate for 50 years, but according to Keith Richards, the song is “not about any particular person, it was a name.” He wrote it mostly “because I could finally move my fingers and get them in the right place again” while in rehab for heroin addiction.
“When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge
When Sledge wrote the song that would later become “When a Man Loves a Woman,” he’d just been dumped. In fact, the song was called “Why Did You Leave Me, Baby?” It was producer Quin Ivy who suggested the song would be a hit if it was a little more, uh, positive.
“The One I Love” by R.E.M.
Don’t let the title lull you into a false sense of security -- the rest of the lyrics of “The One I Love” are “incredibly violent,” according to R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe. “It's very clear that it's about using people over and over again," he said.
“One” by U2
U2’s inexplicable wedding staple is not only pretty bleak if you pay enough attention, it’s not about romance at all. It was about tensions within the band during the recording of Achtung Baby. (And also German reunification, because, you know. Bono.)
“Fernando” by ABBA
Likewise, the chorus of “Fernando” sounds for all the world like a love song, but listening to the rest of it makes it clear that it’s about war. “I had this vivid image in my mind of two old and scarred revolutionaries in Mexico sitting outside at night talking about old memories," songwriter Björn Ulvaeus said. “Fernando” was just the name of their favorite bartender.
“All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You” by Heart
“All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You” might be the king of songs that only sound romantic if you’re not paying attention. If you hang around past the second verse, you find out it’s about a woman partnered to an infertile man who tricks a one-night stand into getting her pregnant.
“Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon
On the other hand, it’s not super clear that “Keep On Loving You” is about REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin finding out his wife cheated on him. There’s that line about “those men,” but he doesn’t say when they showed up. Maybe it’s nice that he wanted to “keep on loving” her anyway, but they did divorce a few years later.
“Every Breath You Take” by the Police
“Every Breath You Take” has a long history of being misunderstood, going all the way back to its 1983 release. When asked why he looks so angry in the music video, Sting said, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite.”
“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” by Green Day
If the title didn’t make it obvious -- and it clearly didn’t -- Green Day’s mellowest offering isn’t the nostalgic ode that it sounds like. It was a bitter takedown of an ex-girlfriend of Billie Joe Armstrong, and his “hope” that she had “the time of her life” is meant to be sarcastic. Something to think about before your next graduation.
“You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt
Blunt knows his song has “always been portrayed as romantic,” but even he thinks “it’s actually a bit creepy. It’s about a guy (me) who’s high and stalking someone else’s girlfriend on the subway.” In fact, it was about running into his ex with her new boyfriend, so it’s actually a nightmare rather than a dream.
“Can’t Feel My Face” by the Weeknd
Now just why would love leave the Weeknd unable to feel his face? Sure, he refers to the numbing entity as “she” in the song, but he hasn’t exactly hidden the fact that it’s about cocaine. In fact, in his song “Reminder,” he sings about winning “a new award for a kids show talkin’ ‘bout a face numbin’ off a bag of blow.”
“Stay With Me” by Sam Smith
“Stay With Me” sounds like a sweet little ripoff of Tom Petty, but it’s actually “about the moment in the morning after a one-night stand where the person you are with leaves your house and you are left by yourself.” Smith later publicly thanked the “guy that I fell in love with” who inspired the album “for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys.”
“I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
Don’t get us wrong, “I Will Always Love You” is indeed about the end of a relationship -- a business relationship. Parton wrote it for Porter Wagoner, her musical partner from whom she felt she needed to separate to make it big on her own. That’s right: One of music’s greatest love songs is about quitting your job.