This Third Eye Blind 1997 hit was all the rage when it came out. The song’s upbeat sounds made it an instant success on the 90’s pop charts, and it seemed to almost play on repeat on every radio station. But contrary to what many people thought was a bright and cheerful song, “Semi-Charmed Life” was actually about substance addiction.
As the band’s lead singer and songwriter, Stephan Jenkins, explained that it was about a time in his life when he and all of his friends were consuming way too many substances. Jenkins also claims he chose the “bright and shiny sound” of the song to indicate how these substances made you feel on the outside like you were leading a ‘semi-charmed life,’ but in reality, everything was an ugly mess.
"Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways
While the famous "Cherry Bomb" by the Runaways has a pretty clear meaning and is widely understood, the story of how it came to be is another matter. One of the legendary Joan Jett's greatest hits, "Cherry Bomb," is a timeless rock classic, but none of the band members expected this to happen. Actually, as the band's manager Kim Fowley later revealed, the song was written in "about five minutes"!
In fact, according to Fowley, he and Jett wrote "Cherry Bomb" for Cherie Currie's audition to be a member of the Runaways because the rest of the band didn't know the song she wanted to perform.
"Higher" by Creed
Any 90's kid will remember Creed, and if they don't, they'll definitely remember their 1999 hit song, "Higher." And while the general consensus seemed to be that the song was either about getting "high" on substances or (completely on the contrary) the band's well-known affinity to Christianity, none of these are actually true.
As Creed's lead singer, Scott Stapp, explained, the song was actually about lucid dreaming.
"Royals" by Lorde
After first listening to Lorde's hit song "Royals," you would think she's referring to actual royalty (as in Queen Elizabeth II) or maybe "celebrity royals," like the Kardashians. But in reality, Lorde wrote the song's title and lyrics after seeing a 1976 photo of the Kansas City Royal's hall of fame, George Brett, signing autographs in his uniform.
According to the famous singer, she thought the word "Royals" just looked really cool written across the baseball player's uniform: "It was just that word. It’s really cool.”
"Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp
Much like Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A" was a completely misunderstood criticism of the U.S., so was John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses." Mellencamp actually wrote the song as a protest to Reagan's America and the whole "greedy capitalist" culture of the times.
Still, due to the upbeat music and chorus, many people thought the song was actually a nationalistic, pro-American tune. Especially conservative politicians who used the song to their benefit, to which Mellencamp always angrily protested.