I'm Clifford Stumme, and I use literary analysis and research to explain the deeper meanings of pop songs. Feel free to leave a comment or to email me at clifford@popsongprofessor.com with questions or ideas!
All tagged song lyrics meaning
NF gets personal and vulnerable in “Lie”; and whether this song is based on a real relationship or not, it’s just too good and it’s worth talking about.
“Chlorine” is the fifth song in the album Trench by twenty one pilots, it is a beautiful song yet a confusing one, so let’s start breaking this one a bit, maybe we’ll get to know what is going on with Tyler Joseph, and Ned… Haven’t you seen Ned?!
NF’s “Mansion” is super deep, personal, and so worth talking about, and that’s what we’re going to do today.
“Apologize” by Grandson is one of his most famous songs in his newest album, he sees art and music a way to be political, unapologetic, and deep.
“My Blood” is the forth song in the album Trench, it’s about family; such a beautiful and catchy song, and it’s probably the most repetitive song in the album, but it works well, so let’s talk about this.
“Sincerity Is Scary” is a great song, it has a fantastic message about being true to yourself; and it gave me the opportunity to talk about one of my favourite controversial philosophical topics, and that’s Postmodernity.
“Morph” is probably the most intricate song in the record, it is well-put together, and just a beautiful song; but also perhaps one of the most confusing, in fact it's my most confusing song from the entire album.
AJR just released a new music video for their song “100 Bad Days”; the music video is completely trippy and cool, the music itself sounds so good, but there is a little bit of question when it comes to the value of the lyrics, are they worth saying?
Levitate is deep, and it’s has a lot of things yet it’s short. Tyler Joseph talks about music in this third and final part of a three-part story from twenty one pilots’ latest album Trench. And so, I am excited to go over this song in depth with you.
Nico And The Niners’ music video is insane; there is so much meaningful stuff. We get to see DEMA. And it looks like the bishops are in it, we also see the banditos, and Josh. There is a story to tell here, and I am excited to go over this in depth with you, guys.
Jumpsuit’s music video is insane; there is so much meaningful stuff. It looks like a bishop or Blurryface is in it, there is a cameo by Josh and Jenna in there, the allusions to movies. There is a story to tell here, and I am excited to go over this in depth with you, guys.
Billie Eilish put out a new music video and a song called ‘bury a friend’; and even though she has put out some creepy stuff in the past, this video might be taking the cake, which is appropriate since apparently this song is written from the perspective of the monster underneath her bed.
When “High Hopes” released today, Brendon Urie tweeted, “I spent too long not setting my expectations high enough, worried about how it felt to fail. I hit a point when I realized I had to aim high and fail, fail, fail in order to keep growing. This one is for all of you who helped me go for it all. I thank you.” Urie didn’t say indicate that his words had specifically to do with “High Hopes,” but this was the emotion he chose to share with his fans upon the song’s release, and that emotion certainly fits with the meaning of his lyrics.
While not all songs are autobiographical—in fact, one should never directly assume that they are—it is both a songwriter’s privilege and responsibility to allow him or her experience to influence the writing process in some way. In “Say Amen,” Brendon Urie uses much of the knowledge of the religious tradition that he grew up in to influence his lyrics. While this does not necessarily mean that Brendon Urie is the narrator of the song, it does make the notion of a narrator who is disenchanted with his religious upbringing to be far more powerful and affective.
Taylor Swift released Reputation on November 10th, and "End Game" is the first song new song that many of us heard when we started listening. This second track, which comes right after "...Ready For It?" is one of the most noteworthy tracks on the album because not only does it feature Ed Sheeran and Future, but it also heavily features the title of the album--Reputation--which suggests that this song is tightly tied to the meaning of the album overall.
Of all the new Taylor Swift songs, "...Ready For It?" may be the most unique and most "new." While fans weren't quite sure what to do with "Look What You Made Me Do" until the music video came out, and "Gorgeous" and "Call It What You Want" at least made a little sense as far as who we think Taylor Swift is, "...Ready For It?" left most of us scratching our heads. But that doesn't mean the doesn't mean something interesting, so let's get into it.
"I Don't Know Why" is the first song from Imagine Dragons's new album Evolve. It might be one of the poppiest songs we've ever heard from them (at least until you listen to "Start Over" which goes so far as to adopt a Justin Bieber jungle beat). "I Don't Know Why" only goes so far as to be a pulsing, pumping pop rock smasher that reminds me more of Demi Lovato or Maroon 5. The song is intense, sexy, and lyrically focused on dangerous love.
I've heard some bad things about Evolve so far. In fact, some of those things came from reviewers before the rest of us even got to hear the album. Two song reviewers that I trust gave it 3 and 2.5 stars out of 5 respectively, but I still fought to disbelieve that Imagine Dragons could turn out anything less than stellar. And I'm still fighting that. I'm just starting my explanation process. In fact, I've only explained the four singles, and I'm explaining "Mouth of the River" because it was one of ARTV's favorite tracks from the album.
Lorde's new album Melodrama is here, and it's fantastic. The songs on it have more of an acoustic, dry sound than the dark, heavy sound of Pure Heroine, but that doesn't keep songs like "Supercut" from being absolutely mesmerizing. In fact, the dry, clear sound brings the lyrics to the forefront as Lorde works through and seeks to understand a new young adult stage in her life that was the natural sequel to her ode to teenager-hood in Pure Heroine.
The most impressive aspect of "Homemade Dynamite" is Lorde's ability to skillfully meld pop and alternative/indie aesthetics. The song has all the sass a pop queen could ask for, but some of the instruments in the background--particularly a whistle/synth/keyboard sound--give it a distinctly unique and eclectic vibe that doesn't take away from the vivacity of what she's saying. It's a unique song, but let's get into the lyrics.
