Looking back on all the songs I loved in the 80s, I am sometimes surprised at what I now realize what the songs were about.

Like, the Thompson Twins' songs were mostly about drug addictions (the entire "Here's To Futre Days" LP was about overcoming it). Or, when I was in grade 6, the entire class loved Madonna's "Like a Virgin" but no one knew what that word meant. We concluded that it meant a lion since there was in the video! :D

Or better: Depeche Mode's "Master And Servant"!

Anyone else had any startling discoveries? :)

There was always "She-Bop" by Cindy Lauper. That was about masturbation.

We actually have a sub-forum in Arts & Literature for discussing all the meanings to songs :cool:

http://www.80sxchange.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=71

May have to change the default days to be viewed to 'from the beginning' to dig up most of the stuff in there since it hasn't gotten too much action lately...

I've read articles about this before. Loverboy's Lovin Every Minute Of It is about a vibrator I read. There was another song, but I don't remember the artist or title, but part of the lyrics were "everybody likes to do the horizontal bop". What a mystery that one was.

I can only imagine what Michael Jackson's "Beat It" was about?? :D

Originally posted by Jazzmyn
There was always "She-Bop" by Cindy Lauper. That was about masturbation.

:eek: It is?!?!?!? I had noooo idea.

Roem said:
We actually have a sub-forum in Arts & Literature for discussing all the meanings to songs

Aha! You do? That'll teach me for not looking in the Art & Lit section won't it??? Not one for discussing art of books much...

"Horizontal bop" is by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

Originally posted by Jazzmyn
There was always "She-Bop" by Cindy Lauper. That was about masturbation.

:D So is Billy Idol's Dancing with Myself

As well as Divinyls "I Touch Myself"
But that was self explanatory :D

So is "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" by Georgia Satellites.

...ok not really! :rolleyes:

Of course there was Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" which was about sex. Probably a little more obvious than others.

Then we had Prince's Darling Nikki and the Vapours "Turning Japanese"!!!

This isn't exactly an 80's song but I was only just told the other day that the nursery rhyme "Ring-a-Rosie" as actually about the Black Plague or 'black death' from the 16th century


Ring-a-ring a rosies (the plague symptoms included pale red cheeks in a circular fashion)

Pocket full of posies (the Posie flower was kept in the pockets of carriers as futile attempt to ward it off)

A tissue a tissue (another symptom of the black plague, sneezing excessivley, and fatal if you sneezed too hard!)

We all fall down (well, thats pretty obvious)

I only just found this out the other day - I'm going to feel pretty stupid if everyone here already knew this.

I was pretty disturbed to find it out though, I used to sing it with mum when I was a retrobub, little did I know I was singing about something so macarbre and horrific. Thanks Mum :) no wonder I like watching scary horror movies so much :lol:

Let me be the first to stand alongside you REtroman and say that I didnt know that and thank you for informing me!

Gosh Prefab! thank god mate!! *Retro is not so embarrassed*
I was worried the whole world was in on it but me! that's great :D

Originally posted by ImSoooSure


:eek: It is?!?!?!? I had noooo idea.



Yeah, when you read the lyrics, plus think about the title ("She-Bop"???)


"They say I better get a chaperone
because I can't stop messing with the danger zone"

Not to mention that in the video they have glasses on and carry canes because they say that masturbation makes you go blind :laugh:

Retroman! That is disturbing!! The lyrics are slightly different here in the US..
Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies, ashes ashes, we all fall down.

Thanks for telling us that! :eek:

I had read that also somewhere. Getting back to the "real" meanings of songs..does anyone know if there is a site or something someplace to find out more ?

you think Ring-Around-A-Rosie is disturbing? "Ba Ba Black Sheep" is a song from slavery.