Maroon 5’s 2002 album, ‘Songs About Jane,’ catapulted the band to stardom. The entire album was basically about one of the lead singers, Adam Levine’s ex-girlfriends. So logically, people assumed that the hit single, “Harder to Breathe,” was also about the failed relationship. But as Levine explained, the song was written after the band’s record company pressured them to “throw out more songs.”
The lead singer clarified in an interview, “That song comes sheerly from wanting to throw something. It was the 11th hour, and the label wanted more songs. It was the last crack. I was just pissed. The label was applying a lot of pressure, but I’m glad they did.”
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is considered Nirvana's magnum opus and a generational anthem for 90s youth. Ironically so, nobody seems to have really understood what the 1991 hit song was about, and that includes Kurt Cobain himself. While many thought that it was a criticism of Cobain's generation and surroundings, the title actually came from something a friend of the band wrote on Cobain's wall.
Apparently, a girl called Kathleen Hanna wrote "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the wall, and since Cobain had no idea that Teen Spirit was actually a deodorant brand, he used the phrase while writing what he said was "the ultimate pop song." In a biographical book about Nirvana, Cobain said the song “described what I felt about my surroundings and my generation and people my age.” But then he goes on to say the song was “making fun of the thought of having a revolution.” Drummer Dave Grohl has said that the song's lyrics have no real meaning.
"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
The talented American singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles topped the charts back in 2007 with her famous "Love Song." The beautiful voice arrangements, the sweet sound, and, obviously, the title had everyone thinking this was, quite simply, a love song. But actually, Sara didn't write this as a love song for a guy, a girl, or anybody, for that matter.
She actually wrote it after getting incredibly frustrated and angry with her record label after they'd constantly been rejecting her songs. Hence her strong declaration in the lyrics, "I'm not going to write you a love song, 'cause you asked for it, 'cause you need one...". "Love Song" was Bareilles' way of standing her ground, and in the end, she ended up being a huge success while doing things her way.
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day
In 2004, Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" became a huge hit. However, many people completely misunderstood the song's meaning. Since the song was the eleventh track on Green Day's American Idiot album, which was greatly influenced by and made reference to 9/11, people believed the song had a strong political meaning.
What's more, the song's video theme was a War. Nonetheless, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" had nothing to do with politics and was actually a tribute to lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's father, who died when he was seven years old.
"Closing Time" by Semisonic
"Closing Time" is another one of those songs that basically became a trademark for bars that wanted to "politely" kick people out when it was time to close. And while it does make sense that this Semisonic song became synonymous with a 'last call' anthem, since it is about people leaving a bar at 'closing time,' it has another, entirely different meaning.
The band's drummer, Jacob Slichter, once said that "Closing Time," written by lead singer Dan Wilson, was about Wilson's "anticipation of fatherhood." Apparently, his girlfriend was pregnant at the time, and he meant for the song to be about "being sent forth from the womb as if by a bouncer clearing out a bar." However, the band quickly realized and understood that audiences would logically think the song was about a bar at closing time.