Music is an essential part of our beings. Having a soundtrack to our lives helps us mark turning points and eras that changed us forever. And its always fascinating to know the "behind the scenes" to every piece of musical inspiration. Some artists are not shy about the backstory--just look up the love lives of Fleetwood Mac--and some are more evasive. And once we all get into the truth the music tends to resonate even deeper.
Redditor u/blueberriebelle wanted to discuss all the truth that has been revealed for the inspiration behind some the world's best music by asking.... What songs have a really crazy backstory that changed your perception of the song when you found out?Sara.
baking sara bareilles GIF by Waitress The MusicalGiphySara Bareilles "Love Song" was actually written for her record company when they told her she wouldn't be successful without a hit love song on her album.
Came her hoping to see this one. Another in a similar vein is George Michael's Freedom '90 -a giant Mess You to Sony.
Trumbo.
One by Metallica is based on a novel written by Dalton Trumbo. The novel is about a soldier who loses his sight, hearing, language, arms and legs on the battlefield through a landmine. He wishes to die but cannot express this because of his injuries. He asks for help but no one can hear him.
Johnny.
Based off the movie/book "Johnny Get Your Gun". Even showed in the original video. I think the movie should be watched by everyone just to know the importance of a "living will". (even though I'm pretty sure, in the book, they didn't know who he was anyway, so it may not have mattered?)
Edit: Thank you /u/trudenter... it's "Jonny Got His Gun". My bad, all >.<
Not a Good Time.
Rob Thomas Push GIF by Matchbox TwentyGiphyMatchbox20 3AM is about his relationship with his mom. I thought it was this song about a girl friend who was endearing in her dark view of the world. Its worse since its his mom.
The VH1 Storytellers clip of this song includes an explanation and the performance brings the crowd to tears. Like many hit 90s singles, the upbeat nature of the recorded arrangement really veil the lyrics. Counting Crows "Mr. Jones" is similar. It's on YouTube, check it out!
"where do we go now"
Sweet Child O' Mine was thrown together in a few minutes and the "where do we go now" part was improvised because they literally had no ideas where the song went. The song main riff was Slash's hand warmer and the lyrics were a poem Axl had lying around.
The iconic riff in Sweet Child O' Mine was written because Slash wanted to create something that kinda sounded like an ice cream truck.
The Last
"Save the Last Dance For Me" The songwriter, Doc Pomus, had polio and he married a woman who was a professional actress and dancer. Supposedly he wrote it after watching her dance with other people on their wedding day because he couldn't dance with her properly. Learning that took was was just a sweet song and made it nearly heart wrenching.
papa?
Also Alive, is semi-autobiographical by Eddie Vedder. He was raised to believe his step-father was his biological father and had actually met his biological father several times throughout his life, introduced to him as his mother's "friend," but Eddie didn't learn the truth until his biological father died which messed up his worldview.
I assume (hope) the verse about his mother coming onto him is fiction.
Who?
American Woman was accidentally created by The Guess Who. The singer was trading records with a collector in a parking lot and he heard the band tuning up and panicked thinking they started without him. He ran up, realized the mistake and started improvising. The band joined in. They found a bootleg later on and decided that their mistake sounded pretty cool.
So Deep
Not that it's crazy, and the song is clearly about someone facing depression, but Rise Above this by Seether was written by Shaun Morgan for his then depressed brother. Before the song was released, his brother took his life. When the band recorded the music video, it took several attempts because Shaun Morgan kept sobbing. I enjoyed the song before learning that, but now it's difficult to not get sad every time I think about it.
Smile in the face of adversity
music video 90s GIFGiphyR.E.M. - Shiny Happy People
The title of the track actually comes from the translation of a Chinese propaganda poster from the era of Chairman Mao which read, "Shiny happy people holding hands."
Less than a year before the band wrote the song, in 1989, the Tiananmen Square protests occurred, and it is estimated that around 2,600 pro-democracy protesters were killed by government troops. This event had a huge impact on the band and inspired the song, which was finally released in 1991.
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Redditor _ReDd1T_UsEr wanted to discuss the reasons why many of us decided to cut some people out of our lives, so they asked:
"What was the reason why your friendship ended with someone?"
Sometimes a person just has to go.
Planning Stages
Weekend Sunday GIF by DisneyGiphy"I stopped being the first to always initiate plans, and that was that."
Witty-Surround-6541
"I once asked a friend to plan our next breakfast + walk outing, since I always did that. He wrote me a letter ending the friendship. Stunning!"
fermat9996
Pants on Fire
"Habitual lying became too annoying and disruptive to tolerate."
Hosscatticus_Dad523
"When you constantly are thinking... this math ain't matching lol. People that lie all the time make me sick. I've told multiple friends that you don't have to lie to me."
"I feel so much better when someone can trust me and feel comfortable telling me a hard truth than an easy lie."
"Even if the truth made me feel some type of way, I'm still glad it was honest. I've even said thank you to people in the past that have been honest with me, good or bad! Some people just can not help lying about things. I wouldn't be able to ever keep a story straight if I did that."
__eden_
Bad Behavior
"He kept having kids with different girls and bailing on them. Coming from a 'went out for a pack of smokes' Dad myself, I just couldn't watch it anymore. Bailed after the third one. Think he's up to 6 now."
KingGuy420
"Reminds me of one of my ex-friends. She kept having kids with MULTIPLE guys (all of them were one-night stands), I don't think she even knows who the baby daddies are."
"She also kept begging me and people for money for pot, and she also bragged about having OnlyFans. She'd also make up stories about being in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend (she'd also cheat on him/tell people her and him they broke up, which they weren't)."
wisconsinking
Reasons
"I was a bad person and they ended it for perfectly sensible reasons. I would have done the same. I've changed, but I don't blame them for not reconsidering contact."
tabletopsidekick
"I’ve been there. I was a bad person and lost friendships and family relationships. I tried to apologize to everyone I hurt."
PDXGalMeow
"I also accepted that they don’t want me in their lives anymore. I learned that I made my mistakes, I learned from them, and I accept their choices. I don’t self-hate anymore and I try to be a better person in general. I hope you are doing well and practicing self-love and forgiveness."
PDXGalMeow
Money Issues
Donald Duck Money GIFGiphy"I lent them $20 and then they avoided me so they didn’t have to pay me back. Worth the $20."
BuickAssault
"I don't ever expect prompt returns of small amounts of money between my friends... we all buy each other rounds or buy the food for the BBQ or whatever. It ends up evening out over time I think we'd notice though if someone was always taking and never giving and then they'd probably get cut off too."
Badloss
In the immortal words of Cyndi Lauper... "Money Changes Everything."
Lack of Support
Happy Planning GIFGiphy"She joined a pyramid scheme selling butt-ugly leggings and it took over her whole life. When I finally told her it was negatively affecting our friendship, she accused me of not supporting her 'business.'"
LeftandLeaving9006
Oh Driver
"I was basically a taxi for my friends so I dumped them all."
Bullfrog_Little
"This one I can understand but depends on the situation. Not all of my friends had cars in high school, so our group needed to have me and my sh*tty '94 Plymouth Sundance come, or they couldn't do anything. I didn't mind at all then, but I definitely would these days."
Hoopajoops
"I remember I used to drive around with my buddies all the time before they had licenses. When one of my friends got his and a car I said sweet now you can drive me around for a bit, he replied that he wasn't gonna waste his money on gas like that. See ya, haven't really spoken to him since."
DontcallmeShirley_82
2063
"How's this for oddly specific: Friend since 1980, was hanging out at a bar in 1992 and there was a dispute of over a $15.00 bar tab. I was in the right, but whatever - he held a grudge for years."
"Ran into him in 2017 and we were both too old to care. Started to see each other now and then. 2023 and we're at this local bar for a show and got into a fight about $15.00 a ticket."
"Maybe he'll call me in 2063."
The68Guns
Exhausting
"She was a taker, constantly. When I needed something she made it about her yet again. Exhausting to be around."
LordyIHopeThereIsPie
"I'm going through this right now. Can't tell you how many texts I have from her in the past few days telling me that I need to get over myself, need to stop making myself the victim, have been a terrible friend, have never been there for her."
"She's the most narcissistic person I know and everyone does everything for her. She has one of the easiest lives ever and anytime anything bad happens to her she believes that everyone is against her and she's the victim here. It's pure insanity. There is no talking sense to people like this."
cheeseburgerwaffles
Life Changes
point pointing GIF by Shalita GrantGiphy"I've lost like all but two of my 'friends' because I stopped drinking and doing hard drugs."
ConcertTerrible8877
"Same here dude. My circle is small but hey at least it's a circle I know I can go to."
Miss_mayonnaise
Oh, how things change when the booze dries up.
How much fun were you really having?
Do you have any stories about cutting off a friend? Let us know in the comments below.
Curious to hear from ex-lovers who've been there, Redditor Lishasquarepant asked:
"What caused your last break-up?"
These Redditors found they and their significant other were no longer on the same page.
"Simply, we grew apart."
– catetheway
"Same, I feel like Michael Scott everytime I try to start another relationship. 'No question about it, I am ready to get hurt again.'"
– Gthew
Happier Apart
"Same. We loved each other like siblings, not spouses... Ugh! Lovely man though who now has a fab girlfriend. We are good friends and much happier apart."
– MoxieHasKnottyBits
No Regrets
"Same. And it f'king sucks, but that’s life. It’s been a year and I still hate every second that she’s not in my life, but at the same time I know she’s happier now than she would’ve been if we stayed together."
– throway35885328
Having no communication is the worst part.
Silent Partner
"He slowly got distant. I believe he lost interest and didn't dare be honest with me about that."
– GaiaNatur77
The Late Blame Game
"I had that happen as well, but then he pinned it on me being distant and not affectionate enough."
"My guy, if you pull your hand away every time I try to hold it, I'm gonna stop trying to hold it. And if I ask if something's up and you repeatedly tell me everything is fine, I'm going to believe you. Don't wait till I'm at my worst moment and then reveal you had issues with me for 3 months and break up with me for it being 'my fault.'"
– Billielolly
"Everything Is Fine"
"Oh man, the asking repeatedly and getting a 'nothing' reminds me of a story."
"My friend used to ask her ex this every time he was unusually quiet. He’d always say he was fine, then at one point, told her to stop asking because it was making him feel weird."
"So she did."
"Six months later he initiated a divorce because she didn’t care about his feelings anymore."
"Like…don’t ask for sh*t then get pissy when you get what you want."
– TheRealJackReynolds
And then there are those who were not invested in the relationship for a long time.
The Struggle Is Real
"He seemed to struggle with the concept of not f'king random people."
– spanglesandbambi
Leaving The Problem
"He moved to his country because he missed his family. So he only sent a WhatsApp message saying he was going to stay there. I would have preferred a call at least to break up a marriage."
– kattia12
New Life
"Something similar happened to my cousin. He married her in the US, they had a baby together.. a few years go by, he misses home, goes back to visit.. His family had an arranged marriage ready for him 🤦🏻♀️ He ended up with a new wife and new baby. Hasn’t came back."
– MysticalMom7
A Foreign Custom
"It just seems so surreal that a grown a** adult with a wife and baby would leave his family behind for an arranged marriage. I'll never fathom the mentality."
– ro0ibos2
Ouch
"I wasn't having sex near as often as she was."
– YourWordsMatter
Breaking up is hard to do.
But a good thing to remember is that love can be found again and the new relationship can be even better than the previous one.
And that's something that can't be recognized until you look back in retrospect.
We all have to kiss a few toads.