Top 10 Most Disturbing Songs 1970s (Because What We Know Now)

[@funtimefoxy6699]

The title presents TWO mistakes: first, they promised ten and only gave us nine, and second, they said the songs were disturbing, but these couldn't be more white bread. I suppose that could be construed as disturbing; dishonesty should disturb us all.

[@JayAigner-eu4gv]

I have to say it too. Donald not Dan! Come on! How old are you?

[@denizen333]

The highway in American Girl is 441, not 411. It’s a highway in Florida where Petty is from, not California. 😊

[@Evelyn-h5q]

True! Also he really was a film buff but who can tell where that line came from.

[@rediron44]

Yep. Tom himself said in an interview that he got that line from actually hearing traffic in the distance that sounded like waves. And he said it popped into his head while writing. He said it's nothing deeper than that

[@pikengren1]

It sounds like they might be mixing it up with a different time petty song.

[@quintangeorge94]

Devo's "Whip It" Came Out in 1980, Not 1979.

[@johncasey1020]

I think the song came out in '79 and the video in '80, but I can't really remember. Great song though.

[@George-e7s4j]

Yes I was n Jr high or hi school....they probably play it n clubs n 78 or 9...

[@MSheen-ef3ly]

​​@@johncasey1020album was released in 1980

[@rosiebear3101]

Title should say 9 misunderstood songs of the 1970's.

[@DeadBunny69]

Just remember, sometimes there is no mystery, sometimes the bathroom IS on the right.

[@glittergirljmm]

😂

[@bishdizzle67]

Donald Fagen is the singer from Steely Dan. Not Dan Fagen.

[@mainiac4pats]

Thank you very much, and Steely Dan is the name of a vibrator from the 70s, not just the name of DONALD Fagens’s incredibly talented ensemble of musicians. This man’s true meaning of songs can’t even get the names right, FFS.

[@timothymarkin4481]

@@mainiac4patsthe William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch was published in 1959; that’s where Steely Dan originated. It was a “steam-powered dildo” in the words of Burroughs.

[@mainiac4pats]

@@timothymarkin4481 well ladies toy manufacturers ran with it because every porno mag has got a “steely dan” model 😂

[@mournblade1066]

@@timothymarkin4481 But which one? Steely Dan 1, 2, or 3?

[@timothymarkin4481]

@@mournblade1066 tried reading it in the 90s after the Peter Weller movie adaptation came out and it was just word salad to me at the time, so I never got far enough to know there was more than ONE steely dan.

[@ROGER2095]

I was disappointed to learn that Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" was a reference to time (3:34 or 3:35AM) and the whole song was about writing a song. Still one of my favorites, though.

[@johnoglesby-vw7ck]

I still believe in 25mcg LSD and Lemmon 624 Quaalude...should I continue to travel or try to sleep

[@MaquiladoraIII]

I never thought Less than Zero was about Lee Harvey Oswald, and don't know anyone who's ever put forward that theory.

[@bacht4799]

Was a little bit annoyed that he didn’t mention Bret Easton Ellis debut novel in the same sentence but you can’t win them all or something like that…!

[@squeekycat]

Yeah but people from the USA usually think everything's about them; maybe some just heard "Oswald" and jumped to conclusions.

[@katherinemcintosh7247]

Yeah, you were wrong about American Girl. It was in Florida. 441 is a north south highway that goes by orlando and all the way up to Gainesville. I had to look it up because I always thought the lyric was “…she could hear the cars go by out on 441…”

[@GenXrecluse]

I dont think people look deep enough for the meaning of a song, we jump to conclusions based on the surface of the song.

[@Bigohno0]

Yeah deffo. Sometimes it's really hard to tell though as artists intentionally disguise the true meanings under very misleading lyrics...

[@breeinatree4811]

I agree. I had a friend who loved the song, I'll be watching you, until I told her that the song was about a man stalking a woman.

[@arejaycee5704]

​@@Bigohno0 Especially when its wanted for films and advertising then suddenly its not what we thought

[@Bigohno0]

@@arejaycee5704 Definitely 🤙

[@nameissturdy1390]

To me they are attached to timeframes. Inextricably actually. (I just wanted to use that word.)

[@egpmh2891]

There is one song I cannot listen to again from the 1970s when I found out what it is about; "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Glider is about child prostitution in Los Angeles.

[@squeekycat]

Ugh! Somehow I never thought about or realized that. The funniest thing was when Rick Mercer (Canadian comedian) from "This Hour has 22 Minutes" interviewed Hazel McCallion, then elderly mayor-for-life of Mississauga, Ontario and they got her to dress up like a leather-clad motorcycle mama with this song playing in the background. Hilarious! (ps it's Gilder, not Glider).

[@egpmh2891]

@@squeekycat Ah thank you for the correction and that does sound like it be funny

[@exexalien]

10:16 "So there we are: NINE of the most misunderstood songs of the 1970s" 10:26 "And did we forget any..." *points at title of video*

[@christalruiz6310]

That was 9 not 10🤣

[@gracie.arnold]

lmao. american girl?? tom petty??? ummm last dance with maryjane was disturbing.. not american girl ... sheesh

[@steveb7310]

For sure.👍

[@beckypetersen8554]

My thoughts also.

[@rediron44]

How, Tom's guitarist said it's mostly autobiographical. He made himself the star of the song. And it evolved from there. No hidden meanings

[@tezzcan1]

Thank goodness Perfect Day by Lou Reed was just about a lovely day. It was the first dance at mine and my husband’s wedding.

[@BubbaBigDude]

REPEAT AFTER ME: DON FAGEN FROM STEELY DAN

[@pookieizzy7]

The problem here is far too many think too deep about what the songs are about and not enjoying what they are worth when listening. People have this tendency to want to decipher the smallest things or want to blow up the biggest unneeded part of themselves that no one asked for. Sometimes it does pay off to shut up and listen instead of trying to figure everything out.

[@ROGER2095]

True. We want to believe song lyrics are poetry with deep and profound insight, written by wise and scholarly thinkers. Most of the time, they're written by regular guys with deadlines, counting syllables and settling for any word that rhymes.

[@jenx5870]

Ok, but how does any of this make these songs disturbing now that we know this information? Wouldn't knowing what we now know, make the songs less disturbing? For those of us old enough to remember these songs, many of us knew these facts. I do believe this video was clickbait, as the title doesn't match the content.

[@vpolite1]

Steely Dan was not original hipsters. The term goes back until, at least, the late 1930s. Probably even before that.

[@stephaniec3619]

I knew the background to American Woman. Love The Guess Who: great Canadian band.

[@kat2743-s7p]

I heard it was about the American military ? even says I don't want your war machines

[@squeekycat]

@@kat2743-s7p Exactly. Dead giveaway as to the meaning of the song.

[@carolynking1625]

I don't know half the songs mentioned and not played. Play them like you did American Woman, so we know what they were.

[@Lkydog8165]

I really enjoy the videos on here but I have to agree with some of the other people on here, that it would be nice to hear some of the songs go along with the narrative.

[@bellasmom2597]

How are these disturbing?

[@teslagirl1]

Maybe insecure people feel threatened by them. Books, songs, films... for most folks, emotion helps them engage with the media they consume, but there will always be people who are alarmed rather than engaged.

[@stewartdavies929]

ABBA’s “Waterloo”. Is that about some creepy behaviour or what?!

[@floobertuber]

Dan Fagen? DAN Fagen? SayWhatNow??!? Good heavens, that's one big slip-up.

[@darrenangle4493]

I had to lol at that one too.

[@carolyn2249]

Thank you! I came here to say exactly that!

[@RPRohrman]

Right! The band is named ‘Steely Dan’ for Dan Fegan?

[@shiroibasketshoes]

Who what now? Sorry, I was too busy listening to Donald Fogelberg. (Actually I'm a huge fan of both, and that misnaming was awful.)

[@shiroibasketshoes]

@@RPRohrman No, it's named for a dild0.

[@jessiehermit9503]

Click bait title and thumbnail.

[@dougmeredith8055]

I'm reporting it

[@lisaethridge666]

I've never heard anyone say they thought "we gotta get you a woman" was misogynistic. Todd Rundgren is a musical genius. His songs are quite deep. He would never write something so mundane. You need a little education before making a fool of yourself in another video.

[@MisterRickSinister]

THERE IS NO ONE NAMED "DAN" IN STEELY DAN!!!

[@jimigirl8405]

Ya. The band was named the after a dildo

[@alexcharow7282]

Dan Fagen & Steely Becker 😂

[@LillikoiSeed]

Two things about the song Perfect Day. First, if that’s Pavarotti on stage in the clip, the song would most definitely not be about drugs. And second, I swear in that interview, especially in the clip at the beginning of the video, I could swear that was Ben Stiller, not Lou Reed. It’s amazing what camera angles and sunglasses can do.

[@lesliebeacom4567]

I'm still listening to "American Girl" by Tom Petty, but I think you left out one big one: "Hotel California". VERY misunderstood song!

[@noniousxltruffles7454]

The two stories I heard about Parton writing that song were:- she wrote it for Burt Reynolds when they were in the film Best Little Whorehouse In Texas when she issued the song she opened a bank account, when Houston recorded it she bought the bank!

[@taker68]

I think Perfect Day has a sadness to it like from a junkie who has a good day and doesn't do any drugs.

[@headhunter7052]

wooda been great to hear some of the songs

[@Lengsel7]

Shooda Cooda Wooda

[@normanpeterson8744]

"It's too late, wake up!" (* Ministry - "Test") It's all about copyright strikes and not getting slammed! 😣

[@addie_is_me]

Could have been a copyright issue.

[@squeekycat]

Copyright issues, I've heard many youtubers say their videos get taken down by youtube if they play any song long enough to be recognized (or else they have to get permission and pay for each and every song). It even happens to people who are video-recording a walk along a street and music is being played by someone else in the background. I've even heard people wanting to sabotage a video will do that on purpose to some politicians and such when they're out making speeches. I don't know how tRump gets away with stealing everyone's music.

[@anitaharris9095]

I have adopted a habit of googling what the song is really about according to the writer and singer.

[@openorwap5412]

Not a bad habit to have. I'm a fellow 'Googler' because I rarely take things at face value, nor do I believe something is true just because someone says so 😆👍🏽 That, and sometimes I just want to get my geek on about stuff 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@anitaharris9095]

@@openorwap5412 So many times I have come across posts on KZbin or Facebook saying this person has died. When I check Google, because I am not going to repost it until I find out if it's true, they are not dead. But so many people just post it and it keeps going. It would really be nice if the fact checkers checked this and put false information tags on them instead of so much of the other stuff that the check. I love my rabbit hole.

[@anitaharris9095]

@@openorwap5412 Rabbit holes. My brain gets bored and I go down rabbit holes.

[@starrysunflower332]

The fact that some people don’t know Semi Charmed Life is about drugs blows my mind. It’s not even vague they LITERALLY SAY IT “doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break” I feel like they could have called it “a song about meth” and people might have gotten it then

[@DYR]

I don't know. Some people just don't even have enough brain cells even if it was laid out that plainly ;)

[@ChristineVella-uq7nl]

Never once thought ‘whip it’ was anything other than whip the problem

[@natas12rm]

That is what it means.

[@derekroberts6654]

Tom Petty’s “American Girl” has a little dark tone for me when it appeared in “Silence Of The Lambs” when that girl was jamming out to it right before Buffalo Bill kidnapped her.

[@andreabradley5837]

Yeah, I can't hear "Layla" without thinking about the dumpster scene in "Goodfellas". Thanks Marty!

[@Tom-ub7ti]

American girl mentions cars on highway 441. That's the street that passes right by Beatty towers, the dorm building that girl jumped from

[@bertrach]

I'm always so "disturbed" when I find out that songs aren't about drugs.

[@badmoodana6532]

Yeah, what is up with Inagaddadavida?

[@flwrfan1752]

@badmoodana6532-I have heard it is a drunken way of saying In the garden of Eden.Don’t know if that is true.

[@michelef88063]

The singer was too messed up and couldn't say "In the Garden of Eden" correctly

[@badmoodana6532]

@flwrfan1752 sounds about right

[@andreabradley5837]

@@flwrfan1752 That's my understanding as well. I actually saw them live in 91.

[@steveb7310]

Hippie trippie.

[@melodycoull9638]

I think I knew about 7 of those. American woman was actually an improved ditty. They lost power to the lights & wanted to keep the audience entertained. After the the fact, everyone wanted to hear this improve. Fortunately, there was a tape recording by some bootlegger. Today we can all enjoy it because of that criminal. Capre diem!

[@bobsbasscovers]

I focus on the music.I dont even know what the words are to a lot of my favorite songs

[@katherinemcintosh7247]

A lot of people just ignore lyrics. As a person who listens to lyrics, it astonishes me how wrong people get it sometimes. (I always thought the American Girl lyric was “she could heat the cars roll by out on 441 (the road that goes from Orlando up to Gainesville) like waves crashing on the beach…” I lived just off 441 when I lived in Florida, totally identified with the song because of it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@faolanliath6687]

Devo is known for sexuall references in their music and as an American band wrote the most british attitude about Americans? Huh?

[@todbot3293]

Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA. It's funny that so many people think it's a pro US song. But it's not, it's about a guy coming back from Vietnam and having to defend himself.

[@margaretjohnson6259]

oh, wow. i understood what "whip it" by devo was about right from the first time i heard it!

[@tomantush4867]

I think much of it is less misunderstanding than deliberate double-entendre. As noted, many of these songwriters deliberately got a kick out of poking at or mocking situations. Music is supposed to be fun.

[@dennisbergendorf5905]

I've been watching You Tube for two decades, and I've learned that all videos must have a mispronunciation, a misspelling, or a complete miss.

[@judikingsman6132]

Now I'm totally disturbed that I wasted 10 minutes 😮of my life

[@sherrylevy1534]

The Beatles were the best lyric writers ever to hide the truth in the face of the listener

[@AnMuiren]

Itchycoo Park by the small faces would be interesting to hear more about. It was a favorite of mine as a kid.

[@jimswordsnchords1759]

Yes, great song!

[@davidwiley4953]

The Guess Who are lying. There are several lines in the song that make zero sense as being about just different women.

[@ChelleLlewes]

It's the narrator who's lying. Randy Bachman said it was about the statue of Liberty.

[@davidwiley4953]

@@ChelleLlewes Nick has atleast 1 wrong fact in every video.

[@ChelleLlewes]

@@davidwiley4953 More than one from what I see in the comments.

[@mcescher1957]

Go listen to the episode on this song (Professor of Rock - Adam Reader) He interviewed Randy Bachman. The song was about nothing and made up on the spot. A kid with a cassette player was tracked down for a recording because afterward, they couldn't remember everything they sang. Interesting.

[@ChelleLlewes]

@@mcescher1957 The song was made up on the spot, but it *was* about something. It was about their narrow escape from being drafted.

[@BruceWalther-s2l]

I did not feel like looking into my Lou Reed Bio book, but I'm pretty sure White Light/White Heat was not about drug use. His old fashioned parents (particularly his father) thought they could make their son 'not gay' by sending Lou to a doctor who proceeded to prescribe electroshock therapy. White Light/white Heat is about the "shock" treatments. If anyone disagrees please comment. Like I said I didn't look at the biography just wrote this comment from memory.

[@ChristineVella-uq7nl]

Never once thought ‘whip it’s

[@teale30]

What's ten

[@kenvaughan6694]

DEVO s song " WHIP IT" came out in 1981, not 1979!!

[@CarolKelly-j3p]

This dudes voice sounds like a fast version of Sage Willowbrook😂

[@flaviuscountry]

It's Donald Fagan. Derp

[@spiritcatproductions5214]

I never even heard of most of these songs, never mind the “back stories.” Interesting.

[@svjim1]

A lot of rock music is written in a way that it can be taken one way or another, like an inkblot. Many artists can mean it one way but deny it for obvious reasons.

[@tennoklark]

Steely Dan’s Only a Fool Would Say That is also Great Song. It may have a double meaning.

[@Gen_X_Rosey]

I wish you would change the title to say "Misunderstood" rather than "Disturbing". Because of that wording, my thoughts about what the video would be about were misunderstood.

[@zatoth13]

Should be a bunch of songs with pretty meh inspirations but some wild fan conspiracy theories

[@petejones879]

I'll bet you are gonna tell me that the Ray Charles song Hit the road jack isn't about people named Jack getting down on their knees and thumping the tarmac with their fist? 😅

[@Lucinda-zr9su]

I dont know about many of the songs but " american woman" was definately about anti American sentiments. "I dont want your war machines, i dont want your ghetto scenes etc and " cloud nine" was indeed a drug song. They didnt have a problem owning up to it back then. Lots of songs back then dealt with social issues such as human rights anti war getting high sexuality etc. It was the music of those times.

[@leonoranicolaysen2784]

I couldn't even watch this. The video of free falling should have been pulled from the air immediately.

[@squeekycat]

I was pretty shocked to see that, too. I don't think it was a movie re-enactment. Sorry it disturbed you, it is really sad.

[@leonoranicolaysen2784]

@squeekycat Mark Ragawski was the 'Skater Gator' but became a vicious rapist and murderer. The video included Ragowski and his victim is beyond evil. Shame on Petty for ever airing this.

[@daylewoolf8734]

What about Fox On The Run by Sweet? Steve Priest wrote it after he got plastered and hooked up with a not so desirable groupie and regretted it. He explained the meaning of the song in an interview.

[@tracyjacoby2382]

How are we supposed to know exactly what songs are about?🤔 Example: "Sexy Sadie", The Beatles song on White LP. It was about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Only those who lived at that time or perhaps not, would have known

[@skinovtheperineum1208]

Yeah, but it sure fits Susan Denise Atkins. She came in through the bathroom window, protected by a silver spoon. She laid it down for all to see. She worked at 15 clubs a day. She knew the world was waiting just for her. And she got hers, yet.

[@squeekycat]

@@skinovtheperineum1208 That's a different song from "Sexy Sadie". The song you're talking about is actually called "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window".

[@skinovtheperineum1208]

@@squeekycat - They both allude to the Manson murders and let's not forget, ever, that 'Apple' in Spanish, is Manzana.

[@eloiseockert9233]

I Will Always Love You - Whip It - American Girl - American Woman + Perfect Day - Less Than Zero - White Riot - Booddy Safat - We Gotta Get You A Woman -

[@djdksf1]

"Dan Fagen"? Also, not generally labeled Steely Dan's "keyboard player." Weird.

[@phillipstephens4522]

NO!! You are wrong!! Whip it by Devo is about how to make whipped cream!!

[@debraconklin5003]

Dolly Parton dedicated that song I believe to Porter Wagner

[@p.d.l7023]

Silly me. All these years and I thought "Semi-charmed Kind of Life" was a dude contiplating suicide.

[@lisakobarandaspastickraut714]

Whip It was actually from 1980.

[@MarciLinscott]

I love these songs. I interpret how you will.

[@mournblade1066]

8:48 Dan Fagen? No, it's Donald Fagen.

[@fredricclack7137]

👁️ Got Steeley Dan☯️

[@dallesamllhals9161]

GO PC 'MURICA What the hell is this, Donald-fighters? 🤣

[@noniousxltruffles7454]

Crazy Horses by that sickly sweet combo The Osmonds was banned in South Africa because Crazy Horse was the street name for heroin!

[@michaelmarron8441]

I was a great song!

[@PulpVision]

I knew the meaning behind The Clash's "White Riot" song the minute after listening to the lyrics. They were the good guys, unlike Elvis Costello who was/is a racist sob.

[@alexsmart5452]

He said one thing, and has sincerely apologized for it for over 4 decades and gone above and beyond to and make up for it.

[@melissa2068]

Oh my God I'm like so happy. I was a young girl when American woman come out and I knew what it meant. I have been right all these years I love them tell them thank you for me

[@jimswordsnchords1759]

Who the heck is Dan Fagen? Donald Fagen, maybe? lolz -- The rest of the video is interesting, but I think your team needs an editor.

[@wadeadams4263]

I always thought Highway to Hell was about driving on the 405 frway in Los Angeles

[@alexsmart5452]

lol, yea..the Sepulveda pass from 4 to 7:30pm on a Thursday is actual Hell. The rest of the time is just purgatory.

[@Deborahtunes]

"Highway To Hell" was about being on the road during tours...

[@thefamouspeopleus]

This was such an eye-opener!

[@lisakobarandaspastickraut714]

Devo is an American band, NOT English?

[@judikingsman6132]

I listen to the song. ❤ I don't care to look and further. If it's cool, I dig it. ❤

[@Elisabeth19031978]

I don't know any of those songs!

[@flwrfan1752]

@Elisabeth19031978-I knew most of these songs because I’m older than dirt.LOL!

[@squeekycat]

Well good for you for taking an interest! They're all worth listening to.

[@TheBarefootSage]

What about Only Women Bleed by Alice Cooper?

[@coalhair99]

“Dan”? 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@dollydagger4306]

I knew about White Riot.

[@MS-ro9dm]

"Misogyny" ? Are we being preached to by a woke feminist? Outside of Clown World we recognize that the two genders can be vastly different in their thinking and behaviors. This leads to the one gender thinking the others actions are stupid and/or irrational from their perspective on occasion. It goes both ways and there are plenty of songs from the other side about men being men. But, but the differences are why we love one another.

[@adamhopkins6058]

Whoops 38 special I mean

[@adamhopkins6058]

38 soecial-Hold on loosely,don't let go is about masturbation

[@ChelleLlewes]

You have the wrong take on American Woman. Randy himself said it was made up on the spot at a concert right after they had escaped being drafted because they had green cards. The American Woman is the statue of Liberty.

[@chrisdymmel2934]

Burton Cummings’s take is closer to the reason given in this video. Canada didn’t have a draft during Vietnam, nor any official role in it and The US was able to draft non-Americans. Randy was just leaning into the story people wanted, much like Devo did with Whip It.

[@ChelleLlewes]

Yeah, well...Randy and Burton never did agree on anything, did they? 🤣

[@chrisdymmel2934]

@@ChelleLlewes Very true. Until recently when they agreed they should be the sole owners of the Guess Who name.

[@squeekycat]

I can't believe he said that. They're Canadian, ffs. They never would've been drafted by a different country! It's not like they shanghaied people right off the streets. A green card is a permit for a foreign national to work in the US.

[@whitetail_hunter71]

Donald Fagan not DAN WTF

[@mainiac4pats]

Todd Rundgren is one of the coolest guys on the planet. Many many women will attest to this man’s integrity. You pissed me off with Dan Fagen and then I had the decency to finish your rants on songs, to hear you slam Todd. Ask Liv if he’s a good man to women, just garbage. I don’t know if I can consider half of what you say.

[@ronm6585]

Thanks.

[@dirish709]

Unsubscribe. "Dan" Fagen? Do better!!

[@helenhouliston5797]

and what about the "Trainspotting " reference?????? -You and Macgregor-Ewen McGregor FFs!!!

[@JosephRocha-qp3ji]

Showed the who first instead of steely Dan.