Top 20 Hit Songs With REALLY Tragic Backstories

[@courtney_1334]

John Lennon crying out for his parents is not as awful as when you consider the abandonment of his first born son Julian.

[@tylertheguy3160]

It annoys me when people praise John Lennon as being this great figure. Don't get me wrong, he was talented and didn't deserve to go out the way he did, but the guy was a hypocrite and a massive douche.

[@bpark222]

@@tylertheguy3160 I’m gonna agree and disagree with you. He clearly was hypocritical much of his life, and I’m talking about post yoko ono times as he really wasn’t the peace and live and insight guy before then, but as he grew older, the last 5 years, he was becoming contrite, admitting his past regressions, actually trying to right sone wrongs, according to Julian they had madd amends and were developing a close relationship, I hate peopke that want to put him on a pedestal like some freedom fighter, but he was human and actually took time later in life to work on himself and try to be the person he professed to be, which is commendable. And not a fan here, Beatles were ok but all their solo stuffed sucked.

[@donnahanna10565]

And how he beat Cynthia and talked about it in a Playboy interview making it into a joke

[@WilawanCapobianco]

He probably did Julian and Cynthia a favor by leaving them at the time he did. He was not in any state of mind to treat them properly and was abusive and on drugs at the time. Later after Sean was born, John became a much better father and later tried to reconcile with Julian. To this day, all the times I've seen either Julian or Sean talk about each other it is with deep respect and understanding. So, John was trying to get his life right and back on track when he was shot. He had just finished his album with Yoko and was given a new vigor for life. Unfortunately, his past had caught up with him too quickly and the shooter Mark Chapman had it out for Lennon since his Beatles days and used the book "The Catcher In The Rye" to justify his shooting of Lennon in Central Park.

[@sandratcunha]

The sheer hypocrisy. I don't understand all the admiration thrown his way: a weakling junkie, a puppet on a string and an awful parent.

[@badmoodana6532]

Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven' is one of the saddest songs ever, written after his infant son fell off their balcony and didn't survive

[@LorrieMiller-qm9pz]

His son was not an infant he was 5 years old

[@johnny5805]

@@LorrieMiller-qm9pz 5 years old IS an infant. Under 5, you are a 'Toddler'.

[@skinovtheperineum1208]

He didn't fall off their balcony either. The maid had a window open to clean it. The kind that tilt that nobody should have if they're on the 60th floor with a toddler. And the kid just ran right out into open space and fell hundreds of feet, splat.

[@Mewsette1]

The same son he completely ignored until the very last month of his young life. He's not a good man.

[@robertaewing5468]

That was an awful stupid thing to say wasn’t it. First off as this person has told you five is still a toddler if you have kids you might know that I had kids and your family we can let that pass but, are you saying because he’s five years old it doesn’t matter? SMH

[@Julie-p6u6m]

If you actually listen to the lyrics of “Smoke on the water” you know what the song is about. It’s really very clear!

[@lynnestamey7272]

Yep, they burned the place to the ground...

[@kelf114]

With the Rolling Stones truck thing just outside.

[@LostInMyOwnArt]

Yep, the song even goes "Some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground."

[@ErikDylan-cp7bd]

They weren't there to see a Zappa concert, they were there to record an album in the Stones Mobile recording studio. The concert was incidental, but the mobile recording studio got burned along with the concert venue.

[@reneeg4817]

Was written about a fire burning across the water.

[@nancybode6159]

"Rain on the Scarecrow" by John Mellencamp was about the 1980's Farm Crisis and the families that were devastated when they lost their farms.

[@douglaslangdon9343]

Irene Davies, having escaped an abusive husband, gave her younger brother Ray a guitar he had been pestering for on his 13th birthday. Then she dropped dead of a heart condition on the dance floor the same night. From "See My Friends" to "Come Dancing", Ray would make his mark with the last birthday gift from a beloved sister.

[@mattkaustickomments]

He also wrote “Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home” about a sister that moved to Australia. He later wrote “Arthur” & the related album about the Australian guy she went off to marry.

[@kt1pl2]

I've heard two different orgin stories about what that song is about.

[@Sunmoonstars976]

I loved this song when it came out, but only learned of this story about a year ago. What a beautiful tribute to his sister, and giving his sister the ending she should have had. Being married, living on an estate, with a family of her own.

[@rokker101]

last train to clarkesville by the monkees is a very poignant song as its about troops going to clarkesville train station to be shipped off to go to vietnam hence the words 'and I dont know if Im ever coming home'

[@bryanc1090]

There was a song that came out in the 1990's by a band called Filter. It was called 'Hey Man, Nice Shot'. At first everyone thought it was about Kurt Cobain, but the members of Filter said it was about a politician named Budd Dwyer that killed himself on national television back in the 1980's.

[@rhondaharrigan2838]

I was just about to say that one. Everyone thought it was about Kurt Cobain

[@dukecraig2402]

I'd just got out of the Army in 86 and came home to Pennsylvania about 6 months before Dwyer did that (he was a Pennsylvania state official), he'd actually called a news conference and him being an official a table was set up for him with a microphone and all the local Harrisburg press and news were there complete with video cameras, he started out the conference by saying he had some very important information to release and held up a big yellow envelope saying that everything important was in it or something to that effect and that everything would make sense shortly, he then proceeded to pull out a revolver which I think was in the big envelope and shot himself in the head right in front of God and everyone else, needless to say it was a pretty big news story in Pa at the time. He wasn't the first person to do something like that either, in 1974 in Florida a news anchor named Christine Chubbock shot and killed herself at the desk on live TV during a regular news broadcast, they even made a pretty good movie about her starring Rachael Hall called Christine that's on Netflix, or at least it was. Don't bother looking on the internet for the event, it happened back before people had VCR's and the studio tape is locked up in a vault at a law firm who've been sworn to keep it from the public forever, there is a fake someone made and loaded on the internet claiming it was the real thing but people who actually witnessed the event that worked there who've said her body doesn't fall the way she did and there's some things about the news set that are incorrect. To this day nobody can really explain why she did it, she was a pretty girl who seemed to live at least what appeared to be a happy life doing what she liked, just goes to show however that you never know.

[@KenKopper]

​@@dukecraig2402 the Dyer footage last I checked is still available on KZbin, my morbid curiosity got the best of me not long after my brother took his own life. Kinda wished I hadn't watched it.

[@KarmicSalt]

and it was proven that Dwyer was innocent of what he was convicted of.

[@KarmicSalt]

@@KenKopper up to the shot...there is NO footage showing him actually shoot himself. YT wouldn't allow that.

[@keymaster430]

Strange that you would mention Clapton's "Layla" and not "Tears In Heaven".

[@virginiaviola5097]

Back in the day we weren’t children anymore when we 17. We were grown up, went to school and/or had jobs. I packed up and moved half way around the world by myself when I was 17. Seems childhood ends at 40 these days. Bloody hell.

[@Seashelle564]

Isn't it mind boggling seeing this happen? 20somes saying they're a kid, 30 comes offing their parents who ask them to pay bills or move out, on and on.

[@madm0078]

And to think our generation prospered very well, but we tried to give our kids what we didn't have, because why?

[@virginiaviola5097]

@nukkinfigure nope. I made my kids get part-time jobs as soon as they were old enough, 14 years and 9 months, while they were still at school. I raised my 4 kids as a single parent after escaping my abusive husband. And I paid for it myself. I started working at 12 and went to school and university and paid for it myself. I also paid my way when I was accepted as an exchange student for 12 months, and I was only 17. I wanted my kids to understand the value of $1, and that the things that you want in life have to be worked for, the world doesn’t owe you one dash thing. The biggest problem with a certain generation just slightly older than my own adult kids is the bloody entitlement. They think that the world owes them, that the older generation who started with nothing and earned everything they’ve got owes them, and the truth is that nobody owes them anything. Maybe I’m blessed because of the generations that my grand and great grand parents, aunts and uncles came from,.. a healthy work ethic and the ability to make the best of things

[@madm0078]

​​@nukkinfigure hah, I honestly didn't want to make it easy for our boys. I grew up on a farm (what doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger/builds character/ etc. surprisingly all true!) My (city kid) hubby & I had "words" about giving the boys too much. I thought let them dig ditches or similar, for a stint at the grown-up world BEFORE just sending them off to college. Still their choice, but much more informed as to some pros & cons; higher learning versus H.S. diploma. Entitled OR Appreciated. But yes, IMO too many parents feel they had to work too hard, were too deprived, etc. so they compensate their own past supposed woes by giving their kids "everything". God's got us all, I'm just waiting for my next life's journey, and praying a lot.

[@madm0078]

​@nukkinfigureI am terribly sorry it happened that way for you at such an early age. It sounds as though you chose to be a survivor and not a victim. Totally impressed here 👍🏻👍🏻

[@geozav7590]

‘I don’t like Mondays’ a 1979 hit by the Boomtown Rats inspired by one of the first public school shootings in the USA.

[@jabberdouche]

This song is so beautiful.

[@dukecraig2402]

Not one of the first, several years ago I was curious about the history of school shootings in America so I Googled it, and I was fully expecting that 1979 incident that inspired I Don't Like Mondays to be one of the first if not the first, imagine my shock when I found out they actually go back to colonial times. So no, it's not something that's a product of "modern times", apparently there's always been screwed up people.

[@jabberdouche]

@@dukecraig2402 Oh yeah, I'm sure in your research you came across the Bath School Disaster".

[@dukecraig2402]

​@@jabberdouche As I said it's been a couple years ago so I can't remember the particulars about them, because as it turned out there's a long list, but I'm sure what you're referring to was on it.

[@elsieservant6963]

Yes its about a 16 year old girl who decided to kill people and kids at the elementry school because she did not like Mondays.

[@tinatepe2078]

We knew, then, what 99 Luft Balloons was about. That fear was real back then.

[@charlespeterwatson9051]

King Harvest's "Dancin' In The Moonlight" was written as a personal recovery song when songwriter Sherman Kelly and his girlfriend Adrianne were beaten with bats by 5 men while sleeping on a beach at St. Croix. Adrianne was raped by the gang leader.

[@cocoaorange1]

That is sad and tragic.

[@donnahilton471]

😦

[@tracyjacoby2382]

😭💕💕

[@WillowMurdock]

I am officially ANCIENT, because no one in my generation thought Summer of '69 was about mutual oral, IT'S A YEAR.

[@pugnacious1]

The country is in the gutter.

[@summerschultz6685]

I have never heard that

[@sirmojo4537]

Bryan Adams himself admitted the song was indeed about the sex position, NOT the year.

[@janetaldrich7747]

Yeah, except that in 1969 Bryan Adams was a little kid, not a guitarist in a rock band.

[@M.Lorelle]

@@WillowMurdock I'm with ya! This was a shock to me, too. Don't think I'll hum or sing along to this familiar tune, again. I'm suddenly wondering what ELSE I've "missed".... I think I'll stick to Contemporay Christian Genre. Better that my grandkids never need to enlighten me about lyrics. (Smile here).

[@anthonygallo3576]

I heard the song Luca was about an abused child as well as janies got a gun was about a woman who was molested by her father

[@iamza.]

Jeremy by Pearl Jam was my immediate thought

[@AndreDMalan1966]

I'm 59... "those days" it was comm9n for adult men to date 17-year-old girls. My 17-year-old sister finished school and met a 32-year-old biker on her final day. No one batted an eyelid (except that my parents hated that he was a biker and would bring shame on us!!!). Remember Ringo Starr sang, "You're, 16, you're beautiful, and you're mine." It was a huge hit. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it's how it was.

[@dianamanaseri2648]

Well, considering Steven Tyler became a foster parent so he could live with his teenage girlfriend, and Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 yr old cousin, you were definitely speaking the truth. Even Priscilla Presley was underage when Elvis first began dating her. So many examples of societal immorality that were often overlooked.

[@linsioux217]

04:10 One of the reasons Manson choose Tate's home, Terry Melcher lived there prior and he was the Beach Boys producer. Manson couldn't find him as he had gone into hiding as did Dennis Wilson, they both knew what he was capable of.

[@kazbutler]

There was a piece of paper found at “The Ranch” with Dennis Wilson’s address on it, but they didn’t realise he had moved just a couple of months before. The group apparently visited that address on the night they went on their killing spree.

[@zephyer-gp1ju]

Saw an interview with Mike Love, and he spoke of stopping by Dennis' house one day and the Manson clan was there. He visited with people for a while and for some reason he wanted to take a shower, just as Manson said there was going to be a meeting in the living room. Love went to the bathroom and got in the shower and then the curtain pulled back and it was Manson. Manson said, "I mean everyone needs to come to meeting." Love went on to say, "Then Manson looked at me with those eyes of his and I got dressed and left the house."

[@tonkfan1]

Pumped up kicks , it has a catchy beat, but it’s about a school shooting.

[@ryanpotts2368]

Love the beat, just wish it had happy words to go with it!

[@saveThe90s88]

It's a beautiful song! What school?

[@vegashitshow10]

​@@saveThe90s88Columbine in Colorado

[@dahliablack9017]

You should listen to the remake of it if you're into industrial metal, the band is called 3 teeth look it up!!! It's awesome and a lot better than foster the peoples version.

[@tonkfan1]

@@saveThe90s88 I believe it was based on columbine

[@reginaphalange7959]

"One Tree Hill" by U2 is about a roadie and close friend of the band who died in an accident while he was running an errand for Bono.

[@lemondemon6434]

I would say you should include the song “strange fruit”

[@freden9234]

Absolutely 😢

[@pamelamurray4741]

I agree. It's dark and sad. Worst time in American history. She sings it with an eerie tone.

[@JudiMay-qt6rw]

I can't listen to it without crying. So much pain in one song, and she does it so well.

[@robertpease9834]

Yeah, such a sad song.

[@quiltmomma5157]

Strawberry Fields is thought to be about a psychedelic trip, but I'd actually a happy childhood memory. The real Strawberry Fields was an orphanage behind Lennon's aunt's house. The lonely child watched the children having fun and eventually started climbing the fence. He was repeatedly taken home by the police who once quipped the next time they'd hang him. The grown Lennon wrote this was "nothing to get hung about." His favorite activity was tree climbing and he even had a favorite "no one I think is in my tree..." A sad song for a very sad childhood.

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

I was a teen in 1983 when 99 Luftballons became Nena's one hit wonder that flooded the AM radio of the day. But the lyrics were sung so clearly (especially strange considering the singer's first language was German), that we all knew exactly what the song was about, so I'm not sure why that particular song made this list.

[@jeank8061]

"This is what we've waited for; this is it, boys, this is war!" - yeah, not really the stuff of kids birthday parties

[@julieabraham3566]

If the music sounds happy, people are inclined to think it's a happy song, and not really listen to the lyrics. Nena somehow managed to make the nuclear destruction sound adorable. The 80s was a delightfully weird time!

[@robertaewing5468]

I had never heard this song before and I actually heard weird Al’s parody of it first which was 99 dead Baboons. I woke up to it on the radio one morning and said what the heck is that? Lol

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

@@julieabraham3566 So true. For years I thought 10,000 Maniacs’ “Like the Weather” was a cute song… until I read the lyrics and found out it’s about depression and not having the will to live! 😬 Still a catchy tune, but knowing its dark side takes something out of it.

[@starlite04]

I think the German version is better, even though I barely understand it.

[@joannkazarian1425]

I'm quite a bit older than you and knew all of these stories behind the songs. I'm a research type of gal, but I do appreciate all of your videos and enjoy watching them very much. Most of the songs I like, some I don't. Not because of any dark stories behind them. Keep up the good work! ❤😂😊

[@tomturchiano9993]

What James Taylor’s Fire and Rain didn’t make the cut??

[@tracyjacoby2382]

Heartbreaking song about Suzanne the girl who committed suicide?

[@clancyalexander6192]

The song Dancing in the Moonlight, by King Harvest was written by a guy who had been attacked, with his girlfriend by a gang.

[@deannamolnar2082]

Came here to mention this one.

[@clancyalexander6192]

@@deannamolnar2082 Yeah, I've always loved that song until I found out the story behind it. I still love it, but it just hits a little differently now.

[@mrchrislatino]

Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) describes 'The One I Love' as a very violent song. "This one goes out to the one I Love" he's referencing a bullet leaving a gun, not a romantic song dedication played at weddings and karaoke. "Fire"

[@dgator3599]

Deep Purple...gibberish? You're fired.

[@emmkaa2099]

"...go ahead and jump". Dave was right. I drove an ambulance for 12 years, and on more than one occasion responded to a call of a person standing on a freeway overpass threatening to jump with onlookers chanting, " JUMP, JUMP, JUMP...". 😢😢

[@nannettedellinger3123]

So sickening that people would do that.

[@emmkaa2099]

@@nannettedellinger3123 Incredibly so!

[@bww9450]

Also "All we are dust in the wind" by Kansas

[@DrVonChilla]

After espousing ultra-sensitivity to every song's backstory, did this narrator just call "99 Luftballoons" an "upbeat KRAUT rocker"?!? SERIOUSLY?!? LOL 😂

[@colleenkeefer2545]

I noticed that too!

[@carlcrasmussen]

Oh yeah you can call white people anything supremacists Nazis racists extremists anything you want true or not.

[@ssgoifvet]

Daniel from Elton John is about a veteran too

[@colleenkeefer2545]

Detroit Rock City by Kiss. It’s about a kid who was drunk and got into a head on collision. He was either coming from the show or to it. I forget which. But the incident was a catalyst for vendors and venues that sell alcohol being culpable in such cases.

[@stephenusaf6315]

He was on his way to a Kiss concert after work. He was late, so he was speeding and driving recklessly.

[@p.d.l7023]

That 'Johnny Got His Gun' book is a horrific read. I recommend it.

[@DrifterOSullivan]

I didn't know that 'Johnny Got His Gun' was a book; I've seen the movie. I actually saw it because of Metallica's user of its footage in 'One.' And it was incredible. Although it's got to be one of the hardest things I've ever sat through. It's emotionally draining, especially the use of colir for his dreams and black and white for reality. And the ending..... I am definitely going to find the book now.

[@riconui5227]

@@DrifterOSullivan By Dalton Trumbo, one of the writers blacklisted during the Hollywood "Red" scare. Definitely read this. Everyone should.

[@reneemaciag3084]

I randomly chose the book from my 7th grade teacher's bookshelves for a book report. I was 13 years old and it was 1974. She regularly checked in with me and gave me the option to select another book, but I couldn't put it down. It was part of the beginning of my social/political consciousness.

[@KenKopper]

Absolutely. The author sure wasn't fond of punctuation but it is worth reading. The movie is pretty decent.

[@thegood9]

The saddest story I ever heard was the "Dancing in the Moonlight" (made famous but not written by "king harvest") story. Very Tragic and disturbing.

[@robinnadhasky109]

Also, if I may add, I believe that the song by Diana Ross, was called “ Missing You “ which was in reference to Marvin Gay. 😊❤😮 23:55

[@stevegallo8483]

So is "Night Shift" the Commodores.

[@silviac221]

* Marvin Gaye

[@LostInMyOwnArt]

I mean, what else could "The needle and the damage done" be about? I figured it out before you explained it. It's the most obvious "backstory" in this list.

[@KageNoTora74]

Right? It's right there in the lyrics.

[@tomflorio3639]

I always thought it was about bad sewing. 😉

[@MichaelMarquez-m3b]

“Rappin’ Rodney” was about the eternal suffering Rodney Dangerfield endured throughout his life. :-)

[@sayastra]

"More Love" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. It's a song of support for his wife who fell into a deep depression after miscarriages.

[@cocoaorange1]

I never knew that, but knew about her miscarriages.

[@ssgoifvet]

Born In The USA.... This song really hits deep.. especially since I'm a vet

[@stacyann825]

Hey little girl is your Daddy home? Did he go and leave you all alone? I got a bad desire

[@p.d.l7023]

I dont think that creepiness of it is all that veiled, but have you ever heard DOA by Bloodrock (1971).

[@JudiMay-qt6rw]

I remember.....

[@lunadawnlynn]

I’m old, I have known all of this for years. With age comes wisdom. So pay attention to what’s going on around you, kids.

[@dorseyann2611]

It's cease to exist, not cease to resist.

[@bww9450]

howcan you forget this song We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun.

[@edt5976]

By Terry jacks and the title is just "season's in the sun"

[@anglstampr1]

​@edt5976 love love love this sad sad song...

[@skinovtheperineum1208]

@@edt5976 - No it isn't. There is no apostrophe in seasons.

[@kayelyons253]

The song season's in the song talks about death

[@Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

@@edt5976 An English language interpretation by Rod McKuen of the French poem/song "Le Moribund" by Jacques Brel.

[@pstewart6537]

Fascinating subject matter, sad as it is. I was aware of several back stories to some of the songs but I have to say that the one that struck me most was the song "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb. I always enjoyed hearing the song being played on the radio until one day a DJ told the backstory. Where one would assume that it was about a lover who puts a smile on the singer's face, it's actually a tribute to Bobby's older brother, Harold, who'd been stabbed to death in a mugging. So sad.

[@cocoaorange1]

It is fun to learn the background of songs.

[@normangeleri1522]

Ballroom blitz by Sweet was about an angry cocert crowd

[@lisaethridge666]

If you're shocked by "Jailbait" you might lose consciousness if you hear "Strat cat blues" by the Stones

[@sirmojo4537]

I've got two more. Timothy by The Buoys (human cannibalism), and The unknown soldier by The Doors (about the senseless killing of Vietnam).

[@jeffoff7795]

Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd was a far more interesting band in my opinion. They found their commercial sound after they unceremoniously dumped him by just deciding not to pick him up on the way to a show. I get it because he wasn't really present anymore. If someone was spiking his morning coffee with LSD that makes the story even sadder. He was a weird guy with psychological problems but he wrote some interesting stuff.

[@Phrankster163]

A seven-year age difference between the male and female part of a couple was more the norm than out of the ordinary in the late 70's, so it's kind of ridiculous to look down on them based on today's norms. She was probably just tired of dating immature high school boys.

[@bobbibaker4685]

The Beach Boys song "Wind Chimes" sounds like goofy fun. In reality, Brian Wilson wrote it about his aural hallucinations. He believed the wind chimes outside his window were talking to him.

[@skinovtheperineum1208]

Thanks, I never heard that song before today. What a piece of crap.

[@shannonluna7457]

Alanis morrisette,"you outta know"..Her heart broken relationship with the dude from full house..She recorded that song the first go round...

[@benjalucian1515]

Didn't cover "The Way" by Fastball or "Think of Laura" by Christopher Cross?

[@mattkaustickomments]

How about “Timothy” by The Buoys?

[@celticandpenobscot8658]

Right on!!!!

[@Paui-yb2cp]

I always thought "while Lenin read a book on Marx" was a great line

[@robertaewing5468]

The song I don’t like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats was about one of if not the first school shootings where is 16-year old girl named Brenda Spencer shot up the elementary school (Grover Cleveland Elementary in Sam Diego) across the street from her killing the principal and a custodian and injuring several children and a police officer. When a reporter was finally able to get her on the phone and asked her why, her answer was “I hate Mondays and this livens up the day”. She is still in prison to this day and has been turned down at every parole hearing.

[@robertaewing5468]

Sorry correct, I accidentally said she said I hate Mondays, that was an error, she said I don’t like Mondays hence the title of the song

[@KageNoTora74]

The singer of the Boomtown Rats was visiting a San Diego radio station when news of the shooting broke, and his first thought was "the micro circuit inside her head gets switched to overload," which became the opening lyric of that song. Brenda's parents successfully blocked I Don't Like Mondays from being played on San Diego based radio stations, but failed to block it nationally. 91.1 FM 91X was also exempt since they broadcast from Tijuana, Baja California, México.

[@robertaewing5468]

That is all correct. That singer is Bob Geldof

[@davkrod]

​@@KageNoTora74 "Silicon chip inside her head"

[@KageNoTora74]

@@davkrod You're right. Mandala effect.

[@KimElton-g9t]

Great job for putting this together!! I already knew a couple,,but not the majority, enjoyed learning about it!!! Thanks 👍 again!! Good job!!!

[@RedVynil]

Wishing it would rain is because he's crying and wants rain on his face to mask the tears. No, Pink Floyd was founded as a blues rock band. That's why they chose the name, Pink Floyd and two blue legends, Pink Anderson and Floyd Counsil. THEN they became a psychedelic band and gradually got into prog.

[@debbywoodbeck1105]

I'm getting tired of people saying my Sharona is creepy because he was 25 and she was 17. Did you know it is legal for 17 and 18 year old to date a 25 year old? 25 is the cut off, after that it becomes illegal.

[@NEGAN_Jane]

Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac

[@jeffoff7795]

Silver Springs is another sad one

[@9333Jhatch]

As a first-timer to your channel (& an instant subscriber), I had to give kudos to you for a top-notch video & the amazing content. Thanks so much! Cheers 😊 🇨🇦

[@57WillysCJ]

I am pretty sure this guy wasn't around when these were written. Times were different and you are judging by looking in the rearview mirror. Also a writer will pick up on something that might be from a tragedy but not what the song is about. Most will get a thought or phraze and write them down. Then go back and see which ones fit together and make a song. Other than the day the music died no one really knows everything that American Pie stands for and even after 50 year Don's not telling other than the fact that that, JFK and his father dieing influenced him. 50 years of guesses do not make one fact.

[@oobidoobi72]

I believe he said he wrote that song for them dying in that plane crash!?

[@charliesgrumma5388]

No Frank Zappa? Not even Dolly Paton's "I Will Always Love You"? No Blind Melon? No Counting Crows? Dang.......

[@mattkaustickomments]

I didn’t know about Uncle Ted’s “guardianship”, but I just recently learned that Steven Tyler did the same thing! Ick.

[@Jason-jw2wc]

Anthony Kiedis too, and she was only 14.

[@colleenkeefer2545]

I knew about Tyler but not Nugent.

[@idkany293]

When did the word abuse become a swear word

[@laurabailey1054]

It is against KZbin policies. You can’t even say that someone committed death you have to say they unalived themselves

[@idkany293]

@@laurabailey1054 no it's not, it's a real issue. You can't even talk about real issues on youtube?!

[@uppitywoman3647]

That's right. Everything is now "PC" double speak. I don't know all the forbidden words. Someone needs to publish it.

[@idkany293]

@uppitywoman3647 but you shouldn't really believe in most pc crap nowadays. They're censoring words such as abuse even when it needs to be said.

[@squirrelly68]

I know. It's ridiculous. The workarounds are stupid.

[@martharunstheworld]

Metallica's "Fade To Black" is even darker than "One". And just remember, Glen Frye LOVED them as young as he could get them.

[@brucesyvertsen2147]

One of your best posts to date.

[@garyjohnson936]

Great concept and enjoyed hearing the back stories, there are more than enough songs with backstories like this to do a few more volumes, eg Boomtown Rats -I don't like Mondays, , Jackson Brown - For America .

[@midnightrambler8866]

I love The Stones but Brown Sugar isn't their most problematic song. That would be Stray Cat Blues. One line explains it all " I can see that you're fifteen years old I don't want no ID"

[@Mewsette1]

True story

[@wynstonsmith7194]

Even sicker is when they play it live, the girl's age dips down to 13! And Mick was singing this song in his 70s!

[@bsteven885]

Even more disturbing is the Rolling Stones song "Under My Thumb" (with the subjugation of his girlfriend as a result of his emotional abuse).

[@jillkarlene]

You all take this shit too seriously!! At 16 I knew Under my Thumb was sexist, made me stronger.

[@stacyann825]

Um, Gimme Shelter? Rape, Murder. It's just a shot away?

[@billdowling5020]

On the way to a gig, a member of the the band asked, "should we even bother io pick up Syd?" They all voted not to. Even Roger Waters. Sounds like he was removed by his band mates if you ask me.

[@Spirit_Form]

Unfortunately, its more complicated than that. You are leaving out the entire story my friend.

[@davidl570]

At that point, they didn't have a choice---Syd had almost totally lost it by then.

[@marciasantos6645]

John Lennon, did the same thing to his son Julian. Unbelievable.

[@trinaschnell4422]

I expected to have Huey Lewis 'walking on a thin line ' on the list.

[@davidl570]

Should've been a bigger hit!

[@squirrelly68]

"Zombie" by the Cranberries.

[@RebeccaPaige]

Good thing I don't pay attention to lyrics but the melody and beat instead

[@fbennett6656]

Holding back the years by Simply Red. The back story on that one is really sad. Especially when he finally met his mother as an adult, and she was still a witch.

[@madm0078]

I liked the facts you presented, but could've used less opinion.

[@davidbigbee3556]

Excellent upload! Great job putting it together!

[@aisforapple2494]

You didn't mention that the piano outro to 'Layla' was written by one of the band members who was schizophrenic and he murdered his own mother.

[@freezer8530]

Actually, it's now believed that Jim Gordon (the drummer for Derek & the Dominos who had taken credit for that piano coda) may have stolen it from his then girlfriend Rita Coolidge (who never got the proper credit for it).

[@aisforapple2494]

@freezer8530 I've heard that story too.

[@pstewart6537]

@@aisforapple2494 As have I.

[@aisforapple2494]

@@pstewart6537 Although, it still doesn't remove the fact that the guy committed matricide. I think that fact's darker than anything mentioned in the video.

[@longagoandfaraway7868]

Rita Coolidge actually wrote the song "Time" before "Layla". It was recorded by her sister Priscilla and Booker T. You can hear the familiar melody in the song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3qtgX-ZrK2Cm9Usi=IX2EKb7TKdcs_oTC

[@KarenOCallaghan-u5o]

Julia is also about John Lennon’s mother

[@karnerbutterfly]

John also had a sister named Julia Baird. Anyone who'd like to know more about John's childhood and Aunt Mimi might want to read Julia's memoir, "Imagine This."

[@boboscousin]

Eric Clapton made me cry when I was a kid hearing “tears in heaven”, I’m a grown man now and I’m still fighting back tears

[@Mewsette1]

He ignored his 5 yr old son until the last month of his life. He knew him for under a month.

[@LeroyHudson-o3s]

Toy soldiers from Martika was not on the list. But listen to the lyrics of the song. It's really heartbreaking.

[@dukecraig2402]

You left out the part where Hurricane Carter supposedly confessed to murdering the people in the bar shortly before he died. So there's that.

[@keymaster430]

😂Where on earth did you hear that?

[@dukecraig2402]

@@keymaster430 Thanks for bringing that up because it made me realize that along with getting his last name wrong I should have included "supposedly" in that statement, and I will edit the comment to correct those errors. No, Carter didn't confess in an official capacity to the authorities or anyone else like that, what happened was right after he died several people close to him said he'd confessed it to them, they were clear on him not doing it in a way that he was gloating about it but instead it was more like after all those years of living the narrative that was always his defense and later what got him out of prison he had to tell someone just to get it off his chest, and of course the news didn't make a big deal out of what those people said because they'd been a part of him getting out just like Dylan and every other celebrity who were a part of championing his cause were. Despite the narrative all of them created the evidence against Carter doesn't look good for him, don't forget 2 different juries found him guilty and the reality is what got him out of prison didn't exonerate him, it only was claimed he hadn't gotten a fair trial, and the evidence of that is far weaker than what put him in prison, he could have been tried again but after having already spent 20 years in prison plus the fact that they'd never get an unbiased jury because of all the publicity he'd received via songs and celebrities no one in the system wanted to put him back on trial so they just let it go. Carter was known to be violent, the same .38 caliber ammo that'd been fired at the scene was in his car, it wasn't the same ammo just because it was .38 caliber it was the same ammo from the same lot that was in his car, without the gun it can't be proven ot was fired from a weapon tied directly to him but ammo from the same lot sure does look bad, real bad if you know about ammo and how different lots even from the same manufacturer works. The biggest thing his narrative relied on was saying that after the eyewitnesses claimed to have "been in on it with the prosecution" if you remove them from the equation then the convictions certainly had to come from racially biased juries, people who jumped on the bandwagon like to claim it was proven that the jury was racially biased but that was never proven, nobody from either of the juries came forward and said they convicted Jim based on race, they simply convinced the right people that the jury was racists but nothing was ever proven. And as far as the eyewitnesses who later claimed they were in on something with the prosecution that in itself could be just as much of a lie, criminals that testify for prosecutions do it all the time, later on say they were lying and they do it because they got what they wanted in the first place then afterwards they get a kick out of helping a fellow criminal get off for what he did. Two separate juries and years apart with the second being as long afterwards as 1982 convicted him, if you want to buy into the theory that the defense in the second trial wouldn't have been very careful at making sure nobody on that jury was racist when they did jury selection knock yourself out, even the prosecution would have been careful about that because they wouldn't want to see the conviction tainted, it was never proven anyone on those juries were racist or anyone in the prosecution either, they just convinced the right people that they were.

[@Bumper776]

@@dukecraig2402 Thank you. I read an article by one of the investigators on the case that left me without a doubt that Hurricane Carter was guilty as sin. The movie made it out that he was slated to become a world champion boxer when in reality, that was not the case.

[@flodoll9800]

​@@dukecraig2402Is this your TED talk? 😂

[@ericmorris8569]

The Way by Fastball - pretty sad. Same with Runaway Train by Soul Asylum

[@josephmummerth]

' date the child " dude , back then she was considered a young adult , my mother was 17 when she married dad , and I believe to this day the marine corps accepts enlisties as young as 17 !dont compare a post with modern view points ! never judge the past by todays ethics !

[@f.d.7190]

Yeah, this kid has no clue about things.

[@Nirvanafan2005]

In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins is a good song some say it’s about someone drowning but it was about Phil’s Divorce with his first wife

[@benjalucian1515]

Wasn't his 'I don't care anymore" also about the divorce?

[@Nirvanafan2005]

@@benjalucian1515 that too

[@davidl570]

@@benjalucian1515 That whole album (Face Value) was about his divorce, really.

[@benjalucian1515]

@@davidl570 Thanks

[@davidl570]

@@benjalucian1515 No problem!

[@lakermd]

25 dating a 17 year old wasn’t that creepy back then. In todays standard it is, but back then it really wasn’t

[@melancholycat3978]

You said exactly what I was thinking. I was an 80s teen and my best friend sophomore year was dating a 2nd year college student. Her parents approved. She was 15. 🤷‍♀️

[@ritalowrie1296]

My mom was 16 and my dad was 29 when they got married back in 1949. Today it would would called cradle snatching. It wasn’t unusual in those days.

[@shawnw8717]

Please bear in mind that the age of consent is not the same across all 50 states. In my state it's 16, despite that one is not a legal adult until 18, and can't buy alcohol until 21. And in some states, teenagers can get married with parental consent.

[@lolahernandez6871]

I used to date men 5+ years older than me when I was 17 , no big deal back then 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@juditrotter5176]

Everywhere I’ve ever lived call this at least statutory rape. It’s such a different maturity level.

[@MarisaPaola-um5yb]

Fastball's..song about two elderly dementia sufferers who drove away and were found dead to dehydration and exposure

[@toniquinn9270]

Nick, I really enjoy your videos. My favorite song out of all of these you have on your list is, the needle and the damage done. It is so poignant of a song for me that I wish it were longer and I want more. I never want this song to end That quickly when I hear it. I have a song for you that you need to put on your number two if you make another one of these videos. It is a song by a group called blood rock, and it’s called DOA. I first heard this song when I was eight years old and it scared the hell out of me and caused me to have bad dreams for quite a while after hearing it. if you had not heard of that song before, listen to it, but listen to it on a very good system. As you do, it will blow your mind. I want to give you the correct name of the song it is called DOA, of course that means dead on arrival 23:56 . It’s such a poignant song that I don’t want it to end when it does. I think it’s too short a song and I want more. I know of another song that you should put in your part two if you do make one girl first and it scared the hell out of me and I dreamt about the song in my own way for a while and now I can listen to it, but I still get a little fearful when I do it is a song by a group called blood rock and the song is called DOA if you don’t know about that song, listen to it and listen to it on a good system because it will blow your mind if you hadn’t heard it before

[@davidadams5280]

Gordon Lightfoot. Any guesses on which one

[@maggieripsin4588]

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[@davidadams5280]

I did that on purpose knowing he has multiple options. I like to create the discussion. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was originally on my mind but I wanted to see if anyone came up with the other options

[@fbennett6656]

​@@davidadams5280 Sundown is also a bit of bad juju. The woman it's about is the same one who gave John Belushi his last shot. In her defense she spent most of her teens being used by various bands as a pass around pack.

[@tracyjacoby2382]

Edmund Fitzgerald for sure and Sundown song about his stalker girlfriend.

[@Northernfire]

Black day in july

[@TheMidnightBell07]

Hey, if you have ever listened to Atomic Rooster you could hear Vincent Crane falling apart. His experiences are right there for the world to see and hear. One of his saddest songs foretold his tragic ending 19 years before his passing. The song is entitled Winter.

[@pattistephan4163]

I heard many of the songs in my 20's but never knew the back story . It shocked me! naive!

[@jwoo888]

I feel like most people who are into these songs know what they’re about. Or, at least us older folk.

[@thefamouspeopleus]

Wow, this video really dives deep into some of the most haunting backstories behind classic hits!

[@CC-qn4ex]

Hmmmm, I was expecting to see Billy Idol - "Cradle of Love" here.....

[@fosterparent7477]

Extreme's MORE THAN WORDS is the biggest troll song of all time.

[@evastapaard2462]

tell me about it because I've never heard about any other meaning

[@tiffriches]

@@evastapaard2462 he means that instead of saying the words there are other ways to show someone that you love them. It is literally, "More Than Words".

[@jenx5870]

​@@tiffrichesThat is quite literally the only meaning I have ever taken from the song since hearing it when it came out when I was 17 yrs old. It isn't that deep. They come right out and say it. How anyone can interpret it another way, I don't know, unless they aren't listening to the lyrics.

[@saveThe90s88]

How so?

[@eph2vv89only1way]

Our Lady Peace's song "Thief" was written about a wish child whose wish was to meet the band. They spent an entire day with her and kept in touch afterwards. Then she died. The song is about her

[@HomespunWisdom]

"Teen Angel" (Mark Dinning, 1960); "I Melt With You" (Modern English, 1982) also came to mind.

[@HouseOfAlastrian]

One of my favourites not on this list of a song with a tragic backstory is 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Before I even looked up the backstory of what inspired this song to be written, I already figured it was a song about trouble behind the scenes that you can't see... of relationships falling apart and people drifting apart. Well holy crap... as it turns out this song portended the tumultuous breakup of the band... Tom Fogerty left just after that album was released and tensions mounted between John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford... tensions that remain to this day. John didn't have the chance to reconcile with his brother Tom, due to Tom having contracted HIV from a dodgy blood transfusion and died of AIDS. But while the tensions within the band were the true back story of the song, it still fits into some more universal themes of people breaking up, drifting apart and tensions mounting. The official 50th Anniversary music video of the song portrays a trio of best friends (two of which are Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty, who seemed to be taking a breather from shooting Season 1 of The Boys to star in this video)... Jack Quaid's character and the other girl in the group are hinted as having feelings for each other that are more than just friends, but neither one acts on it, and the video ends with the girl packing up some moving boxes in preparation for moving away.

[@fanaticat1]

I heard about Robert Plant writing All of My Love about the loss of his son (very sad)! 😢 The song Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest had a sad back story to it...I can't remember all the details but it was sad... thanks for posting this video!

[@sandrabosnjak3738]

You truly forgot the Boomtown Rats, „I don’t like mondays“ it’s pretty dark stuff!