I'm Clifford Stumme, and I use literary analysis and research to explain the deeper meanings of pop songs. Feel free to leave a comment or to email me at clifford@popsongprofessor.com with questions or ideas!
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And it's finally time for my last explanation of a Panic! at the Disco song from Death of a Bachelor. It's been a while in coming, but it's finally time to wrap up this album. Ironically, we'll be wrapping it up with the album's first song: "Victorious."
SONG MEANING: “I Miss You” by Adele is about intimacy—sexual, emotional, and otherwise—in a relationship. Adele has doubts about the relationship, and the man may too, but the intimacy they feel when things are going well convinces Adele to keep trying even if she’s still afraid for the relationship when she’s not with him.
SONG MEANING: "Emperor's New Clothes" by Panic! at the Disco is about winning and taking power or the "crown." It could be about Brendon Urie, the lead singer, coming back after difficult experiences with his band or relationships. Want to find out how? Keep reading! Brendon Urie's the only remaining original member (and only core member for that matter) of Panic! at the Disco, and he seems to be doing just fine. His band's Twitter page announced yesterday that they're releasing Death of a Bachelor on January 15 and to celebrate, they released the semi-Halloween-themed music video to "Emperor's New Clothes." Currently the song isn't available elsewhere--even on Spotify--but pre-orders for the album have put Death of a Bachelor easily in the top 5 ordered albums for sometime.
SONG MEANING: "Cecilia and the Satellite" by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness is about Andrew McMahon's then soon-to-be born daughter. Want to find out how? Keep reading.
When I heard it on the radio, I thought "Cecilia and the Satellite" was about McMahon's wife or girlfriend, but I eventually got around to researching it and found that it's actually about his daughter. When McMahon started writing the song in late 2013, his wife was still pregnant with Cecilia, who, born in February 2014, is now about 1.5 years old.
SONG MEANING: "Pure Grinding" is an intense song about trying to survive without a lot of money. Keep reading to find out more!
"Pure Grinding" probably has the most confusing title on Avicii's Stories album (other than maybe "Sunset Jesus"), and it's well worth figuring out. The music video (which came out on September 3, 2015) is also intensely deep and brings up a lot of good questions we need to ask ourselves. "Pure Grinding" features Earl St. Clair about whom I couldn't find much except for an underliked Twitter page. The song is gritty; has some soul; and, (despite my lack of musical knowledge--I'm more of a lyrics and literature guy) I'd say, has a deep, grungy bluesy feel to it. There's an emphasis on repetition that really speaks to the song's topic.
