By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Few songs can be said to typify the mid-noughties music scene like The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’. The Las Vegas band’s breakthrough hit, the song has attracted considerable attention from fans and critics.
Tag: Song Meanings
The Curious Meaning of ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’ by Kelly Clarkson
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’ is one of Kelly Clarkson’s greatest songs. It appeared on her second album, Breakaway, and Clarkson has commented that the song is her favourite track on the album. Indeed, the album was very nearly named after ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’ […]
The Meaning of ‘West End Girls’ by the Pet Shop Boys
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘West End Girls’ was the breakthrough single for the Pet Shop Boys, hitting the number one spot in the UK in early 1986. But the song has its origins several years before this. Just what is the meaning of this mid-80s classic, and which […]
The Curious Meaning of Zach Bryan’s ‘Something in the Orange’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Few recent songs have attracted more speculation and debate without really justifying such attention than Zach Bryan’s ‘Something in the Orange’. Although the song’s meaning has been the subject of some discussion, the central meaning of the song is anything but complex or ambiguous.
The Curious Meaning of the Song ‘Cotton Eye Joe’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ is a song whose title has a long history, taking us back to the Deep South in the nineteenth century. However, it was in the 1990s that the song became a worldwide smash hit, and its chorus remains instantly recognisable.