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Whether written with the intent to uplift, inspire, comfort, or draw awareness, musical lyrics have the power to conjure deep emotions and a sense of connection among listeners. If written well, even song lyrics in other languages can get stuck in our heads for days at a time.
And while we may know every word of our favorite songs, we often don't realize that there are surprisingly unexpected stories behind the lyrics we so easily recognize. Whether it's an upbeat tune or a dramatically somber melody, songwriters often draw on historical references to inspire the themes of the ballads they write. Historical references in songs from The Beatles to The Beastie Boys, here are some of the most notable songs with historical references we didn't catch before.
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye" Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana, goodbye
We didn't start the fire It was always burning, since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it…
Historical Reference In ‘We Didn't Start The Fire’ Explained: In all, there are 119 historical references in Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire.” While all of the lyrics hold significance, some of the more poignant references include the mentioning of the H-bomb (a weapon of mass destruction more powerful than the atomic bomb that multiple nations stockpiled during the 1980s); the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and the subsequent inauguration of Georgy Malenkov as prime minister; Little Rock (pointing to the violence that broke out at a previously-designated all-white school after the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education); the American U-2 spy plane shot from the sky over the Soviet Union in 1960; and the Berlin Wall.
Throughout the song, the singer also referenced many well-known figures, pop culture icons, and figureheads from the 1950s leading into the 1980s.
'The Way It Is' By Bruce Hornsby Is About The Civil Rights Act Of 1964
The Lyrics:
Said hey, little boy, you can't go where the others go 'Cause you don't look like they do Said hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way? Did you really think about it before you made the rules? He said, son
That's just the way it is Some things will never change That's just the way it is Ah, but don't you believe them Mm, yeah
Well, they passed a law in '64 To give those who ain't got a little more But it only goes so far Because the law don't change another's mind When all it sees at the hiring time Is the line on the color bar, no
Historical Reference In ‘The Way It Is’ Explained: In “The Way It Is,” Bruce Hornsby draws awareness to the socially accepted racism against the Black population despite the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While laws dictated that everyone, regardless of skin color, was to be treated as an equal, they couldn't change the deeply entrenched societal views overnight.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the artist reflected on the song and its impact it had on pop culture:
“The Way It is” was a wonderful accident, a great fluke. A song about racism with two improvised solos is hardly the formula for pop success then or at any time. Everyone thought it should have been a B-side, but then BBC Radio 1 played it and, boom, there it went. The last place it hit was in the United States…
I’ve never counted it, but I read that my song has now been recorded 17 times by hip-hop artists. There are some great notable ones. E-40 did a great version. Mase. Snoop Dogg. Obviously, the iconic one is Tupac’s “Changes,” which at least in my book has endured as one of the archetypal protest songs regarding race in America. And my song obviously was on the same subject matter.
Wednesday morning at five o'clock As the day begins Silently closing her bedroom door Leaving the note that she hoped would say more
She goes down the stairs to the kitchen Clutching her handkerchief Quietly turning the backdoor key Stepping outside, she is free
She... (we gave her most of our lives) Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives) Home (we gave her everything money could buy)
Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown Picks up the letter that's lying there Standing alone at the top of the stairs She breaks down and cries to her husband Daddy, our baby's gone. Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly? How could she do this to me?
She (we never thought of ourselves) Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves) Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by) She's leaving home, after living alone, for so many years
Historical Reference In ‘She's Leaving Home’ Explained: “She's Leaving Home” was inspired by the news story of a suburban London-based teenager, Melanie Coe, who ran away from home in 1967, despite her parents' insistence that she had everything, including a “wardrobe full of clothes” and an Austin 1100. Sympathizing with the young woman's situation, John Lennon even included lines used by his overly harsh Aunt Mimi in the lyrics. In the 1997 biography Many Years From Now, Paul McCartney revealed:
We’d seen a story in the newspaper about a young girl who’d left home and not been found… There were a lot of those at the time, and that was enough to give us a story line. So I started to get the lyrics – she slips out and leaves a note and then the parents wake up – It was rather poignant.
Lennon continued:
Paul had the basic theme, but all those lines like, “We sacrificed most of our lives, we gave her everything money could buy, never a thought for ourselves…” those were the things Mimi used to say… It was easy to write.
Years later, an adult Coe came to find that the song was, indeed, about her. The former runaway recalled:
I first heard the song when it came out and I didn’t realize it was about me, but I remember thinking it could have been about me… I found the song to be extremely sad. It obviously struck a chord somewhere. It wasn’t until later, when I was in my twenties, that my mother said, “You know, that song was about you!” She had seen an interview with Paul on television and he said he’d based the song on this newspaper article. She put two and two together.
Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham? Can you tell me where he's gone? He freed lotta people but it seems the good they die young You know I just looked around and he's gone Anybody here seen my old friend John? Can you tell me where he's gone? He freed lotta people but it seems the good they die young I just looked around and he's gone
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin? Can you tell me where he's gone? He freed lotta people but it seems the good they die young I just looked around and he's gone Didn't you love the things that they stood for? Didn't they try to find some good for you and me? And we'll be free Some day soon, it's gonna be one day Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby? Can you tell me where he's gone? I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill With Abraham, Martin, and John
Historical Reference In ‘Abraham, Martin, And John’ Explained: Upon hearing the news of Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968, songwriter Dick Holler penned the mournful tune “Abraham, Martin, and John.” Connecting the efforts of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to Abraham Lincoln, Holler ended the ballad with lines suggesting that Bobby Kennedy had suffered the same fate and was walking into eternity with those who fought for racial equality and were murdered before him.
Holler recalled the fateful night that inspired his writing:
I was with my partner, Phil Gernhard. I was his chief writer and associate producer, and we were in NYC actually doing an album with the Royal Guardsmen, their third album. I was in the hotel room sleeping. Gernhard was out partying, as he usually did late at night, and he came in at 2 or 3 in the morning and said, “Wake up! Wake up! They just shot Bobby Kennedy!” We got up and watched TV all night.
We canceled the sessions we had coming up because we just didn’t feel like working. We went home to St. Petersburg, Florida. Phil said, “What shall we do?” I said, “Well, we should probably go into the office. There will be a lot of phone calls and stuff.” I went in there and our music group was in the back, and I went back there and wrote “Abraham, Martin and John.” I played him the song. We thought about changing it around, retitling it, but it pretty much stayed the way I wrote it… I wasn’t thinking much. I just turned on the tape recorder, which was always right there by the piano, and started the song.
Bob Dylan's 'Sweetheart Like You' References A Bible Verse
The Lyrics:
You know, news of you has come down the line Even before ya came in the door They say in your father's house, there's many a mansions Each one of them got a fireproof floor Snap out of it baby, people are jealous of you They smile to your face, but behind your back they hiss What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this? Got to be an important person to be in here, honey Got to have done some evil deed Got to have your own harem when you come in the door Got to play your harp until your lips bleed.
Historical Reference In ‘Sweetheart Like You’ Explained: The line "They say in your father's house, there's many a mansions" in “Sweetheart Like You” is an almost word-for-word reference to John 14.2, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
Born into a Jewish family, Bob Dylan became a Christian in the late 1970s. While he recorded and produced this song after his Christian trilogy of albums were released from 1979-1981, Dylan continued to emphasize biblical themes in his music beyond the albums specifically dedicated to his newly found religion.
According to the singer and songwriter, he found Jesus one night in a Tucson hotel room:
[I felt] a presence in the room that couldn’t have been anybody but Jesus… Jesus put his hand on me… It was a physical thing. I felt it. I felt it all over me. I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up.
You consider me the young apprentice Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes Hypnotized by you if I should linger Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge Things they would not teach me of in college I can see the destiny you sold turned into a shining band of gold
I'll be wrapped around your finger I'll be wrapped around your finger Mephistopheles is not your name I know what you're up to just the same…
Historical Reference In ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’ Explained: Scylla and Charybdis were first referenced in Homer's The Odyssey and were prominent fixtures in Greek mythology. Scylla was a cave-dwelling female monster who ravaged anyone who dared to step near her lair, and Charybdis hid under a fig tree, where she swallowed and regurgitated the waters that separated them, on a nearby opposite shore.
Together, the two monsters threatened the Greek mariners who dared to enter their territory and represent the unfortunate circumstance of having to choose between two equally menacing options. Later, this metaphorical “rock and a hard place” would be pinpointed to the Strait of Messina due to the prevalence of rocks and whirlpools in the area.
