"Walking on a Thin Line" by Huey Lewis and the News is about an American soldier who is trained as a sniper in the Vietnam War. It was written for a documentary on the war.
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is about a guy Jim Croce met in the National Guard, which Jim joined to keep him out of Vietnam. Leroy went AWOL, but got caught when he tried to pick up his paycheck.
Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.
Psy's "Gangnam Style" refers to a section of Seoul, South Korea, that is very fashionable. The guy in the song has all the right moves and loves the ladies.
Sir Mix-A-Lot is credited as a writer on The Pussycat Dolls' biggest hit, "Don't Cha," because it interpolates his 1988 song "Swass," where he goes, "Don't you wish your boyfriend was swass like me?"
When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.
The Jayhawks' song "Big Star" has special meaning to Gary, who explains how longevity and inspiration have trumped adulation.
It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.
The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.
Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?
These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.
