Songfacts®:

• Segments of the final version of the song are taken from a demo in which the members of the band are playing unfamiliar instruments. John Stirratt plays violin, Max Johnston plays bass, Jay Bennett plays drums, and Ken Coomer plays guitar.
  
  "We had fun playing each other's instruments," frontman Jeff Tweedy recalled to Uncut magazine, "but, on a deeper level, I don't think it was an accident that it ended up being the final take, because it was a way to get at something that I felt the song was trying to express. What felt emotional to me was trying to fight through something stupid - it's just two chords, it's so stupid." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Mike - Chicago, IL
• Wilco drummer Ken Coomer recalled the swapping of instruments for this song during an Uncut interview:
  
  "Jay always wanted Jeff on the drums, which was fun. He's like a bad drummer in the best way possible. Some of my favourite drummers are bad drummers. I can picture him back there now, looking like a 12 year old with the sticks and the cigarettes hanging out of his mouth, banging away. And I would just jump on guitar and do my Sonic Youth impersonation. That became Misunderstood.
  
  I remember Jay got interviewed for some guitar magazine. 'How did you get that sound on Misunderstood?' He was like. 'You gotta ask our drummer.' I can play enough to be dangerous, but on that one I was just trying to make it wrong, and it came out right. That's a band experimenting."