"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses is about Erin Everly, who was Axl Rose's girlfriend at the time. She is the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers.
"Today" by Smashing Pumpkins is sarcastic in the line "today is the greatest day." Lead singer Billy Corgan wrote it about the crippling depression he was battling following the band's first big tour.
"Girl Crush" by Little Big Town came from the hashtag #girlcrush, which its co-writer, Lori McKenna, spotted on Instagram.
The Lady Gaga/Beyoncé collaboration "Telephone" isn't just about turning down an unwanted caller, it's an analog for how Gaga was feeling overwhelmed, like a phone was always ringing in her head.
Ed Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was written after an experience taking MDMA during a wedding celebration in Ibiza; it's basically about all the feelings that he got from that time.
Zayn's "Pillowtalk" reached #1 on the Hot 100, something his former One Direction bandmates never achieved.
The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.
Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.
Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.