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.
"Step On," the most famous song by the Happy Mondays ("You're twistin' my melon man!") is a thoroughly revamped cover of a song from 1971 about the plight of indigenous peoples called "He's Gonna Step On You Again" by John Kongos.
Michael Stipe hadn't finished the lyrics when R.E.M. recorded "Radio Free Europe." He calls the vocal "complete babbling."
Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side" tells the story of real people who were part of Andy Warhol's "factory," including Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
45% of the royalties for "Somebody That I Used To Know" go to the estate of the Brazilian classical guitarist Luiz Bonfá, whose song "Seville" Gotye sampled.
When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."
Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.
Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.
Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.
The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.
Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.
