A while back, we asked people to tell us songs they didn’t realize were sexual until they were teens/adults, and honestly, I don’t blame them because these freaky lyrics are sneaky. Here are the wildest responses:
1.
“I’ll never forget the shock on my friend’s face when I explained ‘Backdoor Lover’ by DuJour from Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack š”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics from the fictional 2001 boy band parody from Josie and the Pussycats.
2.
“I was shocked when I really listened to the lyrics of ‘Blinded by the Light.’ My dad hated Bruce Springsteen because he thought he could not sing, and my mom disapproved of him because she said he looked like a nasty bum. (He was gorgeous!) Wait until they hear ‘Blinded By the Light.’ Manfred Mann and his Earth Band covered it and took it to number one. I was foolish enough to tell my folks who wrote it. Completely filled to the brim with sexual and drug references. I had to play Bruce secretly for a few years until they didnāt care anymore.”
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Manfred Man’s Earth Band’s 1976 hit originally written and released by Bruce Springsteen.
3.
“I still remember making the connection as a teenager that Prince’s ‘pocket full of horses’ in ‘Little Red Corvette’ was referring to condoms. (It required learning about the existence of condoms, and THEN learning that Trojans were a common condom brand with a horse head on the package.)”
4.
“I never realized that Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ was about giving blowjob’s even though the song lyrics ‘I’m down on my knees I wanna take you there’ are in the song.”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Madonna’s 1989 hit from her fourth studio album, Like A Prayer.
5.
“Like, I know ‘It Wasn’t Me’ by Shaggy is definitely very sexual, but as a kid, I thought they just got caught kissing š.”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Shaggy’s 2000 hit song from his fifth studio album Hot Shot, featuring RikRok.
6.
“I found out that neither ‘I Want Candy’ nor ‘Yummy Yummy Yummy’ was about food when I was a teenager. But one of my favorites that no one seems to notice is very sexual, ‘Walk on the Wild Side,’ which is about the trans, gay, and bi people in Warhol’s Factory who were frequently hustling on the street. Hence, ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ because they would say it to potential Johns.”
7.
“When my stepsister and I were 15, I found out she liked Aerosmith’s ‘Pink’ because she thought the song was about the actual color. It wasn’t until I quoted the lyric ‘pink is the color of my favorite rubber’ that it finally dawned on her that it’s about sex. š¤£”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Aerosmith’s 1997 hit from their 12th studio album, Nine Lives.
8.
“When I was a kid, I was in a very Catholic family, and when I heard the ‘Take Me to Church’ song, I absolutely loved it, and one day when I was sitting in a van full of kids, I proudly proclaimed ‘I love this song, because itās about going to church!’ before a kid then laughed and me and told me that thatās not what the song is about. He didnāt elaborate, but it made me so confused at the time.”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Hozier’s 2013 hit from his self-titled debut album.
9.
“When I was little, I thought ‘Get Off’ was about dancing, but at the time, I could hardly understand what they were singing, anyway. I turned nine the summer this was a hit, and went around (when my fundamental Christian aunt wasn’t at home, of course) shrieking ‘OOOT! OOOT! OOOT!’ with my neighborhood friends when we’d have our outdoor dance parties in the backyard, blasting it from one of their transistor radios. In my late 20s, I heard it again at a retro 70s party.”
10.
“‘Laid’ by James came out when I was a kid in the ’90s. I was like eight yelling out ‘But she only comes when she’s on top!!!’ having no idea what I was saying š¤£”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to James’ 1993 title track from their fifth studio album.
11.
“I had no idea ‘She Bop’ by Cyndi Lauper was about masturbation. Me and my friends sang it throughout senior year constantly! š¤£š¤¦š»āāļø”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Cyndi Lauper’s 1984 hit from her debut studio album, She’s So Unusual.
12.
“I used to sing ‘Get Down (You’re the One for Me)’ by the Backstreet Boys, omg once I got in my 20s I realized it was a sexual song š¤£: ‘Get down get down and move it all around, youāre the one for me, youāre my ecstasy.'”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics of Backstreet Boys’ 1996 song from their self-titled debut album.
13.
“‘Miracles’ by Jefferson Starship talks about making love, but deep in the song, it talks about going down on his girl and seeing rainbows.”
And here’s this colorful lyric video and the full lyrics of Jefferson Starship’s 1975 hit from their second album, Red Octopus.
14.
“‘Rock Lobster’ by the B-52s, was not quite about a party on a beach (helps if you know gay slang of the late 70s/early 80s).”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to the B-52’s 1979 single for their self-titled debut album.
15.
“I used to sing ‘Digital, Digital Getdown’ by NSYNC super loudly in the back of my friend’s minivan while her mom drove us around town. So embarrassing.”
And here’s the live performance and the full lyrics to *NYSNC’s upbeat 2000 track from their third studio album, No Strings Attached.
16.
“I’m old, so when I was a kid, it was ‘My Sharona,’ by The Knack, which is about being super horny for a 17-year-old girl. I had no frickin idea what I was going around singing. Here’s a sample: ‘Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind / I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind / My, my, my, ay, ah, wooh! / M-m-m-my Sharona.’ YIKES.”
And here’s the music video and the uncomfortable lyrics to the Knack’s 1979 single from their debut album, Get the Knack.
17.
“Queen’s ‘Killer Queen’ is actually about a prostitute.”
And here’s the live performance and the full lyrics to Queen’s 1974 hit from their third album, Sheer Heart Attack.
18.
“‘Night Moves’ by Bob Seger is straight up about sex.”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s 1976 single from his ninth studio album with the same name.
19.
“‘Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss’ by Bloodhound Gang.”
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Bloodhound Gang’s 2005 song from their fourth studio album, Hefty Fine.
20.
“”All For You’ by Janet Jackson.”
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Janet’s 2001 title track from her seventh studio album.
21.
“‘Scream’ by Usher. I was so oblivious as a kid.”
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Usher’s 2011 single from his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself.
What’s a song you didn’t realize was extremely crude, and/or sexual at first? Let us know in the comments or via this anonymous form.