I always loved that line from the movie Eddie and the Cruisers, where Eddie (played by Michael Pare) expresses confusion and disillusionment to his producer in the recording studio about the radically different second album his group is cutting in the sound-room. Eddie says: "I don't like it, it doesn't even make sense!" His producer responds: It doesn't have to make sense, it's rock-n-roll!"
That got me to thinking about all the rock songs that sound great, but don't discuss anything that most who listen to it will ever understand.
One of the first of these I heard growing up was the 1973 song " American Pie"
That only in college did I find out was about the death of Ritchie Valens and Elvis Costello in a plane crash in the late 1950's, portrayed many years later in the last few minutes of the film La Bamba.
So what are some other rock-n-roll songs that ostensibly make no sense? And what the hell do they mean?!?
Or the bizarre song "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors.
That so far as I know, is about jerking off in prison. The turning Japanese reference is, presumably, about squinting your eyes while stroking it, fantasizing about sex with a woman.
Yeah, a lot of those doo-wop oldies say things with passion, without really saying anything in particular. The hot women dancing in that video you posted must be well into their 70's by now!
Since I mentioned it earlier, La Bamba, from roughly the same era.
Most of the songs from this era that have incomprehensible words are not intended to have a deeper meaning, just dancing and having a good time, and perhaps manifesting being tongue-tied over a girl they're infatuated with.
My idea beginning this topic is to reveal some of the ones that while on the surface are nonsensical, that for those in the know have a deeper meaning.
But also, conversely, the ones that sound like they're passionately talking about something, but really saying nothing much at all.
