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Bruce Springsteen - 'Born in the USA' - One of Springsteen's biggest hits is usually mistaken for a patriotic song. But there's nothing proudly American about this tune.

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Bruce Springsteen - 'Born in the USA' - The song is essentially about how the United States treated its Vietnam veterans. Getting more specific, it's about an alienated working class man in post-Vietnam War America.

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John Lennon - 'Imagine' - Lennon's song 'Imagine' has become a global peace anthem ever since he composed it in 1971. The hit envisions a world without divisions of faith, politics, and money.

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John Lennon - 'Imagine' - But the song was "virtually the Communist Manifesto," as Lennon commented later. He added that "because it is sugarcoated, it is accepted. Now I understand what you have to do. Put your political message across with a little honey."

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Bryan Adams - 'Summer of 69' -

No, this is not a nostalgic song about the summer of 1969. Bryan Adams told CBS News that "a lot of people think it's about the year, but actually it's more about making love in the summertime."

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Madonna - 'Like a Virgin' - 'Like a Virgin' doesn't have anything to do with what you think it does. It was written by songwriter Billy Steinberg and is autobiographical.

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Madonna - 'Like a Virgin' - Madonna's hit was about Steinberg's love life. More specifically, about how good it felt to be in a new relationship after having his heart broken.

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Bonnie Tyler - 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' - The ultimate power ballad is actually a vampire love song. In fact, composer Jim Steinman originally titled the song 'Vampires in Love.'

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Bonnie Tyler - 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' - He was working on a musical about Nosferatu when he wrote Tyler's hit song. The lyrics, he said, "are vampire lines. It's all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love's place in dark."

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Phil Collins - 'In the Air Tonight' - Legend has it that this song is about a time Collins witnessed a man drowning while another man refused to help.

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Phil Collins - 'In the Air Tonight' - But Collins told the BBC that he doesn't really know what the song is about, except that he was going through a divorce when he was writing it.

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Maroon 5 - 'Harder to Breathe' - Despite being in the album 'Songs About Jane,' this was not a song about Adam Levine's relationship with his girlfriend.

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Maroon 5 - 'Harder to Breathe' - Instead, this hit was about the music industry and the pressure the band was under from their record label.

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R.E.M. - 'The One I Love' - Maybe the opening line "this one goes out to the one I love" made many people believe this was a love song, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

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R.E.M. - 'The One I Love' - The song is essentially about using people, so it's pretty unromantic and as anti-love as it gets.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 'American Girl' - This song is believed to have been inspired by a college girl who committed suicide.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - 'American Girl' - But both Tom Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell claimed this was never the case.

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The Clash - 'London Calling' - The classic song's lyrics seem to have political undertones all over the place. At least that's how many people interpret the lyrics.

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The Clash - 'London Calling' - But 'London Calling' was actually inspired by news that the River Thames could overflow and flood London. So the tune is more about front man Joe Strummer's fear of drowning!

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The Beatles - 'Blackbird' - No, the song is not really about a black bird.

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The Beatles - 'Blackbird' - It's essentially about the black struggle and the American Civil Rights Movement.

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Little Richard - 'Tutti Frutti' - This rock 'n' roll hit was apparently about Richard's sex life. The original lyrics were, in fact, a lot racier.

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Little Richard - 'Tutti Frutti' - Whether the song is about a man or a woman is up for debate. Richard's orientation has been questioned over the years, and he has made contradictory claims about it.

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Green Day - 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' - The popular prom anthem is actually about a breakup. Billie Joe Armstrong vented his frustration about the situation in the song.

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Beastie Boys - '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)' - The party anthem is actually a parody about party anthems. Unfortunately, most listeners didn't get the irony and the band stopped performing the song live in the late '80s.

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The Knack - 'My Sharona' - This song is about a relationship between front man Doug Fieger and a girl who was underage. Fun fact: Sharona is now a real estate agent and uses the web domain MySharona.com.

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The Cure - 'Just Like Heaven' - Inspired by a trip to the countryside with his girlfriend, Robert Smith said in an interview that the song "was about hyperventilating— kissing and fainting to the floor."

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Billie Holiday - 'Strange Fruit' -

This is probably one of the most significant protest songs about racism in music history. The poignant poem written by Abel Meeropol was about the lynching of African Americans. It was performed most famously by Billie Holiday.

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D’Angelo - '(Untitled) How Does It Feel' - If you thought this song was about intimate relationships, get your head out of the gutter. It's actually about D'Angelo's grandmother’s cooking.

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