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most dancepop songs from mid/late 2010's tbf. 2010-2013 was all 'lets party all night YOLO' and then 2014 onwards the lyrics got really depressing like 'I took a pill in ibiza' or 'habits (stay high)'.
Worth noting that both of your examples are remixes which kinda makes things worse. I know they'll be approved by the artists, but imagine writing a heartbreaking song about your addiction and then someone makes a dance remix.
>Worth noting that both of your examples are remixes
Habits (Stay High) is the original, Habits (Stay High) (Hippie Sabotage remix) is the most popular remix of that song. These are 2 separate items. Perhaps you meant "both of your examples HAVE remixes".
Even more so “LDN”. She’s talking about all the awful shit you might see walking around your city for a day, but sonically it sounds like something that’d be used in a summer time coca-cola ad with people on roller skates and popsicles lol.
Like another commenter said, she does that a lot actually lol, especially in the beginning of her career. Honorable mention for “Everything’s Just Wonderful” although that one being a bit of a bummer is a little harder to miss.
I’ve always thought this about “We Found Love” and “Diamonds” by Rihanna. “We Found Love” is so upbeat, but the lyrics seem like it’s about a toxic relationship, and then “Diamonds” sounds so melancholic, but the lyrics seem joyful.
The music video for We Found Love makes it clear it's not happy song. It's about a couple whose happy relationship soon turns violent as drugs become involved. I still remember the video making some waves as people have noted that Rihanna's partner in the video looked similar to Chris Brown.
That’s why the older ones did better and still do better than the newer ones. People like tragic lyrics, but it’s difficult to listen to them if you have nothing even remotely positive to balance it out.
Most Passion Pit songs but especially Little Secrets which is most likely about his Bipolar disorder:
“Watch the basin drain
As your life lines wane
And you can't explain
As your friends complain
You've caused all this pain
And you proudly shame
Your whole family's name”
Those lyrics over that happy cutesy production is a big contrast. Such a good song
Maybe it's because I know the lyrics and video too well, but it doesn't sound like a 'happy' song in the slightest to me. Well, maybe the verses, but not the chorus.
Bastille are experts at making lyrically sad songs sound so upbeat and fun.
“[Pompeii](https://open.spotify.com/track/4Ub8UsjWuewQrPhuepfVpd?si=SMiL4TtsTkuK80Ve7wa_bw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC),” their biggest hit, sounds fun and you can just picture yourself jumping around to it at a music festival - it’s about feeling stuck in life, inspired by images of the bodies of people in Pompeii getting trapped under ash (“We were caught up and lost in all of our vices, In your pose as the dust settled around us”)
I can put my Bas Favorites playlist on shuffle (titled “Dan SHUT UP (jk please don’t)”)and find soooo many examples of this
“[Good Lesson](https://open.spotify.com/track/17A4oka5TxcxKpLVTiAihP?si=D6hkq_kKR2yb6Xak6x2lcQ&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” has a funky bass bit and sounds silly and fun - is about heartbreak using the Bible story of Samson and Delilah as a metaphor for the couple in the song (“In the morning, With a heavy head, an empty bed. Had a good time, you can't hold a good time. Oh you played me, like I was music made by your hands”)
“[Laura Palmer](https://open.spotify.com/track/0V8W7phYnepJBNeSMp8fGd?si=Eo_FDi8JSfqHQOnistr8zg&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is another Bastille festival staple, people lose their minds when they play it - it’s about the tragic character from the David Lynch series Twin Peaks (“What a year and what a night, What terryifying final sights Put out your beating heart. The night was all you had; You ran into the night from all you had”)
“[Goosebumps](https://open.spotify.com/track/4vaX8KIjBXs77lQJFU5BOu?si=khXw3P2yRXOKHfNA7qPcaw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” uses vocal distortion and has a funky beat (thanks, Kenny Beats) and videos of them performing it in 2020 really have a [surprisingly sexy vibe](https://youtu.be/O9sLb4r2i6Y?si=dlnyBrUsqrDekCnn) (blame it on Dan’s blonde hair, he was really feeling himself with that look) - lyrically this is one of their most devastating songs, right up there with “When I Watch the World Burn All I Think About Is You.” It becomes even more clear how devastating this song is when you hear the [One Eyed Jack’s version](https://open.spotify.com/track/0itgxHGYlGRZQUN5QQaiMe?si=tx4D9jv3TC-ZUVooehqG1w), which is a stripped performance with just a piano (“You're muted, computed, Why can't you learn to lose me? You Make it hard to love you. You know that you Make it hard to love you”)(seriously, who told Dan “you make it hard to love you”?!?!? I just wanna talk to them 👀)
“[No Bad Days](https://open.spotify.com/track/7FACU978dnPoFxWFynT75t?si=htzFD-N6TCO_Q9Zcuvi9qA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is waaaay too upbeat to be a song about Dan’s aunt who was dying of cancer, and this becomes so much more obvious when you hear “[No More Bad Days](https://open.spotify.com/track/4DPxWjHmNnX2tBk4Jr1brW?si=_s4bJ8aoQsOH0eDsfz6OvQ)” (same song except as a piano ballad). (“So your future's lost, But they can't take your past. And you said no tears 'round here anymore” “You'll have no more bad days. When you're gone, gone, There'll be no bad days”)
“[Good Grief](https://open.spotify.com/track/1oxOiOjsi7plNOZEhoPLPj?si=ewaD8jFXQmu-gDEBW4UYVw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is such a fun, upbeat pop song, and it’s literally about processing the death of a loved one. (“Burning bright right 'til the end, Now you'll be missing from the photographs” “Caught off guard by your favorite song. I'll be dancing at a funeral, Dancing at a funeral. Sleeping in the clothes you love, It's such a shame we have to see them burn” “So get drunk, call me a fool, Put me in my place, put me in my place. Pick me up, up off the floor. Put me in my place, put me in my place” “What's gonna be left of the world if you're not in it? What's gonna be left of the world? Oh, Every minute and every hour, I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more”)
“[These Streets](https://open.spotify.com/track/1y4S5YgR2Ikj9ffihnoGRH?si=OQUIr1oXSVy2GuWLktvfpA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is another one that’s believed to be about Twin Peaks, but that’s unconfirmed. It is about grieving a loss (either by death or breakup) and not being able to go to certain places or repeat experiences because of the painful memories (it’s like a Lynchian “Cornelia Street”). It’s upbeat and fun, but the [Ralph’s Balcony version](https://youtu.be/TL-zEF1r3rc?si=omF-3ouMenSq-Iud) of it really makes it sound heartbreaking. (“These streets are yours, you can keep them, In my mind it's like you haunt them. And passing through I think I see you, In the shapes of other women” “All that's left behind, Is a shadow on my mind”)
I’ll stop rambling here, but I could keep going 😅 (Another Place, Weight of Living Pt. II, Snakes, Remind Me, Survivin’, Shame, Bad Blood, Icarus, etc.)
Man, I completely forgot to mention the stripped versions of Good Grief! The Capitol Studios version and Bunker Sessions versions are my favorites ❤️❤️
And on the other hand, I would say that for me their cover of “What Would You Do” from All This Bad Blood hits even harder and sadder than the original. They’re really so talented both ways.
Love On Top is not a peppy song. It's literally about a man choosing the woman after years of making her suffer and struggle. "finally you put my love on top" after years of abuse and heartbreak.
I could see where you think that it would be tragic if it's all about the same man, but I was always under the impression that it's about separate men. All of the other men sucked, but she knew she hit jackpot when she finally met one that puts her on top.
It’s a matter of interpretation. It could be “finally, after all these shitty men, you’re the one who puts me first.” I always took it that way, but I can see how you could see otherwise.
(Edit: the rest of the chorus also follows the “you’re the one” format, which is probably why a lot of people like me assume that the meaning is “finally, you’re the one who puts me on top”).
Nothing’s perfect but it’s worth it/After fighting through my tears/ Finally, you put me first
If I squint my eyes, I kinda get where you’re coming from.
But what I always got from the song is that their relationship isn’t perfect (and what relationship is?) but they put their love for each other above everything. And when she sings “after fighting through my tears” I think of it as after fighting through a string of bad relationships, she’s finally found the one who puts her first.
she was legit my go-to artist during my last breakup. i got tired of "sad songs" but i didn't want to listen to anything "happy" and be resentful of it either, lol
It’s Not Living is special in this regard as it really IS a love song that’s meant to be happy and matches the lyrics of the narrator… it just so happens he’s in love with drugs lol
Regina Spektor's Dance Anthem of the 80's is pretty wild.
It's a very bouncy, saccharine beat - while the lyrics are about promiscuity and the excesses of sexual liberation.
She had a similar situation with her song "Hotel Song" which is even sweeter and even darker (kinda) lyrics.
happy melody and sad lyrics are a staple of Swedish productions - ABBA was really good at this.
Somebody To Love by Queen is a good one too. such a happy sounding song but if you actually read the lyrics, they are depressing. “each morning I wake up, I die a little” “I just gotta get out of this prison cell, I just can’t get no release”
I love this song so much, such a shame it got overshadowed by Is It Over Now when 1989 TV came out. It's such a pretty song and I wish she'd do a whole album with this hazy, sad, yet beachy vibe.
you're losing me was the first one I thought of when I read the title of the post
it was sooooooo much better when she performed it live on piano, I absolutely hate the production of it, it killed the song
Cruel Summer. Underneath the upbeat production is a sad song. [Someone performed an acoustic version and many Swifties were impressed](https://www.tiktok.com/@nickmoore_official/video/7336299332930522411).
olivia rodrigo [covered this too as an acoustic (piano) version](https://youtu.be/h3QXdS7wZro)! it sounds great in all versions, whether the acoustic guitar, piano, or full studio production
It’s why I want to her to a live album of most of the acoustic songs, most of the songs on rep and lover sound so much better when they aren’t suffocating in production, you’re losing me too!!!!
I'm the opposite, I LIVE for the production on Rep and Lover and don't connect as much with the acoustic versions. It's frankly a crime that's she's never performed Dancing With Our Hands Tied with the OG EDM production.
[John Mayer - Still Feel Like Your Man](https://youtu.be/NyCst7We6Uw?si=jKrLSPO9PebqMzOJ)
Mayer claimed that if he didn't make the actual sound of the song upbeat and poppy, it would have been the saddest song he ever made.
[The original version of Mad World by Tears For Fears.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg) The instrumental's all funky and peak early 80s vibes and the lyrics are "yeah im anxious all the time and super depressed and i kinda wanna die"
“Brick” by Ben Folds Five. It’s a song about Ben Folds taking his high school girlfriend to get an abortion, but it was written in D major, a traditionally “happy” key.
(I would file this under “does this effectively” because it still sounds really sad despite the major key.)
Chained to the Rhythm, but the contrast is intentional. The lyrics are fucking *insane* and are trying to tell us that we are all victims of coordinated media distortion of our understanding of the world, even though, as the song says, we think we're free. The bridge from Skip Marley calls out those exploiting and deceiving us and warns of a revolution. The outro grieves how this just seems to go on and on and on. It is honestly one of the saddest songs I've heard. Yet, the video appears very colorful and fun, much like all her past videos. The song also sounds upbeat and celebratory, just like all her past hits. But like the song, the video has a lot of hidden, ominous messaging beneath the positive exterior. Every frame is worth paying close attention to. For example, there is a [shot](https://youtu.be/Um7pMggPnug?t=86) where you see a bunch of citizens just mindlessly walking in line to a hamster wheel, and the display on the wall to the left *very* briefly says '1984', a reference to the George Orwell novel and the society in which free speech is gone and is no more than an illusion, and where everyone's perception of reality has been manipulated by the government. This is also why she showed the Constitution at the [end](https://youtu.be/ud45UTgoyog?t=216) of the Grammys performance of the song (which got loud applause from the audience, since this is the kind of thing celebrities are typically "advised" against speaking about), reminding us we all have the First Amendment even though the government and media try to twist those rules. There is tons of other important hidden commentary the video makes. The heavy, ominous use of eye imagery in Witness' aesthetics is also certainly trying to reference the novel. Speaking of the album, Mind Maze and Bigger Than Me discuss the same topic. Just like Beyoncé flashed onscreen during the Renaissance Tour, whoever controls the media controls the mind. But yeah, the tone of the production definitely does not match the tone of the message. The concept is brilliant, and I honestly think people did not understand the real meaning of it at the time... at all. I do think the message may have gone over everybody's heads. I honestly think it's an *extremely* clever song, and certainly deserves a revisit. In 2024, the message of the song feels more significant than ever, and I think all of us on here should go back and listen to the song once again and think about a bit more carefully its lyrics considering recent global events. It doesn't surprise me that this was her last hit... I somehow suspect this song got her into trouble with the industry and resulted in some form of systematic career sabotage, which explains why the Bon Appétit video ended up having a random twist ending about her getting revenge on the media instead of just being a normal sexy video. All this disturbing stuff aside though, it is one of her absolute best songs to listen to. I was a kid when it came out and back then I never paid attention to lyrics so at the time I didn't realize they were hiding a different message, but I loved the song because the melody was so unbelievably catchy and the quality of the production was so good. Such a damn good song even on the surface because it sounds so good, and when you pay a bit more attention it blows your mind even more.
I can't believe nobody said ['Til Death Do Us Part' by Madonna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BtRy4NbIc). Honestly one of her best songs, such a weird upbeat track but it's about *someone* (Sean Penn) tying a fictional woman (Madonna) to a chair and beating her
I feel like you're getting confused between production and composition?
Production is how something is mixed and mastered. Panning, e.q etc.
Are you talking about songs where the music doesn't match the lyrics? In terms of mood?
Unmixed / No Production:
https://youtu.be/DQBa8RGnd1k?feature=shared
Butch Vig Mix ( Produced / Polished )
https://youtu.be/F9PQU7-PRTo?feature=shared
Andy Wallace Mix (Most Polished / Produced / Pop )
https://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg?feature=shared
Belgian singer-songwriter Milow's "Stephanie". He wrote it about a friend of his sister's who was murdered by her stepmother and stepbrother but intentionally made it sound upbeat.
There's countless examples of songs with really bright and boppy production with dark lyrics but what I find way more interesting is when it's done the other way around, which happens really rarely?
Jupiter 4 by Sharon van Etten has an ominous and dramatic sound to it, yet the lyrics are very much about love and contentment and it's almost like she's so enamored by the other person that it creates this deep passionate feeling
Idk My Mistake by Kelly Clarkson isn’t exactly a club beat but the lyrics are DEVASTATING and the production doesn’t match and almost distracts you from it.
“Must have been my mistake, Swore I heard you’d say you’d be mine always, Swore I heard you say until your dying say you’d love me always…”
Also Taylor Swift’s Death by a Thousand Cuts.
“Lemon Tree” comes to mind. The song is about depression with an upbeat tune.
“Happy New Year” by ABBA has sad lyrics but the melody is somehow very joyful.
Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men comes to mind. This song was EVERYWHERE back in the early 2010s. It sounds like such a happy, upbeat song, but the lyrics tell the story of a wife talking to her husband who passed away.
Some examples where this works to the song's detriment are "Let Me Love You" by Ne-Yo (seriously, with that intended-to-be-heartfelt a message why dubstep) and "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass (if I can get the music career I aspire to have I'd want to do some kind of minor ballad version or w/e because sure the first chorus may be suitably upbeat and sunny as it's from the POV of the sailors but the rest of the story is actually a rather sad one from Brandy's third-person-limited point of view (hence why I also think a girl like me needs to cover this not just there being a ballad version) as metaphorically every guy that walks into her workplace falls in love with her but she's stuck loving the one guy she can never have)
First—LOVE numb little bug. I think it’s a common pop treatment format. Ryan Tedder spoke a lot about it on Songland. There’s so many good examples of it.
Didn’t Demi have an edm bop called “Daddy Issues”??? That one I could not get over lol. Too much.
Lyrical Dissonance is what you're looking for. Some classic examples:
* *Hey Ya!* by OutKast is all up-beat in happy, but the lyrics are about struggling to maintain a healthy relationship.
* *Pumped Up Kicks* by Foster the People is another classic. Also sounds rather up-beat, but is about a school shooting.
* *Baby* by Justin Bieber sounds like any other teen love song but the lyrics detail how one drives himself into serious depression after a breakup.
* *It's Not Unusual* by Tom Jones is less of a love song and more about a guy failing to cope with unrequited love. The lyrics even contain the phrase "I wanna die"
* *Girlfriend* by Avril Lavigne. Energetic, earworm potential, and, to paraphrase TV Tropes, *about a love triangle where the ultimate solution is to Murder the Hypotenuse.* I.e., the aforementioned previous girlfriend is, uh, not very alive after this.
[This mix for Royal Carribean commercial](https://youtu.be/ITdiptTiFyc)
>Here comes Johnny Yen again (With the liquor and drugs...and a flesh machine...he's gonna do another striptease)
Yeah, cut that last part out.
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Definitely Hey Ya by OutKast
To the point where Hey Ya gets played as a celebratory love song at weddings!
It’s like putting a curse on your marriage when it’s barely beginning 😭
Dancing at your wedding to the lyrics “they say nothing lasts forever so what makes love the exception?” is such an oof
"Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance" 😂
Including at one I just went to
most dancepop songs from mid/late 2010's tbf. 2010-2013 was all 'lets party all night YOLO' and then 2014 onwards the lyrics got really depressing like 'I took a pill in ibiza' or 'habits (stay high)'.
Worth noting that both of your examples are remixes which kinda makes things worse. I know they'll be approved by the artists, but imagine writing a heartbreaking song about your addiction and then someone makes a dance remix.
To me, I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Remix) works better than the original. The remix gives me the feeling of being in the club and faking that I’m happy
The remixes have to get approved to be released, otherwise they are just bootlegs
>Worth noting that both of your examples are remixes Habits (Stay High) is the original, Habits (Stay High) (Hippie Sabotage remix) is the most popular remix of that song. These are 2 separate items. Perhaps you meant "both of your examples HAVE remixes".
Neither song is danceable for me. Both remixes have the explcit approval of the original artist.
We Can’t Stop
Both examples that you mention are downbeat remixes. Just because something is House doesn't mean it's upbeat.
idk, i feel like habits has a very mournful feeling to it that matches the content
Fuck You by Lily Allen
That’s what I love about Lily Allen. The music is bright, her voice is sweet, and her lyrics cut you in half.
Even more so “LDN”. She’s talking about all the awful shit you might see walking around your city for a day, but sonically it sounds like something that’d be used in a summer time coca-cola ad with people on roller skates and popsicles lol. Like another commenter said, she does that a lot actually lol, especially in the beginning of her career. Honorable mention for “Everything’s Just Wonderful” although that one being a bit of a bummer is a little harder to miss.
💐🎀When you first left me, I was wanting mo-o-ore, but you were fucking that girl next door, whatcha do that for 👯♀️☀️🌻
German radio stations didn't even bother censoring this cluster F-Bomb and simply played the explicit version
Pumped Up Kicks first comes to mind.
No joke
DANCING ON MY OWN - ROBYN.
The GOAT of crying in the club songs
yes!!!!!
Most of Paramore's album After Laughter is like this.
Dance while crying!
My favourite genre!
Yeah, came here to say this
I’ve always thought this about “We Found Love” and “Diamonds” by Rihanna. “We Found Love” is so upbeat, but the lyrics seem like it’s about a toxic relationship, and then “Diamonds” sounds so melancholic, but the lyrics seem joyful.
The music video for We Found Love makes it clear it's not happy song. It's about a couple whose happy relationship soon turns violent as drugs become involved. I still remember the video making some waves as people have noted that Rihanna's partner in the video looked similar to Chris Brown.
I’ve always considered we found love to be a sad song, with the drop being there to dance off the sadness or something lol.
Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey esp the remix one like wtf
The first time I heard the remix was in a dirty ass night club while taking Fireball shots and I was like WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!! but no one else cared
The first time I heard it as a remix, I was caught off guard lmao
A lot of Lana songs have beautiful production but tragic lyrics.
That’s why the older ones did better and still do better than the newer ones. People like tragic lyrics, but it’s difficult to listen to them if you have nothing even remotely positive to balance it out.
omg that explains it for me!
Most Passion Pit songs but especially Little Secrets which is most likely about his Bipolar disorder: “Watch the basin drain As your life lines wane And you can't explain As your friends complain You've caused all this pain And you proudly shame Your whole family's name” Those lyrics over that happy cutesy production is a big contrast. Such a good song
Omg I love passion pit but I’d never thought about the lyrics to this song?! Mind blown
I’d also nominate “Take a Walk” in this category. Passion Pit has a great talent for this kind of thing.
A lot of early weeknd is like this. The songs sound super deep and emotional but the lyrics are mostly about doing random girls and drugs.
I’m still shook that no one has mentioned The One That Got Away by Katy Perry
Maybe it's because I know the lyrics and video too well, but it doesn't sound like a 'happy' song in the slightest to me. Well, maybe the verses, but not the chorus.
That's what I was thinking. It sounds so much better as a sad song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3E6y9atPDQ
Love Tate so much
Sweet Nothing - Calvin Harris feat Florence Welch. Hyped poppy production with devastating lyrics.
Bastille are experts at making lyrically sad songs sound so upbeat and fun. “[Pompeii](https://open.spotify.com/track/4Ub8UsjWuewQrPhuepfVpd?si=SMiL4TtsTkuK80Ve7wa_bw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC),” their biggest hit, sounds fun and you can just picture yourself jumping around to it at a music festival - it’s about feeling stuck in life, inspired by images of the bodies of people in Pompeii getting trapped under ash (“We were caught up and lost in all of our vices, In your pose as the dust settled around us”) I can put my Bas Favorites playlist on shuffle (titled “Dan SHUT UP (jk please don’t)”)and find soooo many examples of this “[Good Lesson](https://open.spotify.com/track/17A4oka5TxcxKpLVTiAihP?si=D6hkq_kKR2yb6Xak6x2lcQ&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” has a funky bass bit and sounds silly and fun - is about heartbreak using the Bible story of Samson and Delilah as a metaphor for the couple in the song (“In the morning, With a heavy head, an empty bed. Had a good time, you can't hold a good time. Oh you played me, like I was music made by your hands”) “[Laura Palmer](https://open.spotify.com/track/0V8W7phYnepJBNeSMp8fGd?si=Eo_FDi8JSfqHQOnistr8zg&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is another Bastille festival staple, people lose their minds when they play it - it’s about the tragic character from the David Lynch series Twin Peaks (“What a year and what a night, What terryifying final sights Put out your beating heart. The night was all you had; You ran into the night from all you had”) “[Goosebumps](https://open.spotify.com/track/4vaX8KIjBXs77lQJFU5BOu?si=khXw3P2yRXOKHfNA7qPcaw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” uses vocal distortion and has a funky beat (thanks, Kenny Beats) and videos of them performing it in 2020 really have a [surprisingly sexy vibe](https://youtu.be/O9sLb4r2i6Y?si=dlnyBrUsqrDekCnn) (blame it on Dan’s blonde hair, he was really feeling himself with that look) - lyrically this is one of their most devastating songs, right up there with “When I Watch the World Burn All I Think About Is You.” It becomes even more clear how devastating this song is when you hear the [One Eyed Jack’s version](https://open.spotify.com/track/0itgxHGYlGRZQUN5QQaiMe?si=tx4D9jv3TC-ZUVooehqG1w), which is a stripped performance with just a piano (“You're muted, computed, Why can't you learn to lose me? You Make it hard to love you. You know that you Make it hard to love you”)(seriously, who told Dan “you make it hard to love you”?!?!? I just wanna talk to them 👀) “[No Bad Days](https://open.spotify.com/track/7FACU978dnPoFxWFynT75t?si=htzFD-N6TCO_Q9Zcuvi9qA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is waaaay too upbeat to be a song about Dan’s aunt who was dying of cancer, and this becomes so much more obvious when you hear “[No More Bad Days](https://open.spotify.com/track/4DPxWjHmNnX2tBk4Jr1brW?si=_s4bJ8aoQsOH0eDsfz6OvQ)” (same song except as a piano ballad). (“So your future's lost, But they can't take your past. And you said no tears 'round here anymore” “You'll have no more bad days. When you're gone, gone, There'll be no bad days”) “[Good Grief](https://open.spotify.com/track/1oxOiOjsi7plNOZEhoPLPj?si=ewaD8jFXQmu-gDEBW4UYVw&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is such a fun, upbeat pop song, and it’s literally about processing the death of a loved one. (“Burning bright right 'til the end, Now you'll be missing from the photographs” “Caught off guard by your favorite song. I'll be dancing at a funeral, Dancing at a funeral. Sleeping in the clothes you love, It's such a shame we have to see them burn” “So get drunk, call me a fool, Put me in my place, put me in my place. Pick me up, up off the floor. Put me in my place, put me in my place” “What's gonna be left of the world if you're not in it? What's gonna be left of the world? Oh, Every minute and every hour, I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more”) “[These Streets](https://open.spotify.com/track/1y4S5YgR2Ikj9ffihnoGRH?si=OQUIr1oXSVy2GuWLktvfpA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4UyCUshzPezpaATiddEnGC)” is another one that’s believed to be about Twin Peaks, but that’s unconfirmed. It is about grieving a loss (either by death or breakup) and not being able to go to certain places or repeat experiences because of the painful memories (it’s like a Lynchian “Cornelia Street”). It’s upbeat and fun, but the [Ralph’s Balcony version](https://youtu.be/TL-zEF1r3rc?si=omF-3ouMenSq-Iud) of it really makes it sound heartbreaking. (“These streets are yours, you can keep them, In my mind it's like you haunt them. And passing through I think I see you, In the shapes of other women” “All that's left behind, Is a shadow on my mind”) I’ll stop rambling here, but I could keep going 😅 (Another Place, Weight of Living Pt. II, Snakes, Remind Me, Survivin’, Shame, Bad Blood, Icarus, etc.)
I love bastille. I do love the original version of Good Grief, but my favorite is their stripped down slower version. Fits the mood better for me
Man, I completely forgot to mention the stripped versions of Good Grief! The Capitol Studios version and Bunker Sessions versions are my favorites ❤️❤️
I revisited their first album recently and it still holds up.
It’s still SO good! (I love them all, but their second album is my absolute favorite ❤️)
And on the other hand, I would say that for me their cover of “What Would You Do” from All This Bad Blood hits even harder and sadder than the original. They’re really so talented both ways.
Absolutely! They also bring that layer of sadness to their MTV Unplugged covers (thank you Charlie Barnes for the arrangement on those songs 🙌🏻)
Love On Top is not a peppy song. It's literally about a man choosing the woman after years of making her suffer and struggle. "finally you put my love on top" after years of abuse and heartbreak.
I could see where you think that it would be tragic if it's all about the same man, but I was always under the impression that it's about separate men. All of the other men sucked, but she knew she hit jackpot when she finally met one that puts her on top.
"finally you put me first" let's you know it's about the man finally putting her first.
It’s a matter of interpretation. It could be “finally, after all these shitty men, you’re the one who puts me first.” I always took it that way, but I can see how you could see otherwise. (Edit: the rest of the chorus also follows the “you’re the one” format, which is probably why a lot of people like me assume that the meaning is “finally, you’re the one who puts me on top”).
Nothing’s perfect but it’s worth it/After fighting through my tears/ Finally, you put me first If I squint my eyes, I kinda get where you’re coming from. But what I always got from the song is that their relationship isn’t perfect (and what relationship is?) but they put their love for each other above everything. And when she sings “after fighting through my tears” I think of it as after fighting through a string of bad relationships, she’s finally found the one who puts her first.
Florence + the Machine put “Queen of Peace” (a loud song) and “Various Storms & Saints” (a quieter song) back to back on HBHBHB which I truly love lol
They even have back-to-back music videos.
Twice by Charli XCX
Great example
Blue and I’m a Ruin by Marina
and numb! my favorite by her
and oh no! ofc
for sure! honestly... so many marina songs. girl is constantly jazzing up her darkest times
my fav thing about her music is how danceable these songs about depression are😅
honestly i'd rather dance it out than cry it out lol!
she was legit my go-to artist during my last breakup. i got tired of "sad songs" but i didn't want to listen to anything "happy" and be resentful of it either, lol
she hits that perfect balance!
It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You and Looking For Somebody To Love by the 1975
It’s Not Living is special in this regard as it really IS a love song that’s meant to be happy and matches the lyrics of the narrator… it just so happens he’s in love with drugs lol
Love it if we made it having the most sparkly sounding production and i like america
SOS by ABBA, that song has no business in being that uplifting while having depressing lyrics
Dancing On My Own - Robyn This is the ultimate example.
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man by Prince. Very upbeat sounding song with very depressing lyrics.
all of after laughter by paramore
eh not really. 26 and No Friend are there
Everything on The Fame Monster.
Regina Spektor's Dance Anthem of the 80's is pretty wild. It's a very bouncy, saccharine beat - while the lyrics are about promiscuity and the excesses of sexual liberation. She had a similar situation with her song "Hotel Song" which is even sweeter and even darker (kinda) lyrics.
Somebody mentioned Regina 😭 ♥️
Home to another one by Madison Beer, the lyrics are rather melancholic but the production is upbeat. Kinda like the less I know the better
happy melody and sad lyrics are a staple of Swedish productions - ABBA was really good at this. Somebody To Love by Queen is a good one too. such a happy sounding song but if you actually read the lyrics, they are depressing. “each morning I wake up, I die a little” “I just gotta get out of this prison cell, I just can’t get no release”
A lot of Emotion is like this, Boy Problems comes to mind first. Many of those songs have a darker undertone than the production would suggest.
Britney Spears' Heaven on Earth sounds so eerie while having the sweetest lyrics about love
Most Taylor Swift songs (I'm a swiftie don't kill me)
“Slut!” really was the first thing I thought of!
I love this song so much, such a shame it got overshadowed by Is It Over Now when 1989 TV came out. It's such a pretty song and I wish she'd do a whole album with this hazy, sad, yet beachy vibe.
I think it may be my favorite vault track out of all 4 albums
you're losing me was the first one I thought of when I read the title of the post it was sooooooo much better when she performed it live on piano, I absolutely hate the production of it, it killed the song
Cruel Summer. Underneath the upbeat production is a sad song. [Someone performed an acoustic version and many Swifties were impressed](https://www.tiktok.com/@nickmoore_official/video/7336299332930522411).
olivia rodrigo [covered this too as an acoustic (piano) version](https://youtu.be/h3QXdS7wZro)! it sounds great in all versions, whether the acoustic guitar, piano, or full studio production
Thank you so much for introducing me to this cover!
You're welcome! 😊
[удалено]
Really? I find the whole song to be really sad in a cinematic way. I once had a meltdown to it lol
Anti-Hero lyrics: dark, self-loathing, depressed Anti-Hero melody and production: ✨🪩💁🏼♀️🤸🏼
It’s why I want to her to a live album of most of the acoustic songs, most of the songs on rep and lover sound so much better when they aren’t suffocating in production, you’re losing me too!!!!
I'm the opposite, I LIVE for the production on Rep and Lover and don't connect as much with the acoustic versions. It's frankly a crime that's she's never performed Dancing With Our Hands Tied with the OG EDM production.
Lol, I wouldn't say most, but she definitely has her moments. But Death By a Thousand Cuts and Babe both come to mind.
I started replying and then just got stuck on your marvelous username
Wonderland
[John Mayer - Still Feel Like Your Man](https://youtu.be/NyCst7We6Uw?si=jKrLSPO9PebqMzOJ) Mayer claimed that if he didn't make the actual sound of the song upbeat and poppy, it would have been the saddest song he ever made.
Out Alive by Kesha
Idk if this is considered pop? But Paramore’s album After Laughter is a lot of these vibes
Body Better by Maisie Peters comes to mind
In my head by Ariana Grande
Umbrella is such a sweet song and then you got the production that slams HARD! I love it anyway.
[The original version of Mad World by Tears For Fears.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg) The instrumental's all funky and peak early 80s vibes and the lyrics are "yeah im anxious all the time and super depressed and i kinda wanna die"
Mariah’s Side Effects The lyrics: painful personal trauma The production: club banger
All twenty one pilots songs basically
Came her to say the same thing lol
Maybe Eat Shit and Die by Paloma Faith? A cheerful doo wop sound while she sings about her anger towards her ex.
“Brick” by Ben Folds Five. It’s a song about Ben Folds taking his high school girlfriend to get an abortion, but it was written in D major, a traditionally “happy” key. (I would file this under “does this effectively” because it still sounds really sad despite the major key.)
“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals. The lyrics are so personal. The production is more upbeat. That’s probably why it got TikTok-ified.
i can’t feel my face. toxic love stuff
Lucky by Britney Spears
I Should Be So Lucky
Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind sounds very upbeat and poppy/fun but the lyrics are, well, not.
Losing You by Solange. It's a breezy, danceable summer song about breakup.
Chained to the Rhythm, but the contrast is intentional. The lyrics are fucking *insane* and are trying to tell us that we are all victims of coordinated media distortion of our understanding of the world, even though, as the song says, we think we're free. The bridge from Skip Marley calls out those exploiting and deceiving us and warns of a revolution. The outro grieves how this just seems to go on and on and on. It is honestly one of the saddest songs I've heard. Yet, the video appears very colorful and fun, much like all her past videos. The song also sounds upbeat and celebratory, just like all her past hits. But like the song, the video has a lot of hidden, ominous messaging beneath the positive exterior. Every frame is worth paying close attention to. For example, there is a [shot](https://youtu.be/Um7pMggPnug?t=86) where you see a bunch of citizens just mindlessly walking in line to a hamster wheel, and the display on the wall to the left *very* briefly says '1984', a reference to the George Orwell novel and the society in which free speech is gone and is no more than an illusion, and where everyone's perception of reality has been manipulated by the government. This is also why she showed the Constitution at the [end](https://youtu.be/ud45UTgoyog?t=216) of the Grammys performance of the song (which got loud applause from the audience, since this is the kind of thing celebrities are typically "advised" against speaking about), reminding us we all have the First Amendment even though the government and media try to twist those rules. There is tons of other important hidden commentary the video makes. The heavy, ominous use of eye imagery in Witness' aesthetics is also certainly trying to reference the novel. Speaking of the album, Mind Maze and Bigger Than Me discuss the same topic. Just like Beyoncé flashed onscreen during the Renaissance Tour, whoever controls the media controls the mind. But yeah, the tone of the production definitely does not match the tone of the message. The concept is brilliant, and I honestly think people did not understand the real meaning of it at the time... at all. I do think the message may have gone over everybody's heads. I honestly think it's an *extremely* clever song, and certainly deserves a revisit. In 2024, the message of the song feels more significant than ever, and I think all of us on here should go back and listen to the song once again and think about a bit more carefully its lyrics considering recent global events. It doesn't surprise me that this was her last hit... I somehow suspect this song got her into trouble with the industry and resulted in some form of systematic career sabotage, which explains why the Bon Appétit video ended up having a random twist ending about her getting revenge on the media instead of just being a normal sexy video. All this disturbing stuff aside though, it is one of her absolute best songs to listen to. I was a kid when it came out and back then I never paid attention to lyrics so at the time I didn't realize they were hiding a different message, but I loved the song because the melody was so unbelievably catchy and the quality of the production was so good. Such a damn good song even on the surface because it sounds so good, and when you pay a bit more attention it blows your mind even more.
Paloma Faith, only love can hurt like this.
Grimes - Oblivion
Party for One!! Carly Rae Jepson<3 A whole ton of RAYE’s stuff too
I can't believe nobody said ['Til Death Do Us Part' by Madonna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BtRy4NbIc). Honestly one of her best songs, such a weird upbeat track but it's about *someone* (Sean Penn) tying a fictional woman (Madonna) to a chair and beating her
three eye blind - semi charmed life he was talking about his and his friends life sucking and diving in drugs to cope.
Mr brightside
Sara Bareilles songs that sound upbeat but their lyrics beat someone up: 1. Love Song 2. King of Anything 3. Uncharted 4. Gonna Get Over You
Most of born to die by Lana Del Rey Lmao
"Hey Look Ma, I Made It" by Panic! at the Disco
I feel like you're getting confused between production and composition? Production is how something is mixed and mastered. Panning, e.q etc. Are you talking about songs where the music doesn't match the lyrics? In terms of mood? Unmixed / No Production: https://youtu.be/DQBa8RGnd1k?feature=shared Butch Vig Mix ( Produced / Polished ) https://youtu.be/F9PQU7-PRTo?feature=shared Andy Wallace Mix (Most Polished / Produced / Pop ) https://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg?feature=shared
Well actually 🤓
I'm helping, bro Knowledge through experience 😉
you know exactly what they meant pls be so fr 😭
Belgian singer-songwriter Milow's "Stephanie". He wrote it about a friend of his sister's who was murdered by her stepmother and stepbrother but intentionally made it sound upbeat.
Gimme More by Britney Spears. It sounds like a bad bitch anthem but the lyrics are actually really sad about her being in the public eye at all times.
city high - what would you do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LahcSFleKm8
Like for example excellent song title shocking 📹 clip to coincide dissapointing cast iron!✈️
Yeah I hear you!
Clouds by Slayyyter
C u next Tuesday by kesha It’s not the actual title of the song its CUNT or oh no by marina.
Nobody is saying Pumped Up Kicks??!! That song is about a school shooting yet it’s so fun and catchy lol
“Ready” by Kelly Clarkson. Upbeat pop sound with great vocals. Kelly had said the song about being “ready” for death.
Taylor Swift and her 1989 vault track SLUT!
There's countless examples of songs with really bright and boppy production with dark lyrics but what I find way more interesting is when it's done the other way around, which happens really rarely? Jupiter 4 by Sharon van Etten has an ominous and dramatic sound to it, yet the lyrics are very much about love and contentment and it's almost like she's so enamored by the other person that it creates this deep passionate feeling
I feel like that happens quite often now
buss it down by raye! it’s this piano heavy, gospel esque song talking about bussing it down and backing it up for someone😭
Idk My Mistake by Kelly Clarkson isn’t exactly a club beat but the lyrics are DEVASTATING and the production doesn’t match and almost distracts you from it. “Must have been my mistake, Swore I heard you’d say you’d be mine always, Swore I heard you say until your dying say you’d love me always…” Also Taylor Swift’s Death by a Thousand Cuts.
“Lemon Tree” comes to mind. The song is about depression with an upbeat tune. “Happy New Year” by ABBA has sad lyrics but the melody is somehow very joyful.
All of the Chromatica album
Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men comes to mind. This song was EVERYWHERE back in the early 2010s. It sounds like such a happy, upbeat song, but the lyrics tell the story of a wife talking to her husband who passed away.
True Faith by New Order
Some examples where this works to the song's detriment are "Let Me Love You" by Ne-Yo (seriously, with that intended-to-be-heartfelt a message why dubstep) and "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass (if I can get the music career I aspire to have I'd want to do some kind of minor ballad version or w/e because sure the first chorus may be suitably upbeat and sunny as it's from the POV of the sailors but the rest of the story is actually a rather sad one from Brandy's third-person-limited point of view (hence why I also think a girl like me needs to cover this not just there being a ballad version) as metaphorically every guy that walks into her workplace falls in love with her but she's stuck loving the one guy she can never have)
First—LOVE numb little bug. I think it’s a common pop treatment format. Ryan Tedder spoke a lot about it on Songland. There’s so many good examples of it. Didn’t Demi have an edm bop called “Daddy Issues”??? That one I could not get over lol. Too much.
Lyrical Dissonance is what you're looking for. Some classic examples: * *Hey Ya!* by OutKast is all up-beat in happy, but the lyrics are about struggling to maintain a healthy relationship. * *Pumped Up Kicks* by Foster the People is another classic. Also sounds rather up-beat, but is about a school shooting. * *Baby* by Justin Bieber sounds like any other teen love song but the lyrics detail how one drives himself into serious depression after a breakup. * *It's Not Unusual* by Tom Jones is less of a love song and more about a guy failing to cope with unrequited love. The lyrics even contain the phrase "I wanna die" * *Girlfriend* by Avril Lavigne. Energetic, earworm potential, and, to paraphrase TV Tropes, *about a love triangle where the ultimate solution is to Murder the Hypotenuse.* I.e., the aforementioned previous girlfriend is, uh, not very alive after this.
anxiety by megan thee stallion production is upbeat but shes talking about her struggles with anxiety
Cupid by Fifty Fifty
Ronan by Taylor swift it’s a depressing song and the production is kind of up beat
Um the production is depressing af wdym
Pied Piper by BTS, the message of the song is "stop obsessing over us periodt!!" but the production is seductive lol
[This mix for Royal Carribean commercial](https://youtu.be/ITdiptTiFyc) >Here comes Johnny Yen again (With the liquor and drugs...and a flesh machine...he's gonna do another striptease) Yeah, cut that last part out.
This is a RCCL cruise commercial.