The ballad evolved from 'Hey Jules', a song McCartney wrote to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce.
According to Jack White, '[song title]' is what he used to call The Salvation Army as a child.
The song is about a man from the South Side of Chicago who, due to his size and attitude, has a reputation as the 'baddest man in the whole damn town.'
An early version of the song appeared in the motion picture 'The Graduate' and its subsequent soundtrack, while the complete song debuted on their album 'Bookends.'
The song is a recounting of 'The Day the Music Died' — the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
Hendrix himself denied the drug relation of the song claiming it to be merely another love song.
Prince created '[song title]' around the central riff of the 1966 song 'Monday, Monday' by The Mamas & the Papas.
Shortly before the writing of the song, Simon was married to James Taylor; she has said that he was 'definitely not' the subject of the song.
The song was written by Jagger with Marsha Hunt in mind; Hunt was Jagger's secret girlfriend and mother of his first child Karis.
The lyric had its origins in a love song from Bono to his wife, but was subsequently reshaped and inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement.
The song was originally written in memory of Duane Allman.
The first recording of the song was made by Allan Clarke of The Hollies, although its release was delayed, only appearing after Springsteen's own now-famous version.
The phrase '[song title]' is a homage to the cartoon 'Beany and Cecil,' which Angus Young watched when he was a child.
David Byrne has said of the song, 'When I started writing this (I got help later), I imagined Alice Cooper doing a Randy Newman-type ballad.'
Davies said that he was inspired to write this song after the band manager Robert Wace had spent the night dancing with a transvestite.
According to Mellencamp, the song was written about a relationship he had with a girl who lived near his hometown of Seymour, Indiana.
Plant had been poring over the works of the British antiquarian Lewis Spence, and later cited Spence's 'Magic Arts in Celtic Britain' as one of the sources for the lyrics.
Don Henley called it 'our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles' and later reiterated: 'It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream.'
Cobain came up with the song's title when his friend Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, spray painted 'Kurt [song title]' on his wall.
The phrase '[song title]' is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means losing one's temper or civility.
The song was originally called 'Cindy Lou', and was named for Buddy's niece, the daughter of his sister Pat Holley Kaiter.
Although '[song title]' sounds somewhat ominous, the term refers to falling in love – which is what June Carter was experiencing with Johnny Cash at the time.
The song, written by bassist Dee Dee Ramone, refers to what was then a well-known spot for male prostitution in New York City, known as 'the Loop.'
In an interview, actor-comedian Dave Coulier admitted to being the ex-boyfriend portrayed in the song.
According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a telex report on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children in a school playground.
According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the song '(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend.'
Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey.
The first line is a reference to codeine distillation and politics of the time: 'Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine/I'm on the pavement thinkin' about the Government.'
The line 'Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov' alludes to Vladimir Nabokov's novel 'Lolita,' which covers somewhat similar issues.
Bruce Springsteen has performed the song several times, most notably at the 2003 Grammy Awards with Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl, and Steven Van Zandt in a tribute to Joe Strummer.
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