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 😂”
Sony Music Entertainment
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics from the fictional 2001 boy band parody from Josie and the Pussycats.
Sony Music Entertainment
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 didn’t care anymore.”
Warner Music Group
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.
Warner Music Group
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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.)”
Universal Music Publishing Group
Related: I’m Sorry, But Only Your Parents And Grandparents Will Pass This Classic Music Video Quiz
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Prince’s 1983 hit from his fifth album, 1999.
Universal Music Publishing Group
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.”
Warner Music Group
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Madonna’s 1989 hit from her fourth studio album, Like A Prayer.
Warner Music Group
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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 😂.”
MCA Records
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.
MCA Records
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.”
Sony Music Group
And here’s the performance at Live Aid 1985, along with the full lyrics to Lou Reed’s 1972 hit from his second solo album, Transformer.
Sony Music Group
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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. 🤣”
Universal Music Group
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Aerosmith’s 1997 hit from their 12th studio album, Nine Lives.
Universal Music Group
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 it’s about going to church!’ before a kid then laughed and me and told me that that’s not what the song is about. He didn’t elaborate, but it made me so confused at the time.”
Sony Columbia Records
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Hozier’s 2013 hit from his self-titled debut album.
Sony Columbia Records
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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.”
Warner Music Group
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Foxy’s 1978 hit song from their second album, Get Off.
Warner Music Group
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 🤣”
Universal Music Group
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to James’ 1993 title track from their fifth studio album.
Universal Music Group
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11. “I had no idea ‘She Bop’ by Cyndi Lauper was about masturbation. Me and my friends sang it throughout senior year constantly! 🤣🤦🏻♀️”
Sony Music Group
“I sang ‘She Bop’ by Cyndi Lauper at a school talent show when I was in 2nd grade. I did however, win first place 😏.”
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.
Sony Music Group
Related: If You Can’t Get 90% On This Music Quiz, You Have NO Respect For The Classics
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 🤣: ‘Get down get down and move it all around, you’re the one for me, you’re my ecstasy.'”
Sony Music Entertainment
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics of Backstreet Boys’ 1996 song from their self-titled debut album.
Sony Music Entertainment
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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.”
RCA Records
And here’s this colorful lyric video and the full lyrics of Jefferson Starship’s 1975 hit from their second album, Red Octopus.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
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).”
Warner Music Group
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to the B-52’s 1979 single for their self-titled debut album.
Warner Music Group
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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.”
Warner Music Group
And here’s the live performance and the full lyrics to *NYSNC’s upbeat 2000 track from their third studio album, No Strings Attached.
Warner Music Group
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.”
Capitol Records
And here’s the music video and the uncomfortable lyrics to the Knack’s 1979 single from their debut album, Get the Knack.
Capitol Records
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17. “Queen’s ‘Killer Queen’ is actually about a prostitute.”
Sony Music
Related: As MAGA Freaks Out, Here’s What Previous Super Bowl Headliners Are Saying About Bad Bunny
And here’s the live performance and the full lyrics to Queen’s 1974 hit from their third album, Sheer Heart Attack.
Sony Music Group
18. “‘Night Moves’ by Bob Seger is straight up about sex.”
Universal Music Group
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.
Universal Music Group
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19. “‘Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss’ by Bloodhound Gang.”
Universal Music Group
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Bloodhound Gang’s 2005 song from their fourth studio album, Hefty Fine.
Universal Music Group
20. “”All For You’ by Janet Jackson.”
Universal Music Group
Suggested by osubuck182002
And here’s the music video and the lyrics to Janet’s 2001 title track from her seventh studio album.
Universal Music Group
21. “‘Scream’ by Usher. I was so oblivious as a kid.”
Sony Music Entertainment
And here’s the music video and the full lyrics to Usher’s 2011 single from his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself.
Sony Music Entertainment
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.
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