Some songs have odd titles, but some of my favorites are the songs for which most people assume that the dominant phrase from the chorus is the title, but it isn't.
The Clash: Train in Vain
Most obvious (but wrong) title: Did You Stand by Me
Neither "Train" nor "Vain" appear in lyrics at all. Heck, "in" only appears once and it's a freakin' preposition! Heard this song today on Slacker Radio and it motivated me to finally write this up. The seed of this post was planted during the Super Bowl halftime show when I heard The Who perform ....
The Who: Baba O'Riley
Most obvious (but wrong) title: Teenage Wasteland
Neither Baba nor O'Riley appear in lyrics.
Simon and Garfunkel: 59th Street Bridge Song
Most obvious (but wrong) title: Feelin' Groovy
No bridges or streets are mentioned, but I get this title. It's like a pastoral piece. Still, If I played the song for 100 people and asked them to name the title, how many would name it correctly? Certainly not many who were born after Kennedy was shot.
New Order: Love Vigilantes
This is added to the list mostly because I love Iron and Wine's rendition of the song.
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