The two I can think of are:
- It’s Not Unusual
- Escape (The Piña Colada Song)
My (American) kids love this song. :D
This one immediately came to mind. They have a lot more good songs too.
That was my first thought.
Houdini is no slouch either
99 Luftballons is upbeat and fun, and about some balloons inadvertently kicking off a cataclysmic war that leaves the world in ruins.
It’s about the cold war paranoia. Sound is all synth pop upbeat, though.
The English version is called “99 Red Balloons”.
Damn, I gotta go read those lyrics.
excerpt from the last verse
It’s all over and I’m standin’ pretty
In this dust that was a cityIf I could find a souvenier just to prove the world was here… here it is, a red balloon. I think of you, and let it go…
The balloons were a metaphor for the mushroom clouds from the nukes going off
So you’re saying that the person standing in ruin at the end of the song thinks of their loved one and sets off a nuclear bomb?
I think the red balloons were just red balloons, mistaken for an enemy attack.
You and I in a little toy shop Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got Set them free at the break of dawn 'Til one by one, they were gone Back at base, sparks in the software Flash the message "something's out there" Floating in the summer sky 99 red balloons go by 99 red balloons Floating in the summer sky Panic bells, it's red alert There's something here from somewhere else The war machine springs to life Opens up one eager eye Focusing it on the sky The 99 red balloons go by 99 Decision Street 99 ministers meet To worry, worry, super scurry Call the troops out in a hurry This is what we've waited for This is it boys, this is war The President is on the line As 99 red balloons go by 99 knights of the air Ride super high-tech jet fighters Everyone's a superhero Everyone's a Captain Kirk With orders to identify To clarify and classify Scrambling the summer sky 99 red balloons go by As 99 red balloons go by 99 dreams I have had In every one, a red balloon It's all over, and I'm standing pretty In this dust that was a city If I could find a souvenir Just the prove the world was here And here is a red balloon I think of you, and let it goFrom Wikipedia:
The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a military general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but balloons, the pilots put on a large show of firepower. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the defense ministers on each side encourage conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a cataclysmic war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons and causes devastation on all sides without a victor, as indicated in the denouement of the song: “99 Jahre Krieg ließen keinen Platz für Sieger,” which means “99 years of war left no room for victors.” The anti-war song finishes with the singer walking through the devastated ruins of the world and finding a single balloon. The description of what happens in the final line of the piece is the same in German and English: “‘Denk’ an dich und lass’ ihn fliegen,” or “Think of you and let it go.”[11]
Holy cow those lyrics are dark, I somehow never noticed. Lol
In my opinion, the lyrics tell a pretty straightforward story, no real need for metaphor
Someone releases a bunch of balloons into the sky, they get mistaken for enemy aircraft/missiles, and set off a war.
If you get more out of it with your interpretation, more power to you, but it feels like a bit of an unnecessary stretch though.
Hey Ya by Outkast.
Also pretty much everything I have ever heard by Steely Dan.
Hey Ya is an excellent example.
Steely Dan seems more low key. And he hates on my alma mater lol. And he acted like kind of a dick when I saw him live. But I do love his sound, like warm tea with honey and a lil splash of bourbon.
Ok, maybe just the bourbon, honey optional.
Semi-Charmed Life is the first thing that always comes to my mind
hey ya – Outkast It’s about relationships that aren’t working out, but you still stay together.
" thank God for Mom and Dad / for sticking two together cause we don’t know how"
Then later
" are we so in denial when we know we’re not happy here? / y’all don’t want to hear me, y’all just want to dance"
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Good point. Born in the USA and Fortunate Son would probably fit in here as well.
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Pumped up kicks fits this for me.
what do you mean? isn’t that just about the modern american dream?
Shooting up your school? What schools did you go to?
Shot up ones
It’s about pumping up your shoes before b ball at recess.
Born in the USA
Someone’s boat was blasting that at the 4th of July on the water. My brother in Christ, I understood the lyrics back in 1984. It’s a jammin’ tune, but damn.
90% of ska/ska punk music is like this. A few examples:
“The Science of Selling Yourself Short” - Less Than Jake
“Beer” - Reel Big Fish
“Struggler” and “I Don’t Love You Anymore” - Bomb the Music Industry!
“The Last Bell I Will Ever Hear”, “1-800-ALARM-ME” and “Last on my List” - The Arrogant Sons of Bitches
“Ska Dream” and “Checkerboard Ashtray” - Jeff Rosenstock
“A Better Place, a Better Time” and “As the Footsteps Die Out Forever” - Streetlight Manifesto
Absolutely this.
Nearly Everything by Reel Big Fish. It’s all fun ska and mostly about social anxiety, broken hearts, and substance abuse. I love them.
I’ll have to listen to that one! “I Know You Too Well to Like You Anymore” fits the bill as well. A very ugly fight between a couple who hate each other but can’t live without one another.
Oops, I messed up my capitalization. I just meant nearly every song by them.
Pumped up kicks by foster the people
Pumped up kicks
Under the bridge Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Came here to post pumped up kicks
pumped up kicks
The Macarena I’d about a woman cheating on her BF getting drafted into the military with 2 other guys
Which is pretty intense for a song they taught to kids in grade school
Every Stromae’s songs.
It’s always funny to see non-french-speaking people being so hyped by Stromae’s songs, like they think it’s joyful af and all… While his songs lyrics are litterally about :- a man who drinks and dances a lot in order to forget his shitty life ( Alors on danse )
- a song about his father who was killed during Rwanda’s genocide ( Papaoutai )
- other songs about suicide, cancer, breakups, addictions, depression etc… But always with an upbeat melody !
I don’t speak a lick of French (I know enough Spanish to recognize some words if they are slightly similar, but that’s it) but still enjoy Stromae, although I’ve never found his music to be upbeat. I think, especially in Papaoutai, you can hear the struggle and sadness in the tone of the song and in his voice.
- El Fusilado - Chumbawumba. A happy clappy sunshiney recounting of the life and times of one Wenceslao Moguel, a soldier of Pancho Villa’s who was captured, executed by firing squad, and lived to tell the tale. Short version: He got knocked down, but he got up again.
- Scarborough Fair - Folk; often associated with Simon and Garfunkel. I’m stretching the definition of “upbeat” here, but it baffles me that this is counted by anyone as a love song. It’s a song about two ex-lovers expressing how much they hate each other by assigning each other impossible tasks as conditions for taking them back. He says “tell her I’ll take her back if she sews me a shirt with no seams, washes it in a dry well and hangs it to dry on a vine with no thorns.” She says “O RLY? Well you tell him that if he finds an acre of land between the ocean and the beach, sews it all with one seed and reaps it with a leather scythe, I’ll take him back. And I’ll even make him his damn shirt.” It’s a bitter song.
- Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins. Again I’m stretching the definition of “upbeat,” it’s slow in tempo, kind of heavy, but it has that big sexy hook, manages to feel kind of breezy, it feels designed for first dances at wedding receptions, and the refrain is “It’s just another day for you and me in paradise.” It feels like a competitor to Fields of Gold by Sting. It’s not! The verses are about the humanity crushing power of abject poverty.
Chumbawamba are great, especially that album.
