More often than not, the songs we listen to daily have an underlying meaning behind the lyrics. While it seems one of the main topics of songs tends to be heartbreak, there are also many about disease. The team at House Call Doctor have put together a list of ten popular songs you didn’t know were about disease.
The 90’s smash hit by girl group TLC gives light to both the illicit drug trade in the US and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Within the official music video, a woman in a relationship is seen convincing her partner to have sex without a condom. Later in the video the boyfriend is seen inspecting himself in the mirror as he gets sicker.
The lyrics:
“His health is fading, and he doesn't know why
Three letters took him to his final resting place.”
Australian alternative rock band Silverchair released this song in 1999, shortly after the group’s lead singer Daniel Johns announced he had developed the eating disorder anorexia nervosa due to anxiety/depression.
Johns noted that the lyrics to "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" dealt with his disorder, where he would "eat what he needed … to stay awake”. Ana is the nickname given to anorexia nervosa by people affected by it. Johns eventually overcame the disorder realising that he would never be cured of the disease but could live a fulfilled life by learning to cope with it. The song concludes with the lyrics:
“And you’re my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an anorexia life.”
Four moths prior to the release of this song in 2013, vocalist Glenn Hughes underwent t heart surgery to replace his aortic valve and survived subsequent near-fatal complications.
"I was lying on my bed and had all of my friends around me and thought that I had died, he said"
That's what the lyric:
“I should have been gone. But I came back for me”
is about.
Underwood tells the story of a young girl who grows into a woman, gets married and gives birth to a daughter before being struck down by Alzheimer's as she comes to the end of her life.
In an interview with ABC Nightline, Underwood said one of the lyricists wrote it about his mother who was suffering from Alzheimer's. The songstress added it reminded her of her grandmother's death. "I get emotional even talking about this song to be honest. It's just beautiful," she said. "It just becomes very real… and I remember my grandmother at the end of her life, looking at my dad and thinking that that was my grandfather."
This song expresses the emotional burden of cancer, while also working to uplift those fighting the disease.
The song’s intro consists of several narratives from cancer survivors and focuses on two people, Charlie Wilson and Charles Porter – two celebrities who recently fought cancer.
Fiasco's YouTube page provided a description of the song:
“’Mission’ is a track to empower those facing cancer, revere cancer survivors and remember those who have passed to due to cancer related illnesses. With an inspiring introduction from various cancer survivors telling their story, anchored by legendary singer/songwriter and cancer survivor Charlie Wilson, ‘Mission’ has Lupe Fiasco expressing stories of the emotional burden of cancer, while also working to uplift those in an effort to help fight the disease. In support of "Mission," Lupe has joined Stand Up to Cancer, a grassroots movement to raise funds to accelerate the pace of cancer research, as a celebrity ambassador.”
Ring around the Rosie is a children's song sung with smiling, laughing and hand-holding, however it actually has very morbid roots, relating to one of the deadliest epidemics in all of history – the Black Death.
The opening words, "Ring around the Rosy," describes the skin lesion associated with the Bubonic Plague that appears as a bright red, or rosy, ulcerated spot surrounded by a ring.
The next line, "Pocket full of Posies," indicates how physicians used to carry scented herbs and flowers, called posies, in front of their noses in an attempt to ward off the plague. Traditional 17th Century London physicians wore long robes and a long beaked mask with posies stuffed inside.
The final verse, "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down," symbolises death by the plague.
The track is written about Halsey's experience with mental health, her bipolar disorder and her feeling of being out of step with the rest of society. She was hospitalised for a suicide attempt when she was 17.
The lyric “I think there’s a flaw in my code” is referring to her bipolar disorder which is known to be linked to genetic factors.
Halsey dreams of being accepted by the general public but suggests this may never come true because she’s placed under the restrictions of society and its cultural boundaries. This is what is referenced in the following lyrics:
“And all the people say,
‘You can’t wake up, this is not a dream,
You’re part of a machine, you are not a human being’.”
Ed Sheeran's grandfather battled Alzheimer's Disease for 20 years before it claimed his life in 2013. Shortly afterwards, Sheeran released this song describing memories of growing up with a grandfather who lost the ability to recognise even those who were close to him. It also tenderly portrays the love between his grandparents.
The opening lyrics set the scene for the song and describe how debilitating Alzheimer’s can be:
“Things were all good yesterday
And then the devil took your memory.”
Further on in the song, Sheeran explains how the disease can cause people to forget things, including their own family:
“And my father told me son,
It’s not your fault he doesn’t know your face.”
“Save You” is about lead singer Pierre Bouvier’s brother’s battle with cancer. Speaking with They Will Rock You, Bouvier opened up about the song:
“It’s about my brother, he went through a two-year battle with cancer and he went through numerous chemotherapy sessions and went through a bone marrow transplant and it was really tough time for my family and I. Just going through that and seeing someone so close to you go through that kind of stuff is very difficult. The song is about how I felt powerless in that whole situation. Now he’s better, which is great news, but that is probably the song that I feel most connected to, Bouvier said.”
Bouvier’s feelings toward his brother are clear through the song:
“Sometimes I wish I could save you,
And there's so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up 'til it's over
If it takes you forever, I want you to know.”
In a video surrounding the making of the album Colour the Small One, Sia describes the meaning behind the song:
“’Breathe Me’ is about feeling worried, generally anxious. Being overwhelmed by your own inner dialogue and having some sort of conniption fit and potentially doing yourself some harm, then asking for help."
This song is about her falling into depression and her struggle battling the condition. The lyric:
“And the worst part is there’s no one else to blame”
is a reference to her explaining that it’s no one’s fault that she feels this way. We see that she starts to blame herself for the way she feels and wants someone to love her and help her while she fights her depression.