Scratching The Surface

It's a Friday night in Grahamstown... the throng of students pulses in response to the flashing of the lights and the beat of the sound which issues from the vibrating speakers. Happily, they sing along to the latest chart hit, girating their bodies and glancing coyly in the direction of the boy/girl they have their eye on tonight.
But how many of them actually know what they are singing along to? Have any of them ever pondered the lyrics to the song which they now belt out without any conscious thought? I am one of the few people I know that is first attracted to a song by its lyrics and their meaning rather than the beat.
I offer the recent hit "Black and Gold", by Sam Sparro, as an example. This song is often played at clubs because it is catchy, and easy to dance to. Would drunk students be as likely to go with this if they knew that they were dancing to a song about God? Would some not say that this would be like dancing to a hymn? And yes, "Black and Gold" is about religion. It is not a romantic song, written about a lost love of the narrator, but rather an expression of his feeling that his life would be nothing without his religion "if you're not really there, then the stars don't even matter, now I'm filled to the top with fear that it's all just a bunch of matter". This is easier to figure out once you know that the singer's father was a minister.
Also, how many people know that "Together Again" by Janet Jackson was about losing someone to AIDS, or that "The Scientist" by Coldplay is about suicide.
So next time you hear a song on the radio and feel the need to start moving those hips, take a moment to consider what you're actually listening to.