It’s a given that artists can’t always control the way the public interprets their songs. Sometimes, though, a song is so badly misunderstood that it makes you question whether people are listening at all. With that, we visit some of the most badly misinterpreted songs of all time.

THE POLITICAL

• “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen

The Boss was and is always going to be seen as a blue-collar American icon, but that doesn’t mean he waved the red, white and blue blindly. The anthemic “Born in the USA” has one of rock’s all time great choruses, which was so inspiring that Ronald Reagan used the song in his 1984 presidential campaign. One problem — the song actually lambastes American foreign policy in Vietnam and finds the protagonist questioning his own patriotism.

Giveaway lyric: “I had a brother at Khe Sahn, fighting off the Viet Cong/ they’re still there, he’s all gone.”

• “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie

Often sung in schools in the U.S., this folk classic is heralded as the ultimate song about the American dream. Of course, if you listen all the way to the last verse, you realize that Guthrie was actually writing about a failed America, and wasn’t being all that subtle about it.

Giveaway lyric: “In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple/ near the relief office, I see my people/ And some are grumblin’ and some are wonderin’/ if this land’s still made for you and me.”

THE LOVE SONGS

• “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

A classic love song that finds its way into many wedding ceremonies and ill-fated romantic mix tapes. Of course, the song is actually about a stalker who spends each waking moment obsessing with the day-to-day life of his victim. Even the music video shows Sting’s half-lit face looking like he’s a little more than just “interested.”

Giveaway lyric: “Every move you make, every step you take/ I’ll be watching you.”

• “The One I Love” by R.E.M.

Lord knows how this one has been so misunderstood through the years. Commonly thought of as another sappy love song, it contains so few lyrics that it’s got to be hard to miss the fact that the main lyric, “This one goes out to the one I love,” is sung with just a hint of sarcasm.

Giveaway lyric: “A simple prop to occupy my time.”

THE BIZARRE

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen

A common interpretation of the classic Queen song is that it’s a first person account of Freddie Mercury’s struggle with AIDS. The problem with that theory? Mercury wrote the song a decade before he contracted the disease. Other interpretations are all over the map, but when Queen released a Greatest Hits album in Iran, it came with a complete description of the song’s meaning. “Bohemian Rhapsody” follows the story of a man who accidentally murders someone and then calls to God to restore his soul.

Giveaway lyric: Nothing could possibly give away what Mercury was thinking when he penned this song.

• “Drain You” by Nirvana

While this song could realistically be about any number of Kurt Cobain’s parasitic relationships — whether with heroin or one of his love interests — Cobain asserted many times before his death that the song’s lyrics were meant more literally. According to him, the song is about a parasitic relationship between unborn twins, with one twin literally draining the other, resulting in a stillbirth. Is it wrong that I’d prefer the song to be about heroin?

Giveaway lyric: “One baby to another said I’m lucky to have met you… it is now my duty to completely drain you.”

THE DEPRESSING

• “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding

A legend of ’60s soul, Otis Redding couldn’t control the public perception of his classic song in the years after his death. “Dock of the Bay” is now seen as a relaxing, feel-good song about spending some precious time doing nothing. In reality, the song finds a man sitting on the dock of the bay, considering throwing himself in.

Giveaway lyric: “I’ve had nothing to live for/ looks like nothing’s gonna come my way.”