Famous songs loaded with subliminal messages.
The FBI famously compiled a report on The Kingsmen’s hit song Louie Louie to search for subliminal messages, but after uncovering nothing, they stated the music was “unintelligible at any speed”.
To mark the passing of Jack Ely, the lead singer of The Kingsmen, we look at backmasking and songs with subliminal messages.
Queen: Another One Bites The Dust “It’s fun to smoke marijuana”
Drug references and satanic verse are two of the most popular themes in subliminal songwriting.
And Queen seemed to go for the former in their hit Another One Bites The Dust.
When the song is played backwards, it clearly reveals the hidden phrase “It’s fun to smoke marijuana”.
And you definitely don’t need to have taken any to hear it.
The Eagles: Hotel California “Yes, Satan organized his own religion”
The Eagles’ most famous hit Hotel California is a prime example of the more devilish type of reverse recording referencing the devil.
The use of backmasking recording a sound or message backward onto a track playing a song backwards to reveal a hidden message was already popularised by the time The Eagles used the technique.
And they made the most of it, as when Hotel California is played backwards, the chilling lyrics “Yes, Satan organized his own religion” can clearly be heard.
Bet you didn’t sign up for that when you were last living it up at the Hotel California!
Cradle of Filth: Dinner At The Deviant’s Palace The Lord’s Prayer
Ah, shy and retiring Cradle of Filth! Never a band to offend or upset anyone, the Suffolk extreme metal band probably had no idea that their Dinner At The Deviant’s Palace track features one of Christianity’s most sacred texts.
The song’s droning lyrics are actually The Lord’s Prayer played backwards.
The track sounds truly demonic, which is fitting, as devil worshippers use The Lord’s Prayer in reverse to summon demons.
Electric Light Orchestra: Eldorado “The music is reversible, but time…is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!”
Thankfully not all backmasked music contains drug references or seeks to raise demons as illustrated by the Electric Light Orchestra.
Their playful and quirky use of reverse recording is a thumbed-nose to the uptight and serious who use the technique.
Play Eldorado backwards and you’ll be greeted with the phrase “The music is reversible, but time…is not. Turn back! Turn back! Turn back! Turn back!”
A classic and creative use of the age-old technique.
The Stone Roses: Elephant Stone Full Fathon Five
https://youtube.com/watch?v=icBy5mPpyvw
The Stone Roses took backmasking a stage further by recording an entire song backwards.
Elephant Stone is one of the Manchester band’s most famous and popular songs. And it’s loved just as much when played in reverse as Full Fathom Five.
Both songs feature on their greatest hits album and the inverted track sounds like it contains hidden lyrics that are almost comprehensible, although it could just as easily be a trick of the mind.
Lyrics or not, the song is hypnotically melodic in places and completely jarring in others.
A lot like the band itself.
Led Zeppelin: Stairway To Heaven “Oh, here’s to my sweet Satan…”
The most famous has been left for last! Led Zeppelin’s iconic Stairway To Heaven grabbed headlines when it was revealed that the masterpiece contained what was described at the time as “evil hidden messages”.
The band always refuted the claims that they had polluted the song with any such demonic phrases, but when played backwards, it is clearly audible.
“Oh, here’s to my sweet Satan.
“The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan.
“He’ll give those with him 666.
“There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.”
If the band truly had no intention to record the backwards version, it does make things a bit creepy…
The Kingsmen: Louie Louie
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7Vae_AkLb4Q
OK, so Louie Louie may not contain any hidden messages played forward or backwards.
That was certainly the outcome of the FBI investigation at the time of the song’s release.
However, the words are pretty tough to understand!
If you want to find out what the lyrics are, have a look LyricsOnDemand.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe