Fans of the Little League World Series know that this year Japan beat Hawaii to end the U.S.’ five-year winning streak. But any way you look at it, with the teams from Japan and Hawaii (and Taiwan who played Japan before the Hawaii game) in contention, that’s a lot of Asian faces. So maybe it was inevitable that a mini-controversy would erupt when Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” prominently blared from the speakers between innings during the championship game.

So why is this such a big deal? Well, if you actually listen carefully to the Boss’ lyrics, this is what you’ll hear:

Born down in a dead man’s town,
the first kick I took was when I hit the ground,
you end up like a dog that’s been beat too much,
till you spend half your life just covering up.
I got in a little hometown jam,
so they put a rifle in my hands,
sent me off to a foreign land,
to go and kill the yellow man.

Not only is this a bleak and depressing tale of a disillusioned Vietnam vet which alone may make it a poor selection for a Little League game, but maybe a song with a line about killing “the yellow man” wasn’t the most appropriate choice for a Little League game with so many Asian players and Asian fans in the stands.

As this one commentator who was in attendance wrote:

Here’s an analogy. Let’s say an Asian country hosted an international youth expo and invited a group of American kids to attend. They even paid for the kids’ transportation and housing in Asia.

During closing ceremonies, an Asian entertainer walks onstage with children and sings does a song about North Vietnam soldiers shooting down U.S. pilots during the Vietnam War. And for the cherry on top, the song drops an ethnic slur about Americans.

That wouldn’t be very Welcome Wagon of them.

After the game, I talked with a Little League official, who asked not to be identified. I said, “Are you aware that Born in the USA, the song that Dugout and the umpire danced to, is about a Vietnam vet who can’t get a job, and the song talks about shooting Asian people?”

The official shook his head, like “Please say you’re kidding me.”

But this isn’t the first time “Born In The U.S.A.” has been misunderstood. During the 1984 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan played it at his rallies. Obviously, he and his handlers assumed that the title represented the type of all-American patriotism they were trying to sell but, ironically, the song (and Springsteen himself) was critical of the very policies the Reagan administration was pushing.

But as the writer of the piece above points out, this isn’t the only time people have misunderstood a song. He points to the popularity of “I Will Always Love You” at weddings—a song that’s actually about a break-up:

If I should stay, I would only be in your way
So I’ll go, but I know
I’ll think of you ev’ry step of the way
Bittersweet memories
That is all I’m taking with me.
So goodbye, please don’t cry
We both know I’m not what you need.

There are other songs that also fit into this category. I’ve always found it odd that the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” is also a wedding favorite when it’s actually a song about the romantic practice of…stalking:

Oh can’t you see you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Every move you make and every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you

Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You” is another popular love song that’s played at its fair share of weddings and other romantic occasions. Too bad it’s about infidelity and cheating:

A few stolen moments is all that we share
You’ve got your family, and they need you there
Though I’ve tried to resist, being last on your list
But no other man’s gonna do
So I’m saving all my love for you

And let’s not forget all the songs about “self-love” that a lot of people don’t know are about “self-love” (click here for my top five list).

But I think my favorite “misunderstood” song has to be Dexy’s Midnight Runner’s “Come On Eileen.” OK, maybe this is a stretch, but pay close attention to the lyrics and consider if it’s possible that the guy in the song has something a bit more…unsavory and messy and sticky in mind when he sings “Come on Eileen” (he does remark that his thoughts are dirty, after all). Bukkake anyone?:

Come on Eileen, I swear, well he means
Ah come on let’s take off everything,
That pretty red dress Eileen (Tell him yes)
Ah come on let’s, ah come on Eileen, please.

Hey, if even Bob Dylan himself could misunderstand the lyrics in the Beatles’ classic “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (he thought they were saying “I get high” when they were actually singing “I can’t hide” and offered his fellow “stoners” their first joint when they met), then it’s not so difficult to understand that all us mere mortals might be susceptible as well.

Any other songs with lyrics that you misunderstood?