Everyone loves to get up on the dancefloor and “shake it like a polaroid picture” when Outkast’s hit song ‘Hey Ya’ comes on.
However, despite the song’s presence in our lives for nearly 20 years now, fans have realized that the catchy, upbeat song actually has a sad and darker meaning behind it.
The American hip-hop duo Outkast debuted the track in 2003 off of their double-release album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which won Album of the Year at the Grammy’s in 2004.
‘Hey Ya’ also won lots of awards, including a Grammy for Best Urban/ Alternative performance.
But, while the chorus basically repeats ‘Hey Ya’ loads of times, it is in the verses where the true meaning of the song is revealed.
According to Newsweek, a TikTok user took to the platform to explain the sad meaning behind the song. The user, @elizadeva, said: “André 3000 actually wrote this about modern-day relationships and how messed up they are.”
Watch her explanation here:A closer look at the lyrics - without the upbeat music in the background - really reads like a depressing Shakespeare monologue:
“If what they say is
Nothing is forever
Then what makes, then what makes
Love the exception?”
And then:
“Why, oh, why, oh, why, oh
Are we so in denial when we know we’re not happy here?”
The Tik-Tok user explained that the lyrics are basically saying that “people stay in them [relationships] because they just don't want to be alone, not because of their love for the other person.”
The duo, who have since disbanded, even confirmed the song’s meaning wasn’t as positive as people thought it was.
Outkast tweeted a popular meme format at the time, which broke the song down as one part “a bop” but for the majority, “the saddest song ever written.”
Fans even pointed out that Outkast knew what they were doing when they wrote the lyrics.
Referring to André 3000 as “3-Stacks”, one Twitter user pointed out the lyric: “Y’all don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance.”
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André 3000 implies he knows that listeners won’t even think about the deeper meaning of the song, and will just see it as an upbeat tune.
Many fans were shocked, saying they needed to listen again more closely, with one person tweeting: "Not me just wanting to dance and not listening to the lyrics. I had no idea this was a sad song. Sheesh. I’m embarrassed."
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Others admitted how groovy the song was until they realized its darker meaning.
In fact, if people want to hear a more melancholy version of the song, check out The Blanks' version below:
Even though the lyrics may not be that cheerful, ‘Hey Ya’ is still a classic and well-loved song that we’ll definitely be listening to for years to come.
