About Daniel Expertise I can answer just about any question No Doubt related. Trivial Facts, song meanings, bio info, and everything else. I am a big fan of theirs, that knows more than the average person.
Experience I am a member of a former OC group that was growing at the same time as No Doubt. No Doubt is one of my favorite groups. My knowledge in Orange County groups from the last 15 years is fairly extensive.
Question Hello. I would like to know the meanings of two of my favorite No Doubt songs. Please help me figure out the meanings of "Hey Baby" and "Underneath it All" Thanks a whole lot. I appreciate it. :)
Answer Well as Gwen has stated before, most of the No Doubt lyrics are just pretty much straight forward.
"Hey Baby" meaning:
"I'm the kind of girl that hangs with the guys
Like a fly on the wall with my secret eyes
Taking it in, try to be feminine
With my makeup bag, watching all the sin"
Well she's the only female in the band obviously, so she's always hanging out with the rest of the guys in the band. The song was written about their backstage life while on tour. Despite being with a bunch of guys, she's trying to remain lady like.
"Misfit, I sit, Lit up, wicked
Everybody else surrounded by the girls
With the tank tops and the flirty words"
Because everyone's partying, she's all wide awake. Being from Anaheim, lit up can mean wide awake and not lit up as smoking drugs. This goes on to mention that the other guys have all the female fans surrounding them and trying to hook up with them. Believe it or not, most of the groupies backstage for No Doubt are for the guys.
"I'm just sipping on chamomile
Watching boys and girls and their sex appeal
With a stranger in my face who says he knows my mom
And went to my high school"
She drinks tea after every show because Gwen has vocal chord problems. During the Tragic Kingdom Tour at one point, she lost her voice completely. The tea helps her vocal chords re-cooperate. So she often just watches everyone else party.
The chorus is just a catchy pick up line opening. Nothing behind it's meaning really.
"I'm the one they feed upon
Give a bit, a star is born
And if you're hot enough you'll get the pass
So you can tell your friends how you made it back"
The start of this verse means that the girls going to the shows are dressing as Gwen (feeding upon her look). Often, security at shows will let "hotter" chicks backstage to hang out with the group. In fact, rock legends Van Halen paid their security to find the "hottest" girls at the show to invite backstage.
"No matter what they say I'm still the same
Somehow everybody knows my name
And all the girls wanna get with the boys
And the boys really like it"
No matter what people tell her, she still feels like the same person and everyone knows her name obviously because of who she is. The guys like the girls flirting with them and trying to hook up with them.
Well onto:
"Underneath It All" meaning:
"There's times when I want something more
Someone more like me
There's times when this dress rehearsal
Seems incomplete"
Gwen sometimes wishes she was with a guy more like her. Gavin is different than her in many ways. She then refers to all the dating before a marriage as a dress rehearsal. Being incomplete, it shows that she sometimes doubts that he might everything she wanted.
"But you see the colors in me
Like no one else
And behind your dark glasses
You're something else "
Gavin knows her inside and out better than anyone else. He often wears sunglasses, so she's making it seem like he's just hiding his true self behind them.
The chorus is very straight forward.
"You know some real bad tricks
And you need some discipline
But lately you've been trying real hard
And giving me your best "
Gavin has some traits that bug her. Before they married, he often was a flirt with other women, so she probably wants him to stop in the line where she says he needs discipline. Closer to when they got married, he became more dedicated to her and started trying his best to love her.
"And you give me the most gorgeous sleep
That I've ever had
And when it's really bad
I guess it's not that bad"
She sleeps easier knowing that he's totally into her. Sometimes her life seems to suck, but with him around, it doesn't seem too bad.
"So many moons that we have seen
Stumbling back next to me
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me better
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me better"
They had been together a long time together, which is represented in the line "so many moons"... She feels like he makes her a better person.
"You've used up all your coupons
And all you got left is me
And somehow I'm full of forgiveness
I guess it's meant to be... "
He's used up all the excuses he can make. He and Gwen broke up a few times and she always seemed to forgive him. Obviously she must have forgiven him to marry him. So that's where "I guess it's meant to be" comes in.
Well hopefully that helps you understand the meanings more. No Doubt has usually been straight forward with all their lyrics. The lyrics Gwen has wrote for No Doubt usually revolve around the guy she's with at the time.
