3 Songs From the 90s That Everyone Knows but Can Never Name

The 90s were full of ominous hit songs. Here are a few songs from the decade that are easy to recognize but harder to name. 

“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba

If you were to guess what the name of this Chumbawamba hit is, you’d probably be thinking something along the lines of “I get knocked down, but I get up again.” The word “Tubthumping” actually doesn’t appear in the song at all. 

“Tubthumping” is a term that means to advocate for something as a politician would. Although this song isn’t meant to be super political, it is meant to be an anthem for the working class. 

“The song changed everything. Before ‘Tubthumping’ I felt we were in a mess. We had become directionless and disparate,” frontman Dunstan Bruce told The Guardian. “It’s not our most political or best song, but it brought us back together. The song is about us – as a class and as a band. The beauty of it was we had no idea how big it would be.”

“One Headlight” by The Wallflowers

It might be because the title doesn’t rhyme at the end of the chorus, but regardless of why, “One Headlight” is a song I remember for the vibe more than its name. But make no mistake, the words are definitely there.

Come on, try a little
Nothing is forever
There’s got to be something better than
In the middle
But me and Cinderella
We’ll put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight.

This song went No. 1 on three of Billboard‘s rock airplay charts, a feat that had never been done before.

“Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve

I feel like the title of this tune often slips past people. Especially because this song is known for that orchestral part that plays throughout. However, I would also argue that, given the arrangement, the song’s title, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, should feel fairly obvious. 

As lead singer Richard Ashcroft revealed to SongFacts, this tune is about how wealth is unfulfilling at the end of the day.

“People have been sold a lottery dream in life that money solves everyone’s problems,” he explained. “Suddenly you’re looking at people and you’re thinking: ‘I know they need X but if I give X then that relationship that should have died years ago is going to carry on and spoil…’”

Photo by: Mick Hutson/Redferns

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