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Fans Discover the Heartbreaking and Dark Meaning Behind Outkast's Hey Ya!

When you think of Outkast’s number one hit 'Hey Ya!', you would think of a happy dance bop but now Outkast themselves have reminded fans that it’s actually that saddest song ever written.
We all know the iconic lyrics, ’shake it like a polaroid picture’, but listen to the words a little closer and you’ll realise that the song actually has a sadder meaning and we’ve all been oblivious to it.
 
TikTok user @elizadeva talked about the song in her series, ’Songs That Hit Different When You Know What They’re Written About’. She says in her video:
 
"What you didn't know is that the song has a darker meaning behind it. Andre 3000 actually wrote this about modern-day relationships and how messed up they are. In the beginning of his song, he even references his own relationship talking about how his baby doesn’t wanna leave him, but how he doesn’t really know what the reason is behind it." 
If you just read the lyrics, it actually sounds like a really sad song. Even at the breakdown at the end, he makes a reference to how people are just gonna see it as a happy song, and not even think about the deeper meaning behind it. Nor do they even wanna hear about it. He literally says 'you all don’t wanna listen to me, you just wanna dance.' 
@elizadeva

Go listen & it will hit DIFFERENT! Follow for Part 5! (Hey Ya! By OutKast) ##songwriting ##music ##deepermeaning ##hitdifferent ##LearnOnTiktok ##trend ##fyp

♬ original sound - Elizabeth

A fan has even done a cover, revealing how sad the song sounds when sang differently.

The meaning hasn't been a secret though, as in an interview with MTV from 2004, Andre 3000 explained:

"'Hey Ya!' is pretty much about the state of relationships in the 2000s. It's about some people who stay together in relationships because of tradition, because somebody told them, 'You guys are supposed to stay together.' But you pretty much end up being unhappy for the rest of your life.

 

Check out the lyrics below for yourself, listen closely and see if it hits different!

 

One, two, three!
My baby don't mess around
Because she loves me so
This I know fo sho!

But does she really wanna
But can't stand to see me walk out the door
Don't try to fight the feeling
Because the thought alone is killin' me right now
Thank God for Mom and Dad
For sticking to together
Like we don't know how

Hey ya! Hey ya!
Hey ya! Hey ya!
Hey ya! Hey ya!
Hey ya! Hey ya!

You think you've got it
Oh, you think you've got it
But got it just don't get it when there's nothin' at all
We get together
Oh, we get together
But separate's always better when there's feelings involved
Know what they say -its
Nothing lasts forever!
Then what makes it, then what makes it
Then what makes it, then what makes it
Then what makes love the exception?
So why, oh, why, oh
Why, oh, why,…

 Image Credit: (@Outkast / Twitter)