You know they’re great songs. But did you know they overflow with meaning?
Adele, "Someone Like You"
Lyric: Never mind, I'll find someone like you.
I wish nothing but the best for you too.
Don't forget me, I beg.
I remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."
You know how the time flies,
Only yesterday was the time of our lives.
Meaning: Adele could have easily said, "I'm heartbroken, this sucks," but opted to contort notions of time and love and stuff. It's poetry.
Source: alfa.gifs-planet.com
The Jackson Five, "I'll Be There"
Lyric: You and I must make a pact,
We must bring salvation back.
Where there is love, I'll be there.
Meaning: It's clearly about love, but the idea of salvation = dedication = something to aspire to/be near, that's pretty deep.
Source: mjlyricsonly.com
Lil Wayne ft. Bruno Mars, "Mirror"
Lyric: Mirror on the wall,
Ohh here we are again, Yeah.
Through my rise and fall,
You've been my only friend, Yeah.
You told me that they can understand the man I am.
So why are we here talkin' to each other again?
Meaning: Lil Wayne isn't known for introspection, so perhaps that's why the song's chorus relies on Bruno Mars' soaring vocals. Whatever the case, the song is something of an analogy: clearly both gentlemen aren't talking to themselves in a mirror, but they are giving us some internal dialogue. The mirror is a metaphor. Get it? Weezy, didn't know you had it in ya.
Carly Simon, "You're So Vain"
Lyric: I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee.
Clouds in my coffee and you're so vain,
You probably think this song is about you.
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you.
Don't you? Don't You?
Meaning: Simon doesn't miss a beat: she dated some jerk who is so selfish, he'll probably take credit for the song's subject. Meta and melancholic because he is, indeed, the subject. The stanza's opening lines are what truly ring profound: "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee," as though her aspirations were a hinderance... so it goes in an unhealthy relationship.
Source: worldofwonder.net