For years people have claimed to have discovered hidden messages in all different styles of music. From the classic 'Paul is Dead' rumours of the sixties to Judas Priest being sued for nasty stuff in their songs, there always seems to be someone who will hear something other than what was intended in music, (just read about the guy who saw 'SEX' on cracker biscuits here). Basically, everyone gets something different from music. What sounds great to one person sounds awful to another. Some people equate fear and violence with hip-hop music, or Satan worshipping with heavy metal. There is always someone ready to pigeonhole listeners into categories. This is based on fear, misunderstanding and, in most cases, ignorance. Look at all the hand-wringers who wanted labels put on certain music. In the fifties, rock and roll music, which seems very naive today, was seen as 'the devils music', and the domain of the violent, disruptive and promiscuous youth of the time.

Sure, there are followers of all types of music who may use it as an excuse or a reason for doing whatever it is they are doing, but is it really the music? Or is it how each individual interprets it? Did the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" really drive Charles Manson and his tripped out followers to butcher all those people, or was it simply collective anger at 'the system' and the family members own deep insecurities that drove them to those acts? Does hip-hop music make people go out and kill cops? If some people did that, then weren't they going to do it anyway? If this music made kids gun down cops, then the sheer popularity of the genre would mean that there should be a lot more cop shootings than there really are. Did those school kids really get driven to murder their classmates by death-metal music, or were they just rejected, angry and maladjusted teens with access to AK47's?

As we will see, often there are hidden messages in music, but most, if not all, are not malicious, and none would drive anyone to commit murder. As long as there are people writing music there will be other people trying to decry them, call them the devil, or generally get pissed at them for distracting their young people from whatever conservative ethic the older generations want to force upon them.

Below are some well known examples of cryptic or hidden messages. We listen closely, ask a few questions and share with you the most probable answers to these allegations. If you have any stories similar then please submit them here.

Firstly, we should look at the most common accusation regarding hidden messages, that is, the backward recording. It is often alleged that artists record backward messages in their music, and supposedly (though quite how is almost beyond belief) our brains can decipher this in normal conditions and therefore subliminally brainwash us. I guess the hand-wringers would say that all us music lovers would sit at home trying our records out backwards just to hear the hidden message. Although we tried with CD's the effect isn't quite the same as a record because we could control the speed better and hear the supposed message more clearly. The main issue is that even innocent words can take on some pretty weird interpreted meanings when played backward. A one syllable word may have two or three syllables when reversed. This can cause some interesting interpretations. For example, 'number 9' in the Beatles' "Revolution" sounds like 'turn me on dead man' in reverse, (which I am sure is what John and Paul really wanted us to hear, seeing what devil-worshippers they were... Ed.). Interestingly, if we record the letters of the alphabet and reverse them, at least five become recognisable words. It isn't difficult, therefore, to imagine we hear hidden messages in reversed music. Below are some more findings from suspected tracks.

Song: "A Child is Coming", by Jefferson Starship

Message: when reversed, 'son of Satan' is heard.

Result: The repeated phrase 'Its getting better' does kind of sound like 'son of Satan' if you really try hard to hear it, though we feel it is a bit of a stretch. We think it is more a phonetic coincidence. So what is a phonetic coincidence we hear you ask? We have two reversal types here for distinction, engineered and phonetic reversal. When an artist records something, reverses the tape and mixes that into the final product, we call it an engineered reversal. A phonetic reversal is where song lyrics, when reversed, sound similar to something else. We call this a phonetic coincidence. However some of the hand-wringers out there refuse to accept this and continue to believe the artist took great measures to create a catchy 'hook' for their song, which, when reversed means something evil or malicious. That doesn't sound feasible to us.

Song: "Another One Bites The Dust", by Queen

Message: When heard in reverse the lyrics tell us 'It's fun to smoke marijuana'.

Result: Well, Freddie was gay, ergo the band must be evil. (Not... Ed.) There is something that does sound like that if we reverse the line 'another one bites the dust'. It is however a phonetic reversal. Again it is a hard stretch to believe this is what the band wanted when they came up with the song. Engineered reversals sound like nothing when played forward (indeed they are almost instantly recognisable as music played backward) but when reversed are very clear. As this message is garbled in reverse it is clearly a phonetic coincidence.

Song: "Eldorado" by ELO

Message: When reversed 'He is the nasty one / Christ, you are infernal / It is said we are dead men / Everyone who has the mark will live'.

Result: This message is supposed to centre around the line 'On a voyage of no return to see'. Heard in reverse we hear the usual syllable compost heap. No one we know who heard it could discern anything. However, if they read along with what they were supposed to hear then they found it was more recognisable . The syllable count is close, but another phonetic coincidence is the most likely explanation. (We also take into account that ELO hardly had a reputation for nasty music or devil worshipping).

Song: "Shoo Be Doo" by The Cars

Message: when reversed the shoo be doo part sounds like 'Satan' (how come we never get any complaints that it sounds like 'God'? ..... Ed.).

Result: Coincidence again. It does almost sound like Satan (as it appears everything does), but we doubt whether any intention existed there.

Song: "Fire on High" by ELO

Message: When reversed, the message 'The music is reversible, but time- turn back!'

Result: This is an instrumental track. About half a minute into it scrambled speech can be heard, which lasts about 14 seconds. Reversing this section of music we hear Jeff Lynne(?) saying 'The music is reversible, but time- turn back' (repeated). The words are clear and unambiguous, which means this is a great example of an engineered reversal. (We were surprised no one found 'Satan' here... Ed.).

Song: "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin.

Message: Given the reputation these guys had for the high life it comes as no surprise they were painted with the 'devil worshipping' brush. In reverse, we are supposedly told.. 'I live for Satan... the Lord turns me off.... There's no escaping it...... here's to my sweet Satan..... there's power in Satan...... He will give you 666.'

Result: If you listen carefully to the 'and it makes me wonder' part in reverse, you can hear something like 'there's no escaping it', but not entirely. If we take off the 'it' part then it gets closer. It is complete and intelligible. Also we hear the 'Satan' part in 'I live for Satan', but the 'I live for' part isn't there. The other lines aren't there either. All are phonetic reversals and are just coincidence.

Song: "Snowblind" by Styx

Message: This song was among those distributed by a US congressman as being 'suspect'. We are supposed to hear 'Satan move through our voices'.

Result: No one could even hear anything remotely like this, not even a phonetic coincidence. Bad luck for the congressman. (Mind you, some people did think Styx were the antichrist... Ed.).

Song: Anything by any heavy metal band.

Message: Satan is God (or in fact anything with Satan).

Result: Since most older people don't like heavy metal bands it is easy to throw these kinds of allegations at them. Many of those guys live a hard life of drugs, girls and rock and roll, and why not? It's their choice. Most are accomplished artists and musicians, and through the ages it has been almost compulsory to decry poets, artists, musicians and other creative people as being lazy, weird, dangerous etc. Maybe it is just that the rest of us are jealous of someone who gets to lie in, is adored by thousands and is really really rich, while we grind through our mundane lives where the most exciting thing is watching reruns of the X-Files. If the thinking out there is that the only reason these guys have what we don't have is because they sold their soul to the devil, then these kinds of accusations will always be levelled at those in the entertainment industry.

Song: "Rain" by The Beatles

Message: The unintelligible lyrics at the end are reversed.

Result: Yes, a true engineered reversal. Although it sounds like a foreign language it fits in with the rest of the song quite well. Rumour has it that the tape was accidentally spliced backward and that the guys liked the effect and kept it.

Song: "Goodbye Blue Sky" by Pink Floyd

Message: In reverse, 'You have discovered the secret message'

Result: If ever a band would 'play around' with hidden messages it would be Pink Floyd. With well known effects experimentation, we would be disappointed if they didn't put hidden stuff in there. The message is at the end of the instrumental following 'Goodbye Blue Sky', right before the words 'What shall we do' at the beginning of the song 'Empty Spaces' (or 'What Shall We Do Now' as it is called on the record sleeve.). Sound effects and a loud climax in the music make the message hard to hear. When reversed however, we hear the voice (Roger Waters?) say 'Congratulations, you have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to old Pink, care of the funny farm.....'. There appears to be more after that but it is unintelligible.

Song: "Sheep" by Pink Floyd

Message: Electronically disguised voice recites the 23rd Psalm.

Result: True, although not really secret, and not hidden per se, just heavily modified. The verse seems to be the 23rd Psalm, but is actually a parody of it. There is music and sound effects masking the voice, however it continues for 13 lines, including "He converteth me to lamb cutlets". The voice appears to come from the left stereo channel only, so for maximum clarity wind the balance hard left.

Song: "Revolution 9" by The Beatles

Message: Various reversed messages, including 'number 9' to 'Turn me on dead man'.

Result: The 'turn me on....' message has been discussed above and is a phonetic coincidence. The rest however is open to conjecture. There is a lot of talking on the track. Also a lot of discordant music, sound effects and a lot that defies description. There is one believable instance of reversed speech, a voice saying 'let me out! let me out!'. This was supposedly Paul McCartney trapped in his wrecked Aston Martin, though how they recorded that is open to speculation. There are two not so complete reversals that may or may not be 'she used to be assistant' and 'there were two men..' respectively. Neither sounds particularly convincing, we think coincidence again.

Song: "Heavy Metal Poisoning" by Styx

Message: A sticker on the cover of the 'Kilroy Was Here' album, supposedly placed by some moral majority group, states that the record contains hidden messages.

Result: Accused of having hidden messages on an earlier release, Styx ensured one was on this album. It is at the very beginning of "Heavy Metal Poisoning" and lasts about 3 seconds. The words reverse to 'Annuit cæptis. Novus ordo seclorum'. This is the Latin motto that surrounds the pyramid on the back of a US dollar bill. This is usually translated as 'God has favoured our undertakings. A new order of the ages'. The sticker on the cover was a dig at the moral majority as well. Although the sticker stated hidden messages, only the one above was found.

Song: "I'm So Tired", by The Beatles

Message: A reversed message rumoured to be in the gap between this track and "Blackbird". This was at the height of the "Paul is dead' stories, and the message was said to be John Lennon saying 'Paul is dead, Miss him, miss him.'

Result: As Paul is very much alive, this seems a little silly now, however, there are strange sounds in the space between the tracks. After repeated listening, both forward and reverse, it was found there were nine or ten syllables uttered. It is impossible to identify John Lennon as the speaker, and the speech is unintelligible, so much so that any claimed interpretation must be seriously questioned.

Song: "Strawberry Fields Forever", by The Beatles.

Message: It was rumoured that John Lennon says 'I buried Paul' at the very end, after the music fades and then swells again.

Result: The message is forward, and not hidden. Lennon told Rolling Stone magazine at the time that he actually said 'cranberry sauce'. Indeed, that is what we think. The sauce/Paul part is not distinct, and the first syllable sounds more like 'cran' than 'I'.

Song: "In The Flesh", "Outside The Wall" by Pink Floyd.

Message: At the very start of Pink Floyd's The Wall album a voice (Roger again?) says 'we came in'. At the very end the same voice states 'Isn't this where'.

Result: Yes. Though not hidden, unless you listen for the voice it is hard to hear. It is centred in the stereo field and buried behind the intro to 'In The Flesh', the first song on the album. Similarly, as the outro fades from the very last song on the second disk the voice is heard to say "Isn't this where" before being abruptly cut off. If the two parts are spliced together they make a perfect "Isn't this where we came in".

Well, that is about it for hidden messages. Have you heard any? Got some good information on other instances that can be verified? Have any you want us to investigate? Submit them here. 

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