History HaveAGayOldTime / Music

* A rather unfortunate darker version occurred with Music/{{WeirdAl}}'s AntiChristmasSong "Christmas at Ground Zero." When the song was released in 1986, "ground zero" was a general term for the epicenter of a nuclear explosion (the song is a [[LyricalDissonance happy-go-lucky song about Christmastime at the outbreak of a nuclear war]]). However, the term "Ground Zero" was widely co-opted to mean the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11, so the song doesn't get much airplay or presence at Al's concerts anymore.

* Music/{{GWAR}} does this in ''The Horror of [[EldritchAbomination Yig]]''. Odd considering that this isn't an old song, and the slang term existed when it came out:

* Some younger tropers assume that the song "The Lady is a Tramp" is an example of this, because the "tramp" once only meant "hobo", not "promiscuous woman". But the slang meaning was already very well-known when the song was written in 1937, and the song deliberately uses that meaning - the singer is [[SarcasmMode comparing herself to a prostitute]] because she doesn't follow every little arcane rule of contemporary New York society etiquette. It's very much "I don't use the right fork; guess that makes me a dumb slut, huh?" with a touch of plausible deniability - the writers could claim they meant "hobo" if any MoralGuardians were upset. Incidentally, although it's often thought of as a Frank Sinatra song, it was originally sung in the musical ''Babes in Arms'' by the female character in question. Sinatra changed the lyrics and, possibly deliberately, the meaning.

* The song "To Know Him/Her Is To Love Him/Her" by Creator/PhilSpector includes the casual line "I'll make love to her/him", then obviously having the older meaning.

** "It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year" extols "gay happy meetings when friends come to call." Many cover versions change "gay" to "great".

* Music/JohnDenver's 1972 song "Rocky Mountain High" is about how how happy Denver felt after moving to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In 1985, the song was censored by the FCC for promoting drug use, forcing Denver to have to testify before Congress that he was talking about a different "high."

* The term ''rock'n roll'', itself, is [[GetTheeToANunnery an inversion]]. Originally, in the early 20th century, it was a slang used by black people for sex. By the time the term was coined for the musical style, its meaning was greatly toned down to refer to sock hops and other such parties.
* Inverted in "What's New, Pussycat". Music/TomJones is ''not'' talking about felines or even a whole woman in the song.
* Inverted with the song "Baby, Lemme Bang Your Box". "Box" does ''not'' refer to a piano as the song claims.

* An amusing inversion by a modern songwriter: Derek Webb's song "Freddie, Please" contains the line "Freddie, can't you see, brother, you're the one who's queer?" Most people in 2009 would take "queer" to mean "homosexual", but Webb intentionally uses it to mean "abnormal". [[spoiler: The song is about Fred Phelps, a notoriously homophobic pastor.]]
* Inversion: Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers' "I'm Straight", about the advantages of not doing drugs.

* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcmAdS8vkDA Glitter and Be Gay]]" from LeonardBernstein's ''Candide''.

* An indirect example could be the classic jazz/folk tune "I'm Just Wild About Harry" (a Broadway tune that was memorably covered by the [[DeaderThanDisco groundbreaking but largely forgotten]] jazz musician [[Film/TheJazzSinger Al Jolson]]). At the time, the song was just seen as a comically-exaggerated but sentimental gesture of friendship. Today, the following lyrics would suggest something a little more... sensual (at least when sung by a male, though Creator/JudyGarland recorded her own version):

* "Kentucky Gambler" by Music/MerleHaggard (written by DollyParton): "Into the gay casino in Nevada's town of Reno."

-->[[LondonTown Up to mighty London came]]

* {{Ian Dury| And The Blockheads}}'s "I Want To Be Straight", although it's deliberate. It even uses "bent" to mean "addicted to drugs". Ian was bisexual, thus he deliberately phrased this song in such a way that could be about either homosexuality or drug use.

** Similarly, Creedence Clearwater Revival used to call themselves the Golliwogs before they became famous, they just thought it sounded British without knowing it was an offensive term for black people.

** ''Music/TheMonkees'' somehow [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar got away with this]] in their ChristmasEpisode...resulting in a massive CrowningMomentOfFunny. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuGvCXDycEc See for yourself.]]

* Vancouver-based Spirit of the West (compare them with GreatBigSea) used this phrase verbatim in the song "The Crawl" (a song about a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin pub crawl]]): "Well we planned to HaveAGayOldTime, the cash we did not spare..."

** ''What Child Is This'' has Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?"[note] A bonus for "mean", as it used to mean "lowly, poor" and did not carry negative connotations.[/note] Good luck getting a seventh-grade youth choir to sing 'that' without snickering.

** ''What Child Is This'' has Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?"[note] A bonus for "mean", as it used to mean "lowly, poor" and did not carry negative connotations. [/note] Good luck getting a seventh-grade youth choir to sing 'that' without snickering.

** What Child Is This has 'Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?' Good luck getting a seventh-grade youth choir to sing 'that' without snickering.

** What Child Is This:

''Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?''

** A 1991 DirectToVideo release called ''Simply Mad About The Mouse'' featured contemporary musicians performing Disney songs, including a hip-hop version of "Three Little Pigs" performed by Music/LLCoolJ: Oddly, LL's version stuck to the original lyrics, complete with the "very gay" line.

* Due to perceived UnfortunateImplications, Debussy's ''Children's Corner No. 6'' is often referred to as "The Cakewalk" instead of its proper title, "The Golliwoggs' Cakewalk". Either that, or the second word is misspelled "golliwogs'" without the double final G. This is an example of this trope because Florence Kate Upton's Golliwogg, which Debussy was specifically referencing, was a heroic figure, the Literature/HarryPotter of his day; it wasn't until EnidBlyton got hold of the character type that it became the racist stereotype it is today (and acquired the present spelling).