"Tell me the truth!""Ulterior Motives,"
note is a previously lost Mid '80s Synth-Pop song.
It was uploaded to the song finding site "Wat Zat Song", on October 7th 2021, by a user named carl92, who claimed it was from a DVD backup. After a while, carl92 lost interest in the song and left the site. Later, it was mirrored to YouTube, with a pink boombox photo, by a user named JayKay, whose channel was later terminated.
The song was later identified on April 28th, 2024 as "Ulterior Motives" by Christopher S. Booth and originated from the 1986 adult film, Angels of Passion.
If you're curious on learning more, the subreddit, r/everyoneknowsthat, and The Other Wiki have the answers you seek.
Compare The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet, a currently lost songnote performed by an unknown artist/band.
Not to be confused with Everybody Knows That, for when works are only known for their iconic moments, although in this case, the song was initially only known from the snippet.
WatZatTrope?:
- Ambiguous Gender: Before the song was found in its entirety, the gender of the singer was a hotly debated subject. The unearthing of the audio confirmed the singer was male.
- Beneath the Mask: The song states the person they are singing to has "Ulterior motives."
- Break Up Song: The song is interpreted to be a break up song due to the lyrics, "Everyone knows it (you've got), ulterior motives (tell me the truth!)"
- Counting Sheep: The pre-chorus was officially confirmed to be "You're counting all your sheep in disguise".
- The '80s: Prior to the song being found, many speculated that the song most likely originated from the '80s based on how the vocals and instrumentation sounded. This speculation was proven right when the full song was discovered on a 1986 adult film titled Angels of Passion.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Due to the low quality of the snippet and audio from the scene the song is featured in, no one was able to agree on the exact lyrics. Verse one was often heard as "You're counting all the sheep in the sky", "You carry all your shame in disguise", "You're counting all the shapes in the sky", or "You cannot only shoot for the stars", and there were also endless interpretations of the bridge, such as "Caught up in world of lies!", "Caught up in a whirl of lies!", "Caught up in a web of lies!", or "Caught up in a world of light!" In 2024, the official lyrics for the song were posted by Christopher St. Booth, revealing the debated verses to be "You're counting all your sheep in disguise" and "Caught up in the world of lies!" respectively.
- Overcrank: Users initially speculated that carl92's snippet was at the wrong pitch due to an NTSC tone, and was played back higher than it was originally was. As it turns out, the snippet plays the exact same pitch as the full song.
- Second-Person Narration: The lyrics for the song are sung in the second person ("you're", "you've").
- Signature Device: The pink boom box, a 2006 NextPlay Glitz & Glitter CD player, originated from an image of the song's upload on JayKay's channel.
- Sudden Soundtrack Stop: carl92's posted snippet abruptly cuts off after "Every move shows-". Presumably invoked by carl92 himself, because in the movie the full song was found in, a moan immediately plays after that set of lyrics.
