“I guess that’s just the way the story goes”

In 1971 the singer-songwriter Don Mclean wrote ‘American Pie’ and four years later British band Queen released the single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Both of these songs went on to become worldwide best sellers and are both considered to be defining works of the 70s – but what do they mean? What event inspired the Abba hit ‘The Winner Takes It All’, and when Maria Carey took ‘Without You’ to number one in 1994, did she know the full story behind the song? We all know these songs, they bring back personal memories for many of us, but do they really mean what we think they mean?

Steve King told us the surprising stories behind some the world’s best known songs.