Pretending doesn’t end with childhood. Whether you’re hiding your age, pretending to be happy, or escaping the tragic reality of an inevitable situation, our playlist of rock and pop songs about pretending covers it all.
Songs About Pretending
1. Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender
Freddie Mercury’s 1987 solo hit, The Great Pretender, theatrically details a man leading a double life of outward optimism, whilst disguising his crippling inner heartbreak; “I’m the great pretender, pretending I’m doing well, my need is such I pretend too much, I’m lonely but no one can tell.”
Mercury’s cover gives new life to an old track through his show-stopping. signature style of ingenious musical command.
With drag queens crowning the track’s official video, a subtle line is drawn between the late 80s AIDS epidemic and homophobic discrimination cornering men of the era into adopting a secret, double life.
2. P!NK FT. Cash Cash – Can We Pretend
P!NK and Cash Cash’s 2019 collab, Can We Pretend, is a pop track with a vibrant message of nostalgia. This track is crafted around the daydream of being young and in love again, reminiscing on life’s instinctive adventure abandoned somewhere along the way;
“So can we pretend that I’m twenty-two today, dancing on the tables with you, can we pretend that we all end up okay, I just want to forget with you.”
This bubbly and upbeat dance track is an anthem for anyone missing their halcyon days, so much that their imagination begins pretending it’s still real.
3. Van Morrison – Pretending
Van Morrison’s velvety retro pop track, Pretending, captures the essence of pretending you were a different person.
Morrison’s lyrics are so mindlessly compelled by the act of pretending, without sparing a single thought for true reality, that it perfectly mirrors the feeling of being swept away into imagination’s nirvana, dreaming of a better life and a better world.
From the song’s first striking verse, “Pretending my life is not in ruins, pretending I’m not depressed, pretending I left it all behind, pretending most of the time,” to its last, “Pretending I’m not alone, pretending I’m on the way home, pretending I’m listening to you, pretending that you’re pretending too,” Van Morrison’s list-styled lyrics are beautifully hard-hitting, yet flawlessly blend into the track’s contrastingly optimistic soundscape.
4. Tom Odell – Can’t Pretend
Tom Odell’s bluesy power anthem Can’t Pretend is a compellingly atmospheric piece about the inability to hide your emotions and the truth about love.
This track is split between moments of melancholy woven seamlessly into contrasting optimism, offering a two-sided perspective to Tom’s lyrics.
Can’t Pretend can be interpreted as showcasing either the burdens or blessings of true, inescapable love, whether you perceive it as a break-up song longing for return, or an in-relationship track using its moodiness to describe the fantastical depths of your current love;
“Love, I have wounds only you can mend, I guess that’s love, I can’t pretend.”
5. Foo Fighters – The Pretender
Perhaps the most famous song relating to our concept, Foo Fighters’ rock hit The Pretender takes a slightly different approach in its masterfully composed lyrics .
This is a track about separating yourself from the crowd and refusing to be erasable or replaceable, like a figure of someone’s imagination; “What if I say I’m not like the others? What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays? You’re the pretender, what if I say that I’ll never surrender?”
Undertoning this track is a subtle political theme of refusing to be overpowered and moulded at will to the design of the shadowy elites; a sentiment which transfers equally as well to finding strength over your real-life enemies and opposition.
6. MGMT – Time To Pretend
MGMT’s track Time To Pretend is embellished with one of those iconic mid-00s riffs that everyone’s heard but hardly anyone remembers where it actually came from.
Using their famed, distinctive summery sound, MGMT’s pop hit is powered by synths, distortion and colourful electronicism, crafting a vivacious soundscape reflecting its youth-centred lyrics.
Time To Pretend anchors its concept in the chorus line, “Forget about out mothers and our friends, we were fated to pretend,” whilst dedicating their verses to creative escapism from the real world of work and growing up, “I’m feeling rough I’m feeling raw I’m in the prime of my life, let’s make some music make some money find some models for wives, I’ll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and f*** with the stars … It’s overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?”
7. Tinashe ft. A$AP ROCKY – Pretend
This 2014 pop track by Tinashe & A$AP ROCKY is about pretending the past didn’t happen, turning a blind eye to the negativity which used to drag you down, for the sake of starting again.
Tinashe crafts her track, Pretend, like a conversation to an ex-partner, seeking to forget the truth of their companionship and rekindle their romance like it’s the first time they’ve met;
“Let’s pretend it’s my first time so you can really blow my mind, let’s pretend we never met a good excuse to play forget, let’s pretend you never lied, so I can give it up all night.”
This is a song for anyone who can’t quite face the reality of their romance, finding it easier to pretend they’ve found the one whilst knowing their love is a mere illusion; “I pretend it’s you that I’m in love with.”
6. HIM – Pretending
HIM’s rock track, Pretending, is about escaping the reality of an inevitably doomed romance. HIM stylistically layer their make-believe message with truth, suspending their track between honest, futile reality and the fixation on pretending that love is worthwhile;
“The more we have the more we want, and the more it hurts our hearts, it always ends up in tears … So keep on pretending our heaven is worth the waiting, keep on pretending it’s alright.”
HIM interestingly submerse an otherworldly theremin-like synth within the chorus, giving a plush, eccentric ambience of personal dystopia to their soundscape before fading their track back into reality again.