Back-masking/reverse Speech

Many old and new songs such as Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Imagine, Another One Bites The Dust and Beat It have a secret hidden message that when played in reverse you can hear a phrase. Back-masking is obviously the more used way to hide messages because it is crystal clear and easier to understand. Most back-masking is purposefully added to music to hide these messages that bands want to eventually be discovered by someone. Reverse speech is a more complicated way and is also harder to understand a find the phrase unless you have the lyrics. Reverse speech is mostly not purposefully done.

In Imagine by John Lennon when he says “Imagine all the people” there is really a secret message in that, when played in reverse it says “The people war beside me”. The secret message is clearly heard even when you do not know the lyrics, which is an example of back-masking. This is a clear example of back-masking because it is so obvious and clear, it was also obviously put in the song on purpose because it was crystal clear other than the guitar interfering with the voice. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin is probably one of the most famous back-masked songs. It has a few examples of back-masking in it. At the end of the song in reverse it says “Play backwards. Hear words sung” so that is the first thing you hear if the song starts to play backwards. Also Zepplin says in reverse “Oh here's to my sweet Satan. The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan. He'll give those with him 666, there was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.” This gives even more evidence that this was purposefully done and meant to give a demonic Satanist message. This is another prime example of a back-masked song because it is clearly made to show a message it even says to play the song backwards for a secret message. The song backwards is almost crystal clear which is how back-masking is while reverse speech is unclear and hard to understand and hear.

Also, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen when he says “another one bites the dust” repeatedly he is saying backwards “its fun to smoke marijuana.” This can easily be believed that it was purposefully done because Queen is known to have done drugs like most bands do. This example is not crystal clear and is hard to hear, hinting at reverse speech but it also hints at back-masking knowing the bands history. I do believe however because of how hard it is to distinguish this phrase that this is reverse speech that in the song the singer says ‘In the middle of the night, just to hear them say” but in reverse it says “Satan he hears this. He had me believe in him.” When knowing the lyrics it is very obvious but when you do not know the lyrics it is hard to tell what he says. The message is not completely the hardest thing to hear but it is not crystal clear and was purposefully put into the song from what I could tell. Both sides of that phrase works with the song in reverse and in regular playing. I do believe that this is another example of back-masking because it is easier to understand then most reverse speech examples.

            Back-masking is obviously the more used way to hide messages because it is crystal clear and easier to understand. Most back-masking is purposefully added to music to hide these messages that bands want to eventually be discovered by someone. Reverse speech is a more complicated way and is also harder to understand a find the phrase unless you have the lyrics. Reverse speech is mostly not purposefully done. Many old and new songs such as Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Imagine, Another One Bites The Dust and Beat It have a secret hidden message that when played in reverse you can hear a phrase.