Real

Real Literal Music Videos

Long before the literal music meme forever changed the Internet, there were actual literal music videos — productions that followed the themes and plots laid out in the song's lyrics as closely as possible. Though not always artfully executed, these videos make it even easier for those with the attention spans of guppies to understand the the artistic intentions behind the music.

Here are some of the best examples of this dying genre.

Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach"
Madonna's music video for "Papa Don't Preach" only gets literal in the last minute, when Madonna's character finally admits she's pregnant to her angry father, played by The Godfather's Danny Aiello. But the rest of it plays out like a mini-movie, with Madonna portraying a daddy's girl who just happens to fall hopelessly in love with a handsome mechanic. Kelly Osbourne didn't attempt to recreate the original when she covered the song in 2002, although she does sing in front of a t-shirt that reads, "Italians do it better."