# All time great inappropriate choices. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337 "2009-06-29T13:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/21 "2009-06-30T18:38:08Z")
One of the most popular versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish is set to The Sounds of Silence, a song which is depressing enough that it could have been written by Hans Christian Andersen but which many people who don’t speak English think is about being in peace, a meditative state. Then again, Sting and me make two people who’ll never understand people who walk down the aisle to the tune of Every Breath You Take… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/22 "2009-06-30T18:44:32Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Were they singing the English version? My cousin was listening to the Spanish version of the song by Il Divo and told me the lyrics are all super pious. Not like the Cohen version at all. I don’t remember the exact stuff but it was like: a soldier returns home today, and infirm child is cured, an atheist now believes, someone donates a fortune to a church, and now everybody is singing hallelujah. > > Looked it up and ran it through Google translator. Yeah, the Spanish lyrics are about hungry people eating, peace on Earth, pure souls, God protecting us from evil, yadda, yadda… Really? I’d think less of Leonard Cohen for allowing this, but I know he’s in dire straits, financially, so I’ll give it a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/23 "2009-06-30T18:48:03Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > One of the most popular versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish is set to The Sounds of Silence, a song which is depressing enough that it could have been written by Hans Christian Andersen but which many people who don’t speak English think is about being in peace, a meditative state. > > Then again, Sting and me make two people who’ll never understand people who walk down the aisle to the tune of Every Breath You Take… Heh, I just listened to a CD that put Jewsih lyrics to general pop tunes. Sound Of Silence was one of the ones used. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/24 "2009-06-30T20:29:11Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Really? I’d think less of Leonard Cohen for allowing this, but I know he’s in dire straits, financially, so I’ll give it a pass. Once the composition is licensed, Cohen wouldn’t have any direct say in the matter. Anyone can record a cover version of your composition once its published using a compulsory mechanical license. You don’t get the luxury of saying “No.” (Hence the “compuslory” part). The only thing I’m not sure about is whether new lyrics or translations would be considered “derivative works” or not which may mean you have _some control_, but I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/25 "2009-06-30T20:35:15Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > Was it in Atlanta, by any chance? The Clermont Lounge? I have a friend who can no longer hear the theme from _Ghostbusters_ without recalling the Claremont Lounge. It was traumatic. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/26 "2009-06-30T20:55:21Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > In college I saw a stripper select tunes on a jukebox in a mostly empty strip club and then dance to the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Mm, a slow tune about alienation and death. Perhaps on other nights she would titillate to the entirety of Pink Floyd’s _The Final Cut_ or some Nick Drake. > > In retrospect, it was weird that she needed to select her songs on the jukebox. Back when the song was fresh, I saw a stripper dance to the Cranberries’ “Zombie”. You know, the one lamenting the violence in Northern Ireland? Yeah. Real sexy tune. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/27 "2009-06-30T21:45:01Z")
Back in my radio days the town was shut down by a fluke snow storm. The dj was looking for songs about winter and decided to play one called “Snowblind Friend” > [@](#): > > You say it was this mornin’ when you last saw your good friend > Lyin’ on the sidewalk with the misery on his brain > Stoned on some new potion he found upon the wall > Of some unholy bathroom in some ungodly hall ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/28 "2009-06-30T21:54:21Z")
It bothered me that President Clinton used the song “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miz as an anthem at his first inaugural, as it is a about a woman who got knocked up by a guy who abandoned her and her child and is currently giving blowjobs for cash to support herself; everything about the song is meant to show the character of Fantine is pathetic, not inspiring. I went to a wedding last year in which the song “Because of You” was dedicated by the bride to her groom. She obviously never listened to anything but the title–not even the chorus–as the song is about a woman who was abused by her mother’s boyfriends all through her childhood and who blames her mother for her inability to feel safe, trust me, or ever be happen. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/29 "2009-06-30T21:55:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > One of the most popular versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish is set to The Sounds of Silence, a song which is depressing enough that it could have been written by Hans Christian Andersen but which many people who don’t speak English think is about being in peace, a meditative state. > > Then again, Sting and me make two people who’ll never understand people who walk down the aisle to the tune of Every Breath You Take… And I make three. People never listen to the damn words of the song. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/30 "2009-06-30T22:53:56Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I went to a wedding last year in which the song “Because of You” was dedicated by the bride to her groom. Hey, someone’s got to control and someone has to be controlled. I don’t pretend to understand it, but whatever works for each couple. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/31 "2009-06-30T23:07:40Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > In college I saw a stripper select tunes on a jukebox in a mostly empty strip club and then dance to the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Mm, a slow tune about alienation and death. Perhaps on other nights she would titillate to the entirety of Pink Floyd’s _The Final Cut_ or some Nick Drake. > > In retrospect, it was weird that she needed to select her songs on the jukebox. I always thought if I were a stripper, I’d choose stuff like that. Just to blow people’s minds away. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/32 "2009-06-30T23:17:12Z")
I wonder if those strippers would dance to _Mothers of the Disappeared_. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/33 "2009-07-01T01:20:07Z")
My son and his bride chose Meatloaf’s [“Paradise by the Dashboard Lights”](http://www.qgm.com/meatloaf/lyrics/paradise.html) for their song at the reception. The gist of the song is that the young 17 year olds are gonna have sex in the car, she swears her love for him, he says he’ll think about it and get back with her. He finally lies to her by swearing his love until the end of time just to get into her pants. The final stanza is… > [@](#): > > So now I’m praying for the end of time > To hurry up and arrive > Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you > I don’t think that I can really survive > I’ll never break my promise or forget my vow > But God only knows what I can do right now > I’m praying for the end of time > It’s all that I can do > Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!!! How that’s appropriate to celebrate the beginning of a marriage is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/34 "2009-07-01T01:23:11Z")
Do songs really have to match the occasion, though? Like, if the lyrics say one thing but the song’s "mood"or whatnot says another, isn’t that enough? ETA: I still think Regan using Born in the USA is stupid, but Clinton using I Dreamed a Dream doesn’t really bother me. Mostly because I suppose it’s ambiguous enough. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/35 "2009-07-01T01:36:42Z")
> [@MissMossie](#): > > I have to agree with Munch on the blatant religious imagery in _Hallelujah_ (I personally prefer Jeff Buckley’s rendition of it and actually played it for a nun this morning who also likes the song). > > As far as the question posed in the OP, I thought of my first Sunday at college. I knew that Mass was held in the student center at 4:00 pm on Sundays, so I went in search of it. I soon learned that Mass was upstairs. I found this out by looking quite lost and when someone asked me if I was looking for the church service I ended up at the non-denominational service held on the ground floor and singing along to _Brown Eyed Girl_. For some reason “making love in the green grass behind the stadium” wasn’t quite was I was used to having grown up in a rather traditional Catholic parish. That’s a kind of cute story! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/36 "2009-07-01T01:40:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I went to a wedding last year in which the song “Because of You” was dedicated by the bride to her groom. She obviously never listened to anything but the title–not even the chorus–as the song is about a woman who was abused by her mother’s boyfriends all through her childhood and who blames her mother for her inability to feel safe, trust me, or ever be happen. Is that what it’s about? I could never figure out the lyrics. I thought it was lady who has trust issues because her boyfriend burned her. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/37 "2009-07-01T04:44:37Z")
Back when I had an office job, my coworkers would often listen to the radio all day. One Valentine’s Day the station they usually played decided that they would play love songs all day. Which I suppose made sense. What didn’t make sense was when they decided that anything Frank Sinatra sang was _de facto_ a love song, so they played Mack the knife. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/38 "2009-07-01T05:49:38Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > Really? I’d think less of Leonard Cohen for allowing this, but I know he’s in dire straits, financially, so I’ll give it a pass. He can’t dis-allow it. Once a song is registered, it’s got a set price for using it: the authors keep the royalties but lose their control. Anybody who pays that set price can chop up, re-word, or generally mangle the song in any way they fancy. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/39 "2009-07-01T05:58:35Z")
or, what **Swallowed my Cellphone** said. This one will sound strange to y’all, but when my brother announced his wedding date, my parents’ reaction (specially Dad’s) was “of all the days in the year, you had to choose November 20th?” Turns out it had been SiL-Dad’s reaction too. Bro claimed they were “the only two people in all of Spain who remember what that date means!” Anniversary of Franco’s official time of death, to match that of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of Falange, which was the single Party legal in Spain during Franco’s rule; Falange folks always organize demonstrations on that date, which have often involved violence between them and anarchist groups. SiL-Dad’s is a cop; Dad’s political bend was “we fought on Franco’s side but not _for_ Franco” and he remembered fondly those childhood summers spent throwing rocks at his Falangista same-age cousin. The same week Bro made his announcement, I went to Madrid for a job interview and there was a Falange convention in the same hotel where I stayed. 450 delegates, which would put the number of people who remembered the date at a minimum of 452. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337/40 "2009-07-01T07:48:11Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > And I am an ordained minister. Then you cannot possibly have missed that this is the David and Bathsheba story, as another poster has pointed out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-great-inappropriate-choices/501337.md?page=3)