# 'Bye, Bye Love" by The Cars: 'broken lullaby' or 'effing lullaby?'

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 4, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174 "2011-09-04T18:34:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174/21 "2023-11-09T18:45:22Z")

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> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> Now, about that orangy sky…

That is lyrical poetry! Thanks for bringing it up. 🙂 🍊

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**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174/22 "2023-11-09T18:51:26Z")

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I always heard it as “broken lullaby”, even before obtaining the album and seeing the liner notes. My high school girlfriend c. 1983 mentioned getting in trouble for singing along with “fucking alibi” on a church youth group trip. So that’s one other person who heard it that way.

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174/23 "2023-11-09T19:33:27Z")

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I thought it was “rimmed up by a docent in the humble of the might”.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xI3YQzLUXw8/hqdefault.jpg "The Vacant Lot - Blinded by the light") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3YQzLUXw8)

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**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174/24 "2023-11-09T21:15:53Z")

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Always heard “broken lullaby.”  
It’s a rock song–don’t think too hard about meaning.  
I like Benjamin Orr’s singing those classic Cars hits.

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**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bye-bye-love-by-the-cars-broken-lullaby-or-effing-lullaby/595174/25 "2023-11-09T21:31:46Z")

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Even after all the later posts, I still hear “perky letter”, or more accurately, “perking letter”. I don’t think I’ll ever hear it “right”.

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