# Classic Songs That Glorified Pretty Rotten Behaviour ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745 "2008-02-22T17:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/61 "2008-02-23T01:08:59Z")
[QUOTE=phungi] **Back Door Man** (the men don’t know, but the little girls understand?!?) [/QUOTE] Infidelity is rotten, but if you’re readying pedophilia into this song you’re way off. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/62 "2008-02-23T01:57:11Z")
Johnny Cash’s _Cocaine Blues_–A cocaine- addled man shoots his cheating girlfriend and flees to Mexico, but gets caught and sent to prison. The tune is very upbeat for the subject matter. Jane’s Addiction’s paeon to shoplifting, _Been Caught Stealin’_ ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/63 "2008-02-23T03:13:42Z")
In the Grateful Dead’s _Mexicali Blues_, the protagonist sleeps with a fourteen year old, then shoots an unexpecting stranger at her request. That’s what you get when thinkin’ and drinkin’ are all you have, today… ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/64 "2008-02-23T03:24:43Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Infidelity is rotten, but if you’re readying pedophilia into this song you’re way off. [/QUOTE] I don’t know about _way_ off, as the song appears to have more than one [double meaning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_Door_Man)… I interpret the “little girls understand” part originating from a daughter seeing the lover leave the house, but daddy has no idea… however, while generally and originally a song of infidelity, it isn’t that far a stretch… ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/65 "2008-02-23T04:03:47Z")
The criticism of rap (and punk rock and heavy metal to some degree) isn’t the fact that individual songs are glorifying bad behavior, it’s that the genre as a whole glorifies bad behavior. In other words, all the songs on an entire _album_ by rap star X tend to be in praise of drugging, violence and/or loose sex, not just one song here or there. Pretty much all of the songs in this thread are isolated examples. _Live from Folsom Prison_ also has _Greystone Chapel,_ _John Henry’s Hammer_ and a bunch of other songs unconnected to crime on it. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/66 "2008-02-23T04:09:28Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Rod Stewart’s **Stay With Me** : [/QUOTE] No, the top creepy behavior Rod Stewart lyrics are from **Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)**: C’mon angel my hearts on fire Don’t deny your man’s desire You’d be a fool to stop this tide Spread your wings and let me come inside . . . Don’t say a word my virgin child Just let your inhibitions run wild The secret is about to unfold Upstairs before the night’s too old ---
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/67 "2008-02-23T07:19:11Z")
Alice Cooper **I Love The Dead** While friends and lovers mourn your silly grave… I have other uses for you darling!!! ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/68 "2008-02-23T07:23:10Z")
**My Sharona** _Never gonna stop, give it up. Such a dirty mind. Always get it up for the touch of the younger kind._ The man who wrote it was 26 at the time and was lusting after a 17 year old named Sharona. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/69 "2008-02-23T07:41:46Z")
Janie’s Got A Gun-Aerosmith. Yeah, the guy deserved killin’ IMO. The Thunder Rolls-Garth Brooks, esp the “extended” version where the wife kills her philandering husband. Mr. Brownstone-GnR-getting hooked on cocaine to the detriment of your life and career. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/70 "2008-02-23T07:51:17Z")
Re: “Makin’ Whoopee”: [QUOTE=BlueKangaroo] I got married this decade and had every intention of telling the DJ not to play this song, because it’s creepy. However, weddings are too much and I completely forgot. When my ex and I walked into the reception hall, the DJ cut off one song in the middle to play this song. I was pissed, but I hadn’t said anything about it ahead of time, so I gritted my teeth and dealt with it. A friend later asked me if I was going to throttle the DJ, and I basically said no, since I hadn’t made my wishes clear, but I can’t believe anyone with half a brain would play it at a wedding anyway. So, given the behavior of that wedding DJ, I’d expect plenty of people still want that song played at their wedding. [/QUOTE] I think it’s popular at wedding receptions solely because of the first verse: Another bride, another groom Another sunny honeymoon Another season, another reason For makin’ whoopee. Everybody conveniently ignores the rest of the song. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/71 "2008-02-23T08:02:49Z")
[QUOTE=Lucky 13] Re: “Makin’ Whoopee”: I think it’s popular at wedding receptions solely because of the first verse: Another bride, another groom Another sunny honeymoon Another season, another reason For makin’ whoopee. Everybody conveniently ignores the rest of the song. [/QUOTE] 😕 She was talking about “Every Breath You Take” by The Police… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/72 "2008-02-23T09:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I would add Led Zeplins “Ramble on” [/QUOTE] HEre I thought it was about Hobbits… Frodo, you dog! Love and leave the hot elfbabes, yeah, before Sam finds out and kills them. [QUOTE=msmith537] And of course there is a whole category of songs about prostitutes (“Roxane” by The Police being one of the most famous.) [/QUOTE] How is wanting to reform a prostitute glorifying rotten behaviour (not that there’s anything \*fundamentally \*wrong with prostitution - wait, is that what you meant? Didn’t seem like it.) I’d nominate almost the entirety of Nick Cave’s _Murder Ballads_. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/73 "2008-02-23T13:51:18Z")
Okay, the one I have **always** hated the most is, “Hello It’s Me” by Todd Rundgren. It’s that whole awful chickenshit 70’s bullshit of **if you love something, set it free** … “It’s important to me That you know you are free 'Cause I never want to make you change for me Think of me You know that I’d be with you if I could I’ll come around to see you once in a while Or if I ever need a reason to smile And spend the night if you think I should” It’s a lame, passive-aggressive style of dumping somebody where you tell them that you’re dumping them **for their own good** , and you make it sound like something you’re doing **for them** because they mean so much to you blah blah lie lie scram. But you’ll be back for a booty call some night if you can’t score at the disco. Possibly. I have **always** hated that song. (then again, I think, “I Saw the Light” is one of the best pop songs ever. Go figure.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/74 "2008-02-23T14:11:59Z")
From the 1950s, [Have some madeira m’dear](http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/havesome.htm) by Flanders and Swann, the charming tale of alcohol-assisted date rape of an ingénue by an elderly roué who invites her back to his flat under the pretext of viewing his collection of stamps. With amazingly **clever lyrics** : > [@](#): > > Unaware of the wiles of the snake-in-the-grass > And the fate of the maiden who topes > **She lowered her standards by raising her glass > Her courage, her eyes and his hopes** > She sipped it, she drank it, she drained it, she did > He promptly refilled it again > And he said as he secretly carved one more notch > On the butt of his gold-headed cane > > Have some madeira, m’dear > You really have nothing to fear > I’m not trying to tempt you, that wouldn’t be right > You shouldn’t drink spirits at this time of night > Have some madeira, m’dear > It’s really much nicer than beer > I don’t care for sherry, one cannot drink stout > And **port is a wine I can well do without > It’s simply a case of _chacun a son gout_** > Have some madeira, m’dear I love that last bit - a pun of a pun, and in French too. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/75 "2008-02-23T14:16:57Z")
One murder example…\*\*Delilah \*\*by Tom Jones “I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more My, my, my delilah Why, why, why delilah” One bounder, cad example… **Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me** by Mac Davis “Girl you’re getting that look in your eyes And it’s starting to worry me I ain’t ready for no family ties Nobody’s gonna hurry me” OK, here’s a second bounder, cad example… **Bad To The Bone** by George Thorogood “I broke a thousand hearts, before I met you I’ll break a thousand more baby, before I am through” ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/76 "2008-02-23T14:20:37Z")
The Thunder Rolls reminds me of another Garth Brooks Song - Papa Loved Mama Mama cheats on Papa, he finds out, rams his big rig into the hotel she’s having the fling in. The resulting line is “Mama’s in the graveyard, Papa’s in the pen.” ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/77 "2008-02-23T14:45:35Z")
One of the worst _has_ to be this charming little [ditty](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/toby-keith-with-willie-nelson/beer-for-my-horses.html) about vigilantism and lynching. I love it and can not help singing along. [QUOTE=Labdad] Several by Warren Zevon. “Excitable Boy” and “Mr. Bad Example” are two that leap to mind. [/QUOTE] I would have said _most_ by Warren Zevon. There always seems to be something just _wrong_ in his songs. Even _Tenderness on [The Block](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Block_(Baltimore))_. I love Warren Zevon. [Bernadette](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Four-Tops/Bernadette.html) isn’t the healthiest song out there, either. (Yup, another one of my favorites.) Most of the songs in _Guys and Dolls_. I hate that musical. The only song I can stand is [Luck Be a Lady.](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Frank-Sinatra/Luck-Be-A-Lady.html) ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/78 "2008-02-23T15:00:26Z")
[QUOTE=phungi] **YMCA** (You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find many ways to have a good time… They have everything that you need to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys…) [/QUOTE] Am I being whooshed? I thought this song was referencing the YMCA as a gay cruising spot. Unsanitary perhaps, but no one’s being taken advantage of such as in the other “cad” examples. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/79 "2008-02-23T15:06:08Z")
[QUOTE=j666] One of the worst _has_ to be this charming little [ditty](http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/toby-keith-with-willie-nelson/beer-for-my-horses.html) about vigilantism and lynching. I love it and can not help singing along. [/QUOTE] I knew where that link was headed before I clicked. I _despise_ Toby Keith’s music, because he writes such great songs full of such ignorant filth. This song couldn’t possibly be further from my own personal life philosophy, and yet… _so damn catchy._ ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745/80 "2008-02-23T15:16:04Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] I knew where that link was headed before I clicked. I _despise_ Toby Keith’s music, because he writes such great songs full of such ignorant filth. This song couldn’t possibly be further from my own personal life philosophy, and yet… _so damn catchy._ [/QUOTE] Forgive yourself; the way Nelson plays his voice like a harmonica in that song makes up for almost everything. I love the song because I hear the title line as ‘… **before** my horses …’ I get the most vivid mental image of a figure in a duster, hat, and big leather gloves holding a shot glass for a horse .. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classic-songs-that-glorified-pretty-rotten-behaviour/438745.md?page=5)