# Creepiest non-creepy song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627 "2009-07-01T21:00:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/41 "2009-07-03T11:09:25Z")
Clay Aiken’s Invisible > [@](#): > > If I was invisible > Then I could just watch you in your room > If I was invincible > I’d make you mine tonight ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/42 "2009-07-06T13:29:39Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat & Tears. It’s mostly the end. The flutes playing “Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?” mixed with the ominous horns bring to mind a horrific accident at a carnival to me. To be fair to BST, if you turn the volume up at the end of the trainwreck, you’ll hear the group laughing,.and one says “That wasn’t too good…” Major understatement, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/43 "2009-07-06T13:32:19Z")
Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key. _Shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/44 "2009-07-06T14:50:19Z")
I’ve always been creeped out by Dido’s Here With Me. For some reason the song seems to me to be from the point of view of a ghost who is waiting for her lover to die before she can rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/45 "2009-07-06T14:58:12Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > _Every Breath You Take_ … soooo stalker song. That’s supposed to be creepy! Sting has said in interviews that he’s just floored by how many people have told him that it’s “their” relationship song, that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/46 "2009-07-06T15:07:18Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > No, it’s not just that – and the song you know isn’t as bad as the original lyrics: > “Have yourself a merry little Christmas > It may be your last > Next year we may all be living in the past” > > “Faithful friends who were dear to us > Will be near to us no more” > > Hugh Martin: freak. Are you assuming that a Christmas song is always SUPPOSED to be cheery, carefree and happy? Are you forgetting the context in which the song was written? First, it was part of the soundtrack to the movie musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Second, it was written while the Second World War was raging. For both the characters in the movie AND for millions of ordinary Americans, Christmas that year was less than joyous, as loved ones were going far away and might not ever be coming back. Its message is, “Christmas this year isn’t as wonderful as in the past, but let’s make it as happy as possible, and try look forward to better times ahead.” That makes it a SAD song with a tinge of hope, not a creepy song. It only BECAME a bit creepy years after the war ended, when the lyrics were changed to make it a bit happier. The newer, cheerier lyrics just don’t fit with the music. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/47 "2009-07-06T15:18:16Z")
The first thing that came to my mind was Spinning Wheel, now with even more creepy goodness brought to you by **panamajack**. Thanks, dude!🙂 I always get a little freaked out by the industrial sound effects at the start of Paul McCartney’s \*“Silly Love Songs”. \*Also those weird tribal, panting sounds just before the chorus of _“Tell me Something Good”._ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/48 "2009-07-06T15:36:11Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I don’t think **Hotel California** is supposed to be a creepy song… On the contrary, it’s DEFINITELY supposed to be a creepy song. It’s about the seductive but destructive nature of wealth and celebrity in Southern California, about how hard it can be to give up things like drugs and booze and parties and cheap sex, even after you’ve figured out that they’re going to destroy you. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/49 "2009-07-06T15:49:59Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > That’s supposed to be creepy! Sting has said in interviews that he’s just floored by how many people have told him that it’s “their” relationship song, that kind of thing. Yeah, I was going to make the same comment. And along the lines of _Time of the Season_, some other “Father Figure” songs: _Father Figure_ by George Michael _Seventeen_ by Kip Winger _Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon_ by Neil Diamond (and later covered by Urge Overkill) ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/50 "2009-07-06T15:57:16Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Nope I stand humbly corrected. But which version is creepiest? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/51 "2009-07-06T16:05:42Z")
I think there may be different definitions of “creepy” at play. **Student Driver** said: > [@](#): > > Sammy Davis, Jr.'s cover of “The Candy Man.” The original song works fairly well in the context of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and became a Davis standard once he covered it. He was interested in acting in the movie, so his use of the song is completely innocuous. Yet, when I hear it now, all I can think of is that it sounds like a song a stereotypical “Free Candy” van-driving child molester would sing. Ahh, the joys of a more innocent age, when a lighthearted kids’ song could be enjoyed for what it was, and not as a covert ploy to seduce children into debauchery. **panamajack** said: > [@](#): > > I find just about anything by _The Big Bopper_, but especially _Chantilly Lace_, to be really creepy. He just sounds like a sexual predator for some reason. Really? Just looked up the lyrics and I don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/52 "2009-07-06T16:10:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Melanie’s “Brand New Key.” I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key. _Shudder_ I love that song. I’m going to play it right now… Yep, still love it. More songs need that sense of whimsical imagery. I also love a creepy song called “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes”. Sounds like a love song but it’s about a suspicious lover. Still, the rhythm and energy makes me put it on repeat loop. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/53 "2009-07-06T16:20:27Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Really? Just looked up the lyrics and I don’t see it. Have you heard it, though? It’s a combination of the lyrics and the way he’s singing it that always creeps me out too. I feel like he’s much too old for the person that he’s singing about/talking to. ---
**Author:** ![malibu400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@malibu400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malibu400)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/54 "2009-07-06T17:59:32Z")
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pff8VEKKkY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pff8VEKKkY) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRW\_elc-rY&feature=fvst](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRW_elc-rY&feature=fvst) Songs such as these creep me out. And the music videos are even creepier. Brainwashing comes to mind when i see them (the blatant advertising in the second one? lol). ---
**Author:** ![BestWifeEver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@BestWifeEver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BestWifeEver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/55 "2009-07-06T18:11:33Z")
I’ve always found the soundtrack to _[Chariots of Fire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6GiDC2bx40)_ to be creepy. I think it was because I heard it before I saw the movie. My folks would play the album and my little kid over-active imagination turned what was supposed to be triumphant music to scary music. And _Hotel Californi_a was definitely supposed to be creepy… ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/56 "2009-07-06T18:28:43Z")
Let’s go back to the '50s… I never thought much about the chestnut “Standing on the Corner” by the Four Lads while growing up, but when I hear it now it creeps me out. _Standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by Standing on the corner, giving all the girls the eye…_ I think it’s the harmonies that get under my skin. Sure, one guy standing on the corner mentally undressing women… that’s me on a normal day. But four guys who seem to have found each other for the purpose of standing on a corner and — in unison — mentally undressing the women who dare to pass by… well, that’s just creepy. The “Brother, you can’t go to jail for what you’re thinking” line in the last verse is just the creepy cherry on top. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/57 "2009-07-06T18:47:10Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > “Chanitlly Lace…” > Really? Just looked up the lyrics and I don’t see it. For me, the lyrics are fairly innocent, but when sung the Bopper’s voice sounds like someone’s drunk uncle at a party getting uncomfortably friendly with the young girls. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/58 "2009-07-06T20:02:45Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > For me, the lyrics are fairly innocent, but when sung the Bopper’s voice sounds like someone’s drunk uncle at a party getting uncomfortably friendly with the young girls. If a song gives you the creeps, there’s nothing I can say to convince you it shouldn’t. But for what it’s worth, J.P. (Big Bopper) Richardson was only 28 when he went down in that plane with Buddy Holly. He wasn’t a dirty old man! ---
**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 6, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/59 "2009-07-06T20:09:14Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > For me, the lyrics are fairly innocent, but when sung the Bopper’s voice sounds like someone’s drunk uncle at a party getting uncomfortably friendly with the young girls. I think it’s kind of sexy in a deliciously sleazy way. But I just assume he’s singing it to someone his own age. (Well, I mean, if you listen to the lyrics, apparently the girl he’s talking to on the phone is saying some pretty suggestive stuff right back at him. “What’s that? Pick you up at eight? and don’t be late?..Oh baby, you KNOW what I like!”) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627/60 "2009-07-06T20:10:14Z")
Massive Attack - [_Angel_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaef2NgwqHY) A love song that sounds like something someone would play on their headphones…while stalking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepiest-non-creepy-song/501627.md?page=4)