# Feuding Rock Bands **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625 "2011-08-05T19:13:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/1 "2011-08-05T19:13:39Z")
There seem to be several music related threads of late, so I thought I might throw this one out for discussion. Most have heard of the Lynard Skynard song “Sweet Home Alabama,” where they diss Neil Young for his "Southern Man"song. Can you think of any others (other then the more recent pissing match between Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks) where one band took potshots at another in the lyrics of their songs? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/2 "2011-08-05T19:33:49Z")
Peter, Paul and Mary take a few jabs at The Mamas & The Papas, the Beatles and Donovan in “I Dig Rock and Roll Music.” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/3 "2011-08-05T19:36:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Peter, Paul and Mary take a few jabs at The Mamas & The Papas, the Beatles and Donovan in “I Dig Rock and Roll Music.” Jabs? I thought that it was an homage. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/4 "2011-08-05T19:40:28Z")
It’s Lynyrd Skynyrd. All y’s for vowels. “My brother’s back at home With his Beatles and his Stones. We never got it off on that revolution stuff. What a drag … too many … snags” Bowie – All the Young Dudes. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/5 "2011-08-05T19:42:10Z")
Speaking of Beatles. McCartney’s _Too Many People_ and Lennon’s _How Do You Sleep?_ were basically musical insults traded back and forth across the radio waves. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/6 "2011-08-05T19:43:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Jabs? I thought that it was an homage. Hardly. They basically call R&R shallow and devoid of social commentary. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/7 "2011-08-05T19:43:35Z")
Well, there’s the obvious Beatle ones, possibly starting with “We all know ob-la-di-bla-da/But can you show me where you are” from Harrison’s “Savoy Truffle”… John contributed a couple with “I’ve seen religion from Jesus to Paul” (from “I Found Out”) and all of “How Do You Sleep”, the latter after thinking that Paul’s “Too Many People” was aimed at him and Yoko (which seems unlikely to me, but I do wonder about “Catch up, cats and kittens/Don’t get left behind” from “Monkberry Moon Delight”)… also some have said Ringo’s “Back Off, Boogaloo” was about Paul, but I think he’s stated it was about Marc Bolan. The Clash have the lyric “Every gimmick-hungry yob digging gold from rock ‘n’ roll/Grabs the mike to tell us he’ll die before he’s old” (in “Death or Glory”), which suggests a dig at the Who’s “My Generation”. Then there’s Mojo Nixon’s “Don Henley Must Die”, which is not too hard to figure out. ---
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/8 "2011-08-05T19:45:14Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > It’s Lynyrd Skynyrd. All y’s for vowels. > “My brother’s back at home > With his Beatles and his Stones. > We never got it off on that revolution stuff. > What a drag … too many … snags” > > Bowie – All the Young Dudes. I thought that was Mott the Hoople? I knew I was spelling Skynyrd wrong - thanks! And RIP Leonard. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/9 "2011-08-05T19:46:23Z")
Josh Rouse slams Ryan Adams in “Street Lights” > [@](#): > > Rock and roll > You are envy, I am > So uncool > Still I want to do the best I can > Let’s meet on the corner and act like we’re old friends Then Ryan Adams slams Beth Orton in “English Girls Approximately” > [@](#): > > She’s got eyes as pretty as a pair of jewels > Falling down a canyon like a couple drunken criminals > She had a messy bedroom on the edge of town > I ain’t ever been a-good enough to ever keep around > Said you didn’t love me, it was right on time, I was just about to tell you but okay, alright. > Said you didn’t love me, didn’t mean a thing, English girls can be so mean ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/10 "2011-08-05T19:49:47Z")
> [@OtisCampbellWasRight](#): > > I thought that was Mott the Hoople? David Bowie wrote the song, but Mott the Hoople recorded and had a hit with it. The song’s [Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Young_Dudes_%28song%29) tells the story of how Bowie came to write the song for Mott the Hoople. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/11 "2011-08-05T19:56:14Z")
PUNK **The Meatmen** did \*One Down, Three to Go \*after the murder of John Lennon. **NOFX** did a mocking version of **Minor Threat** ’s _Straight Edge_. **The Dickies** > [@](#): > > kevin dubrow what does he know > i know some chords and shit i could play 'em ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/12 "2011-08-05T20:00:34Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Speaking of Beatles. > > McCartney’s _Too Many People_ and Lennon’s _How Do You Sleep?_ were basically musical insults traded back and forth across the radio waves. And _Silly Love Songs_ was Paul’s response to John dissing his music in an interview. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/13 "2011-08-05T20:08:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Hardly. They basically call R&R shallow and devoid of social commentary. I just took a look at the lyrics and you have a point. It’s more back handed compliments actually. Folk has real meaning and R&R is fun but banal. Thanks for pointing that out. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/14 "2011-08-05T20:20:39Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I just took a look at the lyrics and you have a point. It’s more back handed compliments actually. Folk has real meaning and R&R is fun but banal. Thanks for pointing that out. I know where you’re coming from, but… “And when they’re really wailin’, Michelle and Cass are sailin’, Hey, they really nail me to the wall.” “I dig rock and roll music, And love to get the chance to sing…” “The message may not move me, Or mean a great deal to me, But hey, it feels so groovy to say…” Not exactly hard-hitting criticism, but more a fun, tongue-in-cheek commentary. Being a fan of both The Mamas & Papas and PPM, this is one of my favorite tunes. They may be throwing brickbats, but they are soft brickbats, tossed with affection. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/15 "2011-08-05T22:30:22Z")
Probably not a “feud”, but… \*I asked Bobby Dylan I asked The Beatles I asked Timothy Leary But he couldn’t help me either They call me The Seeker I’ve been searching low and high I won’t get to get what I’m after Till the day I die\* - The Who ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/16 "2011-08-06T13:20:25Z")
Tori Amos had a song slamming Courtney Love “She’s a starf\*\*\*\*\*r…just like her daddy” called “Professional Widow”. Rogers Waters had some nasty lines about Yoko Ono in “The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking”. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/17 "2011-08-06T13:43:39Z")
Blur vs Oasis. Not sure it ever extended to song lyrics or if it was just confined to the music press, though. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/18 "2011-08-06T14:30:46Z")
> [@OtisCampbellWasRight](#): > > There seem to be several music related threads of late, so I thought I might throw this one out for discussion. Most have heard of the Lynard Skynard song “Sweet Home Alabama,” where they diss Neil Young for his "Southern Man"song. Then Warren Zevon dissed Lynyrd Skynyrd in “Play It All Night Long”: “Sweet home Alabama” Play that dead band’s song. Note that these weren’t truly disses. Lynyrd Skynyrd were joking about Young (Young reportedly was amused by it was was working on a way to join the group in singing it on stage), while Zevon was dissing the characters in his song. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/19 "2011-08-06T15:34:22Z")
Not a lyrics issue, but there was some bad blood going on between **The Clash** , and **Van Halen** at the US Festival, which spurred this cheap shot. [David Lee Roth lashes out, bashes The Clash](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKTc9VaNIiI#t=3m54s) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625/20 "2011-08-06T15:46:07Z")
Joni Mitchell slams Jackson Browne in _You Were Not To Blame_. _Your charitable acts Seemed out of place With the beauty With your fist marks on her face_ and _I heard your baby say When he was only three “Daddy let’s get some girls One for you and one for me” His mother had the frailty you despise And the looks you love to drive to suicide_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feuding-rock-bands/591625.md?page=2)