# Great songs with not so great lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 30, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630 "2025-01-30T17:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [January 30, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/21 "2025-01-30T20:18:08Z")
Somebody get me a ladder! I’ve always been bugged by Zep’s lazy and probably drug fueled borrowing from Tolkien 'T was in the darkest depths of Mordor I met a girl so fair But Gollum, and the evil one Crept up and slipped away with her And the song that probably ended the career of April Wine, the very childish “If You See Kay”. Incredibly juevenile way to say fuck. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/22 "2025-01-30T20:18:14Z")
They can, if you take the photo from high up enough. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/23 "2025-01-30T20:20:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’ve always been bugged by Zep’s lazy and probably drug fueled borrowing from Tolkien What bugs me about that song is that Bob sings “Mine’s a tale that can’t be told.” And then what does he do? Yes, that’s right: HE TELLS THE DAMN TALE! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/24 "2025-01-30T20:33:23Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Somebody get me a ladder! That’s always bugged me too. I used to have that album. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/25 "2025-01-30T20:36:06Z")
_Brown Sugar_ by the Stones is another song with, er, ‘interesting’ lyrics. Bangin tune though. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/26 "2025-01-30T20:42:05Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > Somebody get me a ladder! > > That’s always bugged me too. I used to have that album. I’ll insist that overall, it’s a great album. But no, that’s far from the high point. The Greg Lake ballads never anywhere close to the high point. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/27 "2025-01-30T20:45:29Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Van Morrison > […] > I love the song, and, yes, I’m nit-picking but it seems he phoned these lyrics in. I am a Van Morrison fan as well, and I think overall his lyrics are not too bad. But I’ve always wondered about this line from ‘Caravan’: _And the caravan is painted red and white_ _That means everybody’s staying overnight_ So they paint their entire caravan just to advertise their residency preferences? So, if they plan on leaving before nightfall, do they break out the exterior latex, brushes and rollers, and maybe paint the caravan green and purple, or something? Wouldn’t, I dunno, a _sign_ do the job just as well? ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/28 "2025-01-30T21:07:51Z")
Nobody has yet mentioned The Who and Baba O’Reilly . The most famous and powerful guitar chords in all of rock music, but with illogical and incomprehensible lyrics. The lyrics were supposed to be the overture to a strange, mystical (and very long) science-fiction rock opera , which Pete Townshend thought would be his magnum opus, but never finished. Result: repeat over and over “teenage wasteland”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/29 "2025-01-30T22:28:29Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > The lyrics were supposed to be the overture to a strange, mystical (and very long) science-fiction rock opera , which Pete Townshend thought would be his magnum opus, but never finished. It was called [Lifehouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifehouse_(rock_opera)). The concept was brought somewhat more into focus recently with the Special Deluxe Edition package of Who’s Next. Besides the original album it included several discs worth of demos, the experimental live performances at the Young Vic, a 100 page book and a graphic novel. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/30 "2025-01-30T23:09:10Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Love, love that song, but: > > _I look at the floor_ > _And I see it needs sweeping_ That presents a very evocative image in my mind. Staring at the floor, knowing things need to be done, but he is unable to do much of anything, except notice the dust on the floor. Paralyzed in love, or regret. Still, the guitar gently weeps. It fits there very well. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/31 "2025-01-30T23:11:35Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > The Greg Lake ballads never anywhere close to the high point. Still, they turn me on. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > It fits there very well. Fair interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/32 "2025-01-30T23:16:26Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > The Greg Lake ballads never anywhere close to the high point. > > Still, they turn me on. Eh, c’est la vie. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/33 "2025-01-30T23:21:06Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Somebody get me a ladder! I wonder if Greg wrote those lyrics around the same time as _Lucky Man._…when he was 12. My go-to answer in topics like this is from Uriah Heep’s _Circle of Hands_: “And today is only yesterday’s tomorrow”. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/34 "2025-01-30T23:28:47Z")
_Suzie Q_’s lyrics are…limited. _Oh Susie Q_ _Oh Susie Q_ _Oh Susie Q, how I love you_ _Susie Q_ _I like the way you walk_ _I like the way you talk_ That’s pretty much it except for “say that you’ll be mine”. Still one of the great rock n’roll songs. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/35 "2025-01-31T00:27:13Z")
The band America has some: > [@Tin Man](#): > > And cause never was the reason for the evening, > Or the tropic of Sir Galahad > [@Ventura Highway](#): > > ‘Cause the free wind is blowin’ through your hair > And the days surround your daylight there > Seasons crying no despair > Alligator lizards in the air, in the air > [@A Horse with No Name](#): > > In the desert, you can remember your name > 'Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/36 "2025-01-31T00:43:52Z")
> [@A Horse with No Name](#): > > 'Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain Awful. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/37 "2025-01-31T00:54:49Z")
> [@](#): > > On the first part of the journey > I was looking at all the life > There were plants and birds and rocks and things **Things** , I tell you! Things beyond the ken of mortal men! I mean, they ran out of items that constitute “life” after two items. And then they ran out of nouns altogether. > [@](#): > > There was sand and hills and rings I guess one can at least ride a horse into Mordor. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/38 "2025-01-31T01:08:31Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I was listening to And It Stoned Me yesterday. I’ve always liked the song but never really listened to the words. And when I did, well, they seemed a bit clunky. I Always plfound the play with words concerning “ **it Stunned me** “ quite smart ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/39 "2025-01-31T08:04:40Z")
Harry Nilsson’s awesome awesome song _Jump Into the Fire_ has just four pretty banal lines repeated over and over. But it’s a hell of a rocker. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2025, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/40 "2025-01-31T09:12:19Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Jelly roll sems to come out of no where. Sure, it rhymes and I read it is thought to be reference to JR Morton but still… “Jelly roll” is old jazz slang for marijuana, so it makes sense in a song called “And It Stoned Me”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630.md?page=3)