# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/81 "2025-02-04T00:08:09Z")
That reminds me of the opening lines to Steppenwolf’s _Magic Carpet Ride_ : _I like to dream, yes, yes, right between the sound machine_ You can’t be “between” one singular object. All they had to do was make it sound machines, plural, and it would have kind of made sense. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/82 "2025-02-04T01:26:37Z")
Not a bad lyric, as such, but one that always grated on me, is the track where the singer utters “… I’ve a cask of amonti **L** ado …”. I look at the title and assume that it should be pronounced “amonti **Y** ado”. I could be wrong about this, but it sure is irritating even so. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/83 "2025-02-04T01:36:24Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I look at the title and assume that it should be pronounced “amonti **Y** ado”. I could be wrong about this, but Your humility is admirable but misplaced. “Yado” is correct. “Lado” is an abomination. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/84 "2025-02-04T03:57:39Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > right between the sound machine I always thought it was “right between the summer sheets”. 🤦‍♀️ I _know_ it’s stupid but it make just as much sense at the correct, not so great lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/85 "2025-02-04T06:25:51Z")
Any song that goes with the moon/June couplet qualifies. Billy Corgan went to that well twice in his early days, Rhinoceros & Bye June (putting June in the title gets extra bonus points). Anyhow, of those two, only Rhinoceros is a “great song.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/86 "2025-02-04T13:44:57Z")
I nominate “Invisible” Clay Aiken. It’s a very catchy chorus that I want to belt out, but there’s something so nasty about belting out “If I was invisible / Then I could just watch you in your room / If I was invisible, I’d make you mine tonight.” ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/87 "2025-02-04T14:10:36Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I want you > I want you so bad > It’s driving me mad > It’s driving me mad > > Etc etc etc etc etc. And that’s it. The insightful writer Ian MacDonald thought both the words and music for this song captured Lennon’s obsessive yearning for Yoko quite well. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/88 "2025-02-04T14:21:29Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > The insightful writer Ian MacDonald thought both the words and music for this song captured Lennon’s obsessive yearning for Yoko quite well. I always took it that way too. It’s a song about an (unhealthy) obsession. If I were Yoko, I would have been creeped out by the song. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/89 "2025-02-04T14:26:54Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Just like witches at black masses > > I guess rhyming “masses” with “masses” is just about the most perfect rhyme you could ever hope for. To be fair, you could have the witches chant _abra, abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya; abra, abracadabra; abracadabra._ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/90 "2025-02-04T14:37:24Z")
My god, I can hear it in Ozzy’s voice. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/91 "2025-02-04T15:53:42Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > Just like witches at black masses > > > > I guess rhyming “masses” with “masses” is just about the most perfect rhyme you could ever hope for. > > To be fair, you could have the witches chant _abra, abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya; abra, abracadabra; abracadabra._ And then the generals could… …know just exactly what the facts is They make their living off other people’s taxes. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/92 "2025-02-04T16:16:48Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > …know just exactly what the facts is > They make their living off other people’s taxes. Beat me too it… only because I knew _someone_ would post it. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > To be fair, you could have the witches chant _abra, abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya; abra, abracadabra; abracadabra_ Silk and satin, leather and lace Black panties with an angel’s face ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/93 "2025-02-04T16:29:00Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Silk and satin, leather and lace > Black panties with an angel’s face Sounds like a decent start to a party. With or without witch’s brew. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/94 "2025-02-04T16:31:06Z")
From “Moving In Stereo” by The Cars: _Life’s the same, I’m moving in stereo_ _Life’s the same except for my shoes_ ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/95 "2025-02-04T16:35:21Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Immediately my outraged brain thought “There’s only, like, twenty words in that song over and over! It’s not like the guy memorized American Pie!” For whatever reason I memorized American Pie as a teenager, and it got me nowhere. The lyrics are all still occupying valuable brain space that probably could be better employed elsewhere. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/96 "2025-02-04T17:16:05Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@dirtball](#): > > > > …know just exactly what the facts is > > They make their living off other people’s taxes. > > Beat me too it… only because I knew _someone_ would post it That whole song…ack. It’s the epitome of examples of why I believe that writing rock and roll lyrics is easier than writing lyrics in any other genre. For whatever reason, expectations just seem to be low. Now, that doesn’t mean rock lyrics _can’t_ be good, or even genius level. They sometimes are. They just don’t have to be. Imagine Steve Miller in an alternate universe, trying to make a living just as a songwriter for other people. He has a meeting with a successful country artist and shows him his “Take the Money and Run” lyrics. The country singer is going to say, “Well, Steve, I don’t know why you’re showing me your first draft. It looks like maybe it could have potential, though. Let me know when you’ve finished it, and I’ll look at it then.” ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/97 "2025-02-04T17:45:38Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > “Abandoned” can have two meanings - deserted/left, or uninhibited/unrestrained. The second sense works for a hurricane. I would argue that the second sense really only exists as a noun (acted with wild abandon). You can abandon yourself to your wildest impulses, but that really only works reflexively. And anyway, an unrestrained hurricane is an even worse place for an eagle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/98 "2025-02-04T17:49:24Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Just like witches at black masses > > I guess rhyming “masses” with “masses” is just about the most perfect rhyme you could ever hope for. I unironically really enjoy that identity rhyme/self rhyme. I think it’s a great example of how to use it. ---
**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 4, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/99 "2025-02-04T18:12:33Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > I would argue that the second sense really only exists as a noun You could argue it, but you’d be wrong. That sense is [way older](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abandoned) than the deserted sense. > [@fachverwirrt](#): > > And anyway, an unrestrained hurricane is an even worse place for an eagle. No doubt. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630/100 "2025-02-04T18:23:25Z")
      _Blinding side splat_       _Flicker flicker flicker blam pow_       _Stairway scared and dare who’s there_ An utter classic with baffling lyrics. More intelligible than _Hocus Pocus_, but only a little. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-with-not-so-great-lyrics/1013630.md?page=6)