# Let's talk about your favorite "upbeat" song that is actually quite fucked up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306 "2009-12-15T03:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/61 "2009-12-17T16:23:54Z")
Surprised no one has mentioned The Smiths yet (unless I missed it). Many of their songs move along nicely and make you want to dance and the actual content of the songs is easy to not pay attention to. Usually if you tell someone to make a point of listening to the lyrics being sung they get a real “WTF?” moment. Here are a few with some of the lyrics: > [@](#): > > [Bigmouth Strikes Again](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUqUqG-ZGoU): > Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking > When I said I’d like to smash every tooth > In your head > > Oh … sweetness, sweetness, I was only joking > When I said by rights you should be > Bludgeoned in your bed > [Girlfriend in a Coma](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgtitHA22i0): > Girlfriend in a coma, I know > I know - it’s serious > Girlfriend in a coma, I know > I know - it’s really serious > > There were times when I could > Have “murdered” her > (But you know, I would hate > Anything to happen to her) > [There is a Light That Never Goes Out](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INgXzChwipY) (great song): > Take me out tonight > Because I want to see people and I > Want to see life > Driving in your car > Oh, please don’t drop me home > Because it’s not my home, it’s their > Home, and I’m welcome no more > > And if a double-decker bus > Crashes into us > To die by your side > Is such a heavenly way to die > And if a ten-ton truck > Kills the both of us > To die by your side > Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/62 "2009-12-17T17:14:09Z")
I’ve been too busy to babysit my own thread, but… > [@Strainger](#): > > [Ahem!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11873929&postcount=8) 😉 Ha! We got put in our places, did we not? > [@salinqmind](#): > > I WIN! > > Not only is THIS cheery and bouncy and upbeat, but it’s ALSO a Christmas song! Two for the price of one. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGdrMOttV\_s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGdrMOttV_s) Weird Al doesn’t count. You lose! > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Surprised no one has mentioned The Smiths yet (unless I missed it). Many of their songs move along nicely and make you want to dance and the actual content of the songs is easy to not pay attention to. Usually if you tell someone to make a point of listening to the lyrics being sung they get a real “WTF?” moment. > > Here are a few with some of the lyrics: I’ve not heard this song, but those lyrics do strike me as fucked up. I’ll listen on LaLa later. I’m not here. I’m working… Nobody saw this… (Disappears in a cloud of smoke) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/63 "2009-12-17T17:21:57Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > I saw the 2000 Encores concert presentation of the 1960 musical and the way the song was done was that the anti-hero, Tommy, used this song as an audition to get into the church choir (with the bonus of impressing his dream girl who was also in it, and active in the preacher’s crusade). The choir stood around mournfully and joined in on the final verse, totally conned by Patrick Wilson’s sweet sad balladeering, even as it got sillier and sillier (“…and with cutting and waxing, she waned”) and he got into the choir (and of course got the girl later). God that would have been fantastic. I mostly know about the show because I heard the song played a few times on Sirius/XM’s Broadway channel(late at night) and it broke my heart and I couldn’t place it. I had to do a fair bit of research to learn what was up. _Tenderloin_ was a bit of a flop, so there wasn’t much written about it, and the Darrin cover eclipsed the original(which is what I heard on the radio) by a huge margin. Most people who talk about the song are talking about Darrin’s cover, and stylistically it’s night and day different. I tell you, when I found out the whole thing was just a con, not only did it make my day, but it’s become one of my favorite bits of musical theatre that I’ve never seen. I can just imagine Tommy crooning this song and the girls of the temperance movement starting to cry and the guys lips trembling, and the catharsis that the anti-hero evokes so he can get into the girls pants and betray the good reverend. > [@](#): > > With paper and shears, > With wire and wax > She made up each tulip and mum. > As snow drifted in > To her tenement room > Her dear little fingers grew numb And they’re totally buying it. In fact during the bridge from the second to third verse the preacher makes everyone stop what they’re doing and come listen to the song. And it’s all bullshit, total bullshit that this sleazy bastard is using to worm his way into the movement and into the girls bed. Fabulous bit of musical storytelling. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/64 "2009-12-17T17:41:05Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > “Run for your Life” on the Beatles’ \*Rubber Soul \*album. Here we have a “wicked guy” who was “born with a jealous mind” threatening to kill his girl friend if she cheats on him or tries to leave. Upbeat, catchy tune with lyrics about a controlling, dominating, potentially violent creep. I understand John Lennon regretted having written it. That was the first one that leapt to my mind, but I couldn’t remember the title or album, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/65 "2009-12-17T17:53:38Z")
How about “American Woman” by Guess Who. The singer used this woman for sex, and now he’s telling her that he’s not interested in having any sort of relationship with her, and he doesn’t want to see her anymore. And yet, many women like this song, and seem to think that the singer is in love with the eponymous woman. As for “Imagine,” I tend to think that it owes its continued popularity to John Lennon’s untimely death. If that song had been sung by anyone else, it would have been consigned to clearance bins [del]years[/del] decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/66 "2009-12-17T18:57:47Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > How about “American Woman” by Guess Who. The singer used this woman for sex, and now he’s telling her that he’s not interested in having any sort of relationship with her, and he doesn’t want to see her anymore. And yet, many women like this song, and seem to think that the singer is in love with the eponymous woman. Huh… it always seemed obvious to me that the song wasn’t really about a woman, it was about America, using “temptress” as a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/67 "2009-12-17T19:23:48Z")
How about the swingin’ teen-angst trilogy of the 1960s, _It’s My Party (and I’ll Cry If I Want To)_ and _Judy’s Turn to Cry_ by Lesley Gore, and _Johnny Get Angry_ by Joanie Sommers (also Shelley Fabares)? Nobody knows where my Johnny has gone / But Judy left the same time / Why was he holdin’ her hand / When he’s supposed to be mine? . . . You would cry too if it happened to you! 'Cause now it’s Judy’s turn to cry, / Judy’s turn to cry, / Judy’s turn to cry, / 'Cause Johnny’s come back to me! Johnny I said we were through / Just to see what you would do / You stood there, and hung your head / Made me wish that I were dead . . . Oh, Johnny get angry, Johnny get mad / Give me the biggest lecture I ever had / I want a brave man, I want a cave man / Johnny, show me that you care! Cha-cha-cha! ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/68 "2009-12-18T01:44:58Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Hallelujah is one of my favorite songs. I would be shocked to hear it in church. Well, I would be shocked to _be_ in church. I sang it in a church, but it was for a funeral service, so I guess that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/69 "2009-12-18T04:05:57Z")
“Copacobana” by Barry Manilow. I’d heard the first verse pretty often, and I thought it was a fun, happy song about a dancer until I looked up the rest of the lyrics. :eek: > [@](#): > > But Rico went a bit too far, Tony sailed across the bar > And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two > There was blood and a single gun shot > But just who shot who? > … > She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind > She lost her youth and she lost her Tony > Now she’s lost her mind! And “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats. > [@](#): > > And all the playing’s stopped in the playground now > She wants to play with the toys a while > And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning > And the lesson today is how to die ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/70 "2009-12-18T05:34:05Z")
My favorite rock musician is Richard Thompson, so I can name a whole bunch. I guess my all-time favorite in this category is [“I Feel So Good”](http://www.richardthompson-music.com/song_o_matic.asp?id=173). Or maybe [“Turning of the Tide”](http://www.richardthompson-music.com/song_o_matic.asp?id=151). ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/71 "2009-12-18T06:03:56Z")
The Cardigans have a few - [Rise and Shine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I7GzmEt_hw) has a particularly upbeat sounding chorus, while being about depression, and probably suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/72 "2009-12-18T13:01:15Z")
I think someone has to mention “The Beautiful South”. Masters of this trade I reckon. To give you a flavour try “woman in the wall” A jaunty ditty with lyrics that are…well…sort of… he was just a social drinker but, social every night He enjoyed a pint or two or three or four She was just a silent thinker Silence every night He’d enjoyed the thought of killing her before Well he was, very rarely drunk but, very rarely sober And he didn’t think the problem was his drink But he only knew his problem When he knocked her over And when the the rotting flesh began to stink ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/73 "2009-12-18T14:09:22Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > “Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money” Nitpick.Its just "Lawyers,Guns,and Money > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > One of his last songs that he made before he died was “My Shits Fucked Up.” It’s brilliant and kind of sad all rolled up. The song was recorded in 1999,three years before Warren was even diagnosed.He made several other songs after that one. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/74 "2009-12-18T22:52:11Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > Someone else mentioned New Order’s “True Faith” – I came in to mention another New Order song – “Love Vigilantes.” That’s a New Order song? I had no idea, I’d only ever heard it done by Oysterband. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306/75 "2009-12-19T15:18:03Z")
Gilber O’Sullivan’s “Claire.” Nothing like an unbeat song about pedophilia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-your-favorite-upbeat-song-that-is-actually-quite-fucked-up/521306.md?page=3)