# Lines in a song that anchor it or cause it to turn a corner for you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 15, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205 "2023-11-15T19:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/1 "2023-11-15T19:50:46Z")
As an example, Rod Stewart’s You Wear It Well. Like a million other songs, it seems like the ‘speaker’ is just nebulously pouring out his feelings. Then somewhere near the end there’s the line: _"Anyway, my coffee’s cold and I’m getting told_ _That I gotta get back to work_" Now all of sudden I see a guy sitting on a loading dock, taking a break from work, writing to his ex. Not a huge turn, but that line has always anchored the song for me. ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ by Chuck Berry is more of an intentional twist. But still the line… _“Marie is only six years old, information please.”_ … does frame the conversation differently in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/2 "2023-11-15T20:05:23Z")
There are a few clues along the way, but it’s spelled out in the last verse of ‘Lola’ by the Kinks: _Well, I’m not the world’s most masculine man But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man And so is Lola_ ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/3 "2023-11-15T20:09:15Z")
Yes, Lola is glad he (the singer) is a man. Because Lola is a straight woman. Nothing surprising there. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/4 "2023-11-15T20:23:36Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ by Chuck Berry is more of an intentional twist. But still the line… > > _“Marie is only six years old, information please.”_ > > … does frame the conversation differently in my mind. Led Zeppelin has a couple song twists where you think it’s a romantic love song but it turns out to be something else. Similar to ‘Memphis, Tennessee’, the Zep Song ‘The Ocean’ has the line toward the end: _Now I’m singing all my songs to the girl who won my heart_ _She is only three years old and it’s a real fine way to start_ Awww, he’s really singing about his daughter! Zep’s ‘Bron-Y-Aur Stomp’ also sounds like a romantic love song, until: _Ain’t no companion like a blue-eyed Merle_ If that line goes over your head, a bit later there’s: _Yeah, ain’t but one thing to do, spend my natural life with you_ _You’re the finest dog I knew, so fine_ ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/5 "2023-11-16T01:34:33Z")
I can’t even start typing this without a tear in my eye. Atmosphere’s song _Yesterday_ is a standard “missing a lost love” song. Until the last line: > I thought I saw you yesterday > But I know it wasn’t you, > ‘cause you passed away, [Dad…](https://genius.com/83809/Atmosphere-yesterday/Dad) . (btw, it’s from an album with a great title: _When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold._) ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/6 "2023-11-16T02:33:48Z")
_ **Paradise by the Dashboard Light** _ has a nice twist where the two teenage lovers are getting hot and heavy in the car, until she pulls the classic ‘Will you love me forever and make me your wife?’, at which he replies 'I will love you ‘till the end of time’. The coda begins: _So now I’m prayin’ for the End of Time_ _To hurry up and arrive_ _'Cause if I’ve got to spend another minute with you_ _I don’t think that I can really survive_ ---
**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:** [November 16, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/7 "2023-11-16T02:34:16Z")
Lyle Lovett’s “Nobody’s Knows Me” sounds like a sweet love song, but halfway through you discover it’s really about the singer’s affair that ends the marriage. Similarly, his “I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You” completely contradicts the title as the song unfolds. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/8 "2023-11-16T02:38:20Z")
Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue’s **Where the Wild Roses Grow** ; On the third day he took me to the river He showed me the roses and we kissed And the last thing I heard was a muttered word As he knelt above me with a rock in his fist ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/9 "2023-11-16T03:25:53Z")
_Keep your drawers on, girl, it ain’t worth the fightin_ _By the time you drop them I’ll be gone_ _And you’ll be right where they fall the rest of your life_ Zip City- Drive-By Truckers ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/10 "2023-11-16T13:40:53Z")
_And as he handed me a drink He began to hum a song And all the boys there at the bar Began to sing along_ Little Feat - “Dixie Chicken” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/11 "2023-11-16T15:14:54Z")
_He Stopped Loving Her Today_ drops all kinds of hints, then: He stopped loving her today They placed a wreath upon his door And soon they’ll carry him away He stopped loving her today ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/12 "2023-11-16T15:18:43Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Yes, Lola is glad he (the singer) is a man. Because Lola is a straight woman. Nothing surprising there. Er, no, Lola was a man. Ray Davies spoke of doing research on drag queens related to the writing of the song. mmm ---
**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:** [November 16, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/13 "2023-11-16T15:32:05Z")
Seriously, Lola. “That ain’t no woman! It’s a man, man!” Well, I’m not dumb but I can’t understand Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man Girls will be boys and boys will be girls It’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola It’s as obvious as it can be, in the time of the crazy repressed 60s. They’re being clever. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/14 "2023-11-16T16:57:46Z")
The Doors’ ‘Moonlight Drive’ is a sweet little romantic song about a couple who park beside the ocean and go for a little night swim… …until the outro: _Come on baby, gonna take a little ride_ _Down, down by the ocean side_ _Gonna get real close_ _Get real tight_ _ **Baby gonna drown tonight** _ _Goin’ down, down, down_ ---
**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:** [November 16, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/15 "2023-11-16T17:25:51Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > _ **Paradise by the Dashboard Light** _ has a nice twist where the two teenage lovers are getting hot and heavy in the car, until she pulls the classic ‘Will you love me forever and make me your wife?’, at which he replies 'I will love you ‘till the end of time’. I’ve heard this song forever but interestingly, my wife and I were watching it a couple of weeks ago on YouTube (big screen TV) and for the first time that line hit me. _So now I’m prayin’ for the End of Time_ ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/16 "2023-11-16T20:41:35Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Er, no, Lola was a man. Ray Davies spoke of doing research on drag queens related to the writing of the song. I thought @Saint_Cad was just being silly, but perhaps I was wooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/17 "2023-11-16T20:42:54Z")
Could be either. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/18 "2023-11-16T22:06:33Z")
Yes, the lyric was supposed to have two interpretations, given Davies penchant for word play. But Lola is a man. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/19 "2023-11-17T12:44:05Z")
Parchman Farm by Mose Allison. It’s about a prisoner singing about his life in prison _Sittin’ down here on Parchman Farm Lord I ain’t never done no man no harm_ Until you get to the final line _Gonna be down here for the rest of my life All I did was shoot my wife_ That first line is cleverly misleading. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205/20 "2023-11-17T12:50:42Z")
Interesting… the only version of Parchman Farm I’m familiar with is the John Mayall & Bluesbreakers cover, and he doesn’t sing that verse at the end. Now I need to go dig up the original and have a listen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-in-a-song-that-anchor-it-or-cause-it-to-turn-a-corner-for-you/993205.md?page=2)