# Lines you hate in a song you like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654 "2018-04-18T18:09:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/41 "2018-04-19T17:17:35Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > When I was a teenager and Michael Sembello’s Maniac came on, you bet I was right on that dance floor. However, as I got older I listened to the actual words and, damn, that song made me mad. > > _There’s a cold, kinetic heat. . ._ Every word makes the previous word more stupid. And then > > _On the line between will and what will be. . ._ Between the what and the who now? The song was originally written about a serial killer and changed to fit the movie plot. That doesn’t excuse the clanky lyric you cite, but the song’s evolution is interesting. [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=806](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=806) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/42 "2018-04-19T18:56:25Z")
“Cold Kinetic Heat” was the original band name, until someone pointed out how stupid it was. They had much more success as “Hot Hot Heat”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/43 "2018-04-19T19:08:47Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The song was originally written about a serial killer and changed to fit the movie plot. That doesn’t excuse the clanky lyric you cite, but the song’s evolution is interesting. > > [Maniac by Michael Sembello - Songfacts](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=806) The original lyrics are so friggin’ LIT! But I can see how they would not have played well in the '80s. Or in the '10s either, come to think of it. It is “the 10s” now, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/44 "2018-04-19T19:10:47Z")
Every single lyric in “Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo (Yeah, that’ll be in your head all day, you’re welcome). ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/45 "2018-04-19T20:31:47Z")
That one bad rhyme that comes up so many times in “Like a Rolling Stone”. With it I cannot deeyull. How does it feeyull? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/46 "2018-04-19T22:13:08Z")
The Who’s “Helpless Dancer” from Quadrophenia has the lines “And people die from being old Or left alone because they’re cold” which never made sense to me - dying from being old means you’ve lived a long life (presumably not a bad thing), and why would your body temperature affect your loneliness? The lines make more sense as: “And people die from being cold Or left alone because they’re old” ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/47 "2018-04-19T23:39:33Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > The Who’s “Helpless Dancer” from Quadrophenia has the lines > > “And people die from being old > Or left alone because they’re cold” > > which never made sense to me - dying from being old means you’ve lived a long life (presumably not a bad thing), and why would your body temperature affect your loneliness? The lines make more sense as: > > “And people die from being cold > Or left alone because they’re old” Maybe it’s “cold” as in emotionless and therefore not likeable. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/48 "2018-04-20T00:13:45Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Maybe it’s “cold” as in emotionless and therefore not likeable. I’m sure that’s what they were going for. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/49 "2018-04-20T00:45:15Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” is ruined by that last verse when she has to drive his drunk ass home and drag him to bed. The romance is lost. I agree but I think to a lot of people that IS romantic, just like overly possessive lyrics like those in previous answers. To me 99% of “romantic” songs are 100% cringe due to those and other reasons. Obsession and shared negative experiences seem to be the bulk of some romantic fantasy world. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/50 "2018-04-20T01:20:17Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I agree but I think to a lot of people that IS romantic, just like overly possessive lyrics like those in previous answers. To me 99% of “romantic” songs are 100% cringe due to those and other reasons. Obsession and shared negative experiences seem to be the bulk of some romantic fantasy world. Maybe simpler, “someone who accepts my bullshit” is a pretty powerful fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/51 "2018-04-20T03:34:23Z")
A few: I’m an unabashed fan of Counting Crows, and Adam Duritz can write some depressing shit. But there’s a line in “Mrs. Potter’s Lullabye” that sticks in my craw, assuming that my craw is where I think it is: “The last one out of the circus Has to lock up everything **Or the elephants will get out And forget to remember what you said**” WTF? There’s also a song by One Direction (I think) where a guy is commenting on this girl’s beauty, and says “You don’t know you’re beautiful…that’s what makes you beautiful.” So, her entire outer beauty is predicated on her not knowing that she’s beautiful. And then you tell her that she’s beautiful. By your own logic, she’s no longer beautiful. Thanks a lot, asshole. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/52 "2018-04-20T03:56:07Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > A few: > > I’m an unabashed fan of Counting Crows, and Adam Duritz can write some depressing shit. But there’s a line in “Mrs. Potter’s Lullabye” that sticks in my craw, assuming that my craw is where I think it is: > > “The last one out of the circus > Has to lock up everything > **Or the elephants will get out > And forget to remember what you said**” > > WTF? My guess it’s about elephants having good memories. If the elephants get out, they will become disturbed and forget to remember. > [@](#): > > There’s also a song by One Direction (I think) where a guy is commenting on this girl’s beauty, and says “You don’t know you’re beautiful…that’s what makes you beautiful.” > > So, her entire outer beauty is predicated on her not knowing that she’s beautiful. And then you tell her that she’s beautiful. By your own logic, she’s no longer beautiful. > > Thanks a lot, asshole. Yeah, but you don’t like that song, right? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/53 "2018-04-20T04:00:10Z")
It’s not human excrement ladled into my ear. Then again, it ain’t exactly Zooey Deschanel whispering into my ear that she’s going to wake me up in the morning with an hour-long blowjob, either. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/54 "2018-04-20T04:43:34Z")
In the standard “I Won’t Dance” comes the line: “For heaven rest us, I’m not asbestos”. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/55 "2018-04-20T05:18:00Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Moody Blues’ concept album _Days of Future Passed_ might be overbloated and pretentious, but it has some nice songs. But then they blow it in the closing poem with the line “ **senior citizens** wish they were young.” Couldn’t they come up with a less clinical word for “old people”? I really disagree with the idea that there’s something wrong with that line. I can remember the first time I heard that song (and I’m 31, so this wasn’t contemporary with when it came out; it was on a classic rock station on the radio.) I think I was probably about 7 or 8. _Nights in White Satin_ alone was strikingly haunting to my young ears, but then _Late Lament_ totally blew my mind. “What the hell is this? _Talking_ is part of the song?” The words of _Late Lament_ chilled me to the bone; and no part of it more than the line “senior citizens wish they were young.” It’s very hard for me to articulate, but there’s something about that line, and the way it was delivered, that just gripped me with a feeling of profound dread. There was something _so_ sad and powerful about it. I don’t know how they could have said it any more effectively. While we’re on this topic, how many people here actually know what “bedsitter people” means? I didn’t know what that meant until recently. It’s a British term for a lodger in a bottom-dollar apartment with no amenities; a communal bathroom; basically just a private room big enough for a bed, and nothing more. This is what the Moody Blues were referring to. They weren’t just referring to people, like, sitting up in their beds or something. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/56 "2018-04-20T05:45:13Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > I really disagree with the idea that there’s something wrong with that line. > > I can remember the first time I heard that song (and I’m 31, so this wasn’t contemporary with when it came out; it was on a classic rock station on the radio.) I think I was probably about 7 or 8. _Nights in White Satin_ alone was strikingly haunting to my young ears, but then _Late Lament_ totally blew my mind. “What the hell is this? _Talking_ is part of the song?” The words of _Late Lament_ chilled me to the bone; and no part of it more than the line “senior citizens wish they were young.” It’s very hard for me to articulate, but there’s something about that line, and the way it was delivered, that just gripped me with a feeling of profound dread. There was something _so_ sad and powerful about it. I don’t know how they could have said it any more effectively. > > While we’re on this topic, how many people here actually know what “bedsitter people” means? I didn’t know what that meant until recently. It’s a British term for a lodger in a bottom-dollar apartment with no amenities; a communal bathroom; basically just a private room big enough for a bed, and nothing more. This is what the Moody Blues were referring to. They weren’t just referring to people, like, sitting up in their beds or something. A “bedsit” is the kind of rented room that has a bed and a chair and that’s it. I had never heard “bedsitter” before, but “a person who stays in a bedsit” makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/57 "2018-04-20T06:00:00Z")
I thought Pinball Wizard by The Who was a great song until it was pointed out to me that this was not a tale of a deaf, dumb black kid overcoming racism by impressing the crowd with his pinball skills but rather a deaf dumb blind kid WHO HAS NO FUCKING BUSINESS PLAYING PINBALL! He can’t even see what he’s doing! He’s just mashing buttons! Plays by sense of smell… smell of bullshit. I love the Beastie Boys and I would like Intergalactic if not for the pinch from the neck of Mr. Spock. I can’t unhear that and it bugs the shit out of me every time. Can’t say I like the song but there’s one that mentions “Have you seen my ghost?” Wouldn’t be much of ghost if I could see it now, would it? There’s also a song that I hate about a guy who sings about being “down by the river… I’m a sinner… sinner for love.” So he’s either a stalker or a child molester then? ---
**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:** [April 20, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/58 "2018-04-20T09:51:09Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > Another Beatles song, _I Saw Her Standing There_. After “She was just seventeen”, they decided “Never been a beauty queen,” didn’t work, so they went with “You know what I mean” which, ironically, is meaningless. Disagree 100%. I know \*exactly \*what he means. The line is perfect. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/59 "2018-04-20T10:14:21Z")
Two more just came to mind. Not huge favorite songs, but decent. Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait” song, which features that goddamned “say a little prayer for I” to fit the rhyme scheme. And 3 Doors Down has a love song which features the line “I won’t tell you a damn thing that I would not tell my fans.” Which seems backwards to me. He shouldn’t tell his fans something that he wouldn’t share with her. Or have her permission to share, if it includes her. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/60 "2018-04-20T11:27:16Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I love the Beastie Boys and I would like Intergalactic if not for the pinch from the neck of Mr. Spock. I can’t unhear that and it bugs the shit out of me every time. I love that song, and if you put that line within the context of the lyrics that precede it: _We’re from the family tree of old school hip-hop Kick off your shoes and relax your socks The rhymes are spread just like a pox ‘Cause the music is loud like an electric shock I am known to do the wop Also known for the Flintstone Flop Tammy D gets biz on the crops Beastie Boys known to let the beat Mmm, drop! Now when I wrote graffiti my name was Slop If my rap’s soup, my beats is stock Step from the table when I start to chop I’m a lumberjack DJ Adrock If you try to knock me you’ll get mocked I’ll stir fry you in my wok Your knees’ll start shakin’ and your fingers pop Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock_ Perhaps they just ran out of words that rhyme with the end words of every other line? Anyhoo, I always liked that bit, personally, because it’s befitting of the irreverence of the Beastie Boys. My peeve isn’t a specific line from any song, although if I think long enough I’ll come up with some, but it’s the repetitive and habitual use of the words “rock”, “mama” and “baby” that proliferated rock in the 70’s and 80’s, mostly. Led Zeppelin was a chief offender, and every pseudo metal band in the 80’s that felt the need to proselytize the robustness and long lived vitality of rock and roll. So tiresome to these ears now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654.md?page=4)