# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/121 "2018-04-29T15:26:59Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > 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. Not quite, in England a ‘bedsit’ is a combined ‘bedroom/sitting room’, and every time I’ve seen one it also had a mini kitchen. It might even have a separate little en-suite, or it might share a bathroom with a neighbour. It’s really a step above a simple ‘room’ in a house, which would be just a bed and normally a chair, but bedsits are typically rented by someone a bit older who really wants their own space and more privacy but can’t afford it. ‘Bedsitter’ isn’t really a word outside that song though. It sounds like someone who you get to look after the bed so you can go out for the night. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/122 "2018-04-30T15:48:16Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > C’mon #2 - since infancy, has anyone ever bent down to tie the lace(s) of your shoe? Funny you should ask that. My wife recently had ankle surgery, and at times it’s been very helpful to her for me to tie her shoes for her. The first time, of course, I _had_ to sing _I must admit I felt a little uneasy When I bent down to tie the laces Of her shoe Tangled up in blue_ ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/123 "2018-04-30T16:03:24Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > There’s a lot of discussion and analysis of this song on the net. Some speculate that Dylan himself is Little Boy Lost. Others say it refers to Blake’s poem “The Little Boy Lost.” In any event, it’s certainly not a throwaway verse. It never occurred to me that it didn’t fit right in with the rest of the song. That’s an angle I hadn’t considered. I’ll have to browse through [expectingrain.com](http://expectingrain.com) and read up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/124 "2018-04-30T16:29:47Z")
I love Zappa. But some songs have lyrics that are sophomoric and _very_ perverse. I would love to play these songs for my 15 year old son (he also likes Zappa), but I just won’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/125 "2018-04-30T18:49:07Z")
> [@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. What make you think he’s drunk? He has a headache? If he were drunk, he’d get the headache in the morning when he wakes up with a hangover. ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/126 "2018-04-30T19:03:43Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > What make you think he’s drunk? He has a headache? Do you remember any other lyrics from the song or know about Clapton’s past with Pattie Boyd? He was a binge drinker. In the song, they’re at a party. She asks if he feels alright. At the end of the night he has an aching head. He hands her his car keys and she drives him home…and then he apparently needs help getting into bed. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/127 "2018-04-30T19:25:53Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Do you remember any other lyrics from the song or know about Clapton’s past with Pattie Boyd? He was a binge drinker. In the song, they’re at a party. She asks if he feels alright. At the end of the night he has an aching head. He hands her his car keys and she drives him home…and then he apparently needs help getting into bed. It could be a particularly bad headache. And not all songs are biographical. I tend to think you are doing the writer of a song a disservice if you read something into a song in this manner. But again, I must emphasize that when you drink enough to have a headache, you get the headache in the morning, not while you are drunk. Why not? Because you are drunk! Therefore it makes no sense to attribute the headache to drinking. ---
**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 30, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/128 "2018-04-30T19:41:30Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > It could be a particularly bad headache. And not all songs are biographical. I tend to think you are doing the writer of a song a disservice if you read something into a song in this manner. Oh brother. The lyrics are clearly implying having too much to drink, and if they weren’t, interpreting a song incorrectly doesn’t so anyone a disservice. No, not all songs are autobiographical. Being at a party doesn’t always mean one has had too much to drink. Asking if one feels okay doesn’t mean one has had too much to drink. Nor does getting a headache, handing keys over to have someone else drive or getting help to bed. Putting all those together in a song? > [@](#): > > But again, I must emphasize that when you drink enough to have a headache, you get the headache in the morning, not while you are drunk. Why not? Because you are drunk! Therefore it makes no sense to attribute the headache to drinking. You can emphasize it all you like. You’re wrong. I, and several other people I know, have gotten headaches at the end of a night of drinking. It’s enough of a trope for an author to put the two together regardless of when the headache usually occurs. > **[Getting a Headache right after Drinking Alcohol? - Headache and Migraine News](https://headacheandmigrainenews.com/getting-a-headache-right-after-drinking-alcohol/)** > > You’ve had a little to drink – or maybe more than a little – and while you’re still having a good time, the headache strikes.  What’s happening?  Should you be concerned? Yes, you should be.  If you have a headache within two or three... ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/129 "2018-04-30T19:47:06Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > It could be a particularly bad headache. And not all songs are biographical. I tend to think you are doing the writer of a song a disservice if you read something into a song in this manner. But again, I must emphasize that when you drink enough to have a headache, you get the headache in the morning, not while you are drunk. Why not? Because you are drunk! Therefore it makes no sense to attribute the headache to drinking. Are you kidding? It sounds extremely biographical. Saying “I’ve got an aching head” sounds better than “I’m drunk as fuck” which is no doubt what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/130 "2018-04-30T19:58:06Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Funny you should ask that. My wife recently had ankle surgery, and at times it’s been very helpful to her for me to tie her shoes for her. The first time, of course, I _had_ to sing > > _I must admit I felt a little uneasy > When I bent down to tie the laces > Of her shoe > Tangled up in blue_ Okay, so I liked that line better when you sang it. But there’s a trick missed in there somewhere. The best fourth line I can come up with is: Ankle’s up and blue I’m still not entirely happy. Open to the floor. j ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/131 "2018-04-30T20:02:16Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Oh brother. The lyrics are clearly implying having too much to drink, and if they weren’t, interpreting a song incorrectly doesn’t so anyone a disservice. > > No, not all songs are autobiographical. Being at a party doesn’t always mean one has had too much to drink. Asking if one feels okay doesn’t mean one has had too much to drink. Nor does getting a headache, handing keys over to have someone else drive or getting help to bed. Putting all those together in a song? > You can emphasize it all you like. You’re wrong. I, and several other people I know, have gotten headaches at the end of a night of drinking. It’s enough of a trope for an author to put the two together regardless of when the headache usually occurs. > > [http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/getting-a-headache-right-after-drinking-alcohol/](http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/getting-a-headache-right-after-drinking-alcohol/) Fair enough, some people get headaches soon after taking a drink. But who said there was a \*night \*of drinking anyway? Or are you reading something into the lyrics in order to support your point? And from your link you can get these headaches after just a little to drink. The evidence simply isn’t there to suggest the writer was drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/132 "2018-04-30T20:05:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Are you kidding? > > It sounds extremely biographical. Saying “I’ve got an aching head” sounds better than “I’m drunk as fuck” which is no doubt what he meant. See above. There is no evidence that he is drunk as fuck. If he were, how would he even remember what happened? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/133 "2018-04-30T20:37:02Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Oh brother. The lyrics are clearly implying having too much to drink, and if they weren’t, interpreting a song incorrectly doesn’t so anyone a disservice. > [http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/getting-a-headache-right-after-drinking-alcohol/](http://headacheandmigrainenews.com/getting-a-headache-right-after-drinking-alcohol/) I meant to add: misinterpreting these lyrics to mean that the writer is a drunk, when in fact he is not, doesn’t do him a disservice? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/134 "2018-04-30T20:43:37Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > See above. There is no evidence that he is drunk as fuck. If he were, how would he even remember what happened? He couldn’t drive. He had to be put to bed. Hey, it’s my interpretation (and a lot of others) but you’re entitled to your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/135 "2018-04-30T20:49:14Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > He couldn’t drive. > He had to be put to bed. > > Hey, it’s my interpretation (and a lot of others) but you’re entitled to your opinion. Surely. And I make no claim that I _know_ I’m right, just presenting my argument. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/136 "2018-04-30T22:07:30Z")
Pretty much all the Smashing Pumpkins lyrics are just stupid. Fashion victims chew their charcoal teeth? ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/137 "2018-04-30T22:30:09Z")
“Glory Days,” by **Bruce Springsteen** : He could throw that speedball by you Make you look like a fool, boy Nobody who plays or watches baseball even somewhat regularly calls it a “speedball.” It’s a fastball. (Yes, “speedball” sounds better in the verse. Still!) > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > And the line “making love to his tonic and gin” is just creepy. Funny, I think that lyric is perfect. Totally conjures up an alcoholic lost in his drink, blind to the world. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/138 "2018-05-01T11:02:02Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I love Zappa. But some songs have lyrics that are sophomoric and _very_ perverse. I would love to play these songs for my 15 year old son (he also likes Zappa), but I just won’t do it. So true. A friend and I were returning from a “Dweezil plays Zappa” show a few years ago, enjoying an early Mothers CD in the car, but cringing during the Susy Creamcheese passages. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2018, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/139 "2018-05-01T12:08:24Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Pretty much all the Smashing Pumpkins lyrics are just stupid. Love the band but, man, a lot of Billy’s lyrics do make me cringe. I actually don’t mind “fashion victims chew their charcoal teeth” all that much. I’m not entirely sure what it means, but the images and sounds are quite nice. For me, what annoys me is when Billy ventures into adolescent angst poetry with obvious imagery and rhymes. Stuff like “despite all my rage/I am still just a rat in a cage.” That sounds like something any 16 year old would write in the margins of his high school notebook while going through their “the world doesn’t understand me!” phase. Or even the “cleanliness is godliness and God is empty … just like me!” from the song you just quoted. Grrr… I guess they’re not total clunkers, but the teenagery quality of those type of Billy lyrics sets me on edge. But he also has a lot of stuff that I do like lyrically, and it’s when he stays away from the angsty stuff. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2018, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654/140 "2018-05-01T13:41:42Z")
I’m a lifelong atheist, but I still love the musical _Godspell_. Even when I was nine years old, I could tell there was one line in it that clunked – the last line of the last song (other than a couple reprises): _“Long live God.”_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lines-you-hate-in-a-song-you-like/812654.md?page=8)