# Listening to old songs only serves to cause confusion. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702 "2019-10-30T15:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/21 "2019-10-30T19:31:39Z")
Escape is the song about cheaters deserving each other ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/22 "2019-10-30T19:33:49Z")
Btw, the way… They never found Hattie Never found the shack Never made a trip back in ---
**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:** [October 30, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/23 "2019-10-30T20:03:26Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > Btw, the way… > > They never found Hattie > > Never found the shack > > Never made a trip back in “Don’t come lookin’ again!” ---
**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:** [October 30, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/24 "2019-10-30T20:19:17Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Reminds me a little of, “_The night they drove old Dixie down_”. No idea what that’s about either. I hear it and tune it out. What’s confusing about it? It’s about a southerner at the end of the Civil war. The verses are quite clear, and the chorus is probably referring to the celebrations by the Northern soldiers when Lee surrendered. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/25 "2019-10-30T21:07:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The song makes no sense! > > [I wrote a long post back a while](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21492258&postcount=75), outlining why the song makes NO DAMN SENSE. That must be the one I was remembering. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/26 "2019-10-31T01:18:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I agree. She was fantastic on the Carol Burnett show and both under and over utilized there. She had so much more talent than just playing silly characters like Mama, but she was still fantastic at it, virtually carrying the show at times. Mama wasn’t a silly character on the Carol Burnett Show. She was iconic. A mother nightmares are made of, and very believable. They toned Mama’s character down for the spinoff. Then it got tiresome. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/27 "2019-10-31T01:50:18Z")
To this day, I have no idea why the police are chasing C. W. McCall’s convoy. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/28 "2019-10-31T01:55:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > To this day, I have no idea why the police are chasing C. W. McCall’s convoy. They’re speeding, they evaded the weigh stations, and they drove through toll barriers without paying (of course, the chase started before most of that happened, but I assume the speeding was the initial problem). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/29 "2019-10-31T01:56:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > “[Southern Gothic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Gothic)”. It’s more about mood than sense. “Ode to Billie Joe” is another well-known example. At least that one is understandable, even if we never learn why Billie Joe jumped off the …well you know. I guess it helped that I had taken a full semester course in Southern Gothic literature in college, so I was completely prepared for those songs when they came out. Once you’ve read Carson McCullers, Flannery O’Connor, Truman Capote, AND William Faulkner non-stop, written at least one paper one each of them and had them all in the final exam, TNTLWOIGeorgia is about as dense as Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/30 "2019-10-31T02:18:37Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > They’re speeding, they evaded the weigh stations, and they drove through toll barriers without paying (of course, the chase started before most of that happened, but I assume the speeding was the initial problem). Per this article [Convoy (song) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_(song)) they’re also breaking the laws about sleep breaks for truckers (I may have misinterpreted the bit about the weigh stations). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/31 "2019-10-31T02:25:23Z")
But, why was little Bessie a drunkards dream if he ever did see one? I mean, I get why he went up on Cripple creek. But, isn’t a drunkards dream more whiskey? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/32 "2019-10-31T02:27:08Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Per this article [Convoy (song) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_(song)) they’re also breaking the laws about sleep breaks for truckers (I may have misinterpreted the bit about the weigh stations). Corrected link [Convoy (song) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_(song)) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/33 "2019-10-31T02:33:42Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I know the song but had no idea what it was about because I never paid attention to the lyrics. And now I know to continue avoiding listening to it. > > Reminds me a little of, “_The night they drove old Dixie down_”. No idea what that’s about either. I hear it and tune it out. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > What’s confusing about it? It’s about a southerner at the end of the Civil war. The verses are quite clear, and the chorus is probably referring to the celebrations by the Northern soldiers when Lee surrendered. He’s not confused by it, he doesn’t know what it’s about because he never listened to the lyrics. Evidently he’s just not interested in knowing what it’s about. I’m not sure why that’s the fault of the song. The lyrics are perfectly clear on the recordings, and make sense if you listen to them. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/34 "2019-10-31T03:00:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But, why was little Bessie a drunkards dream if he ever did see one? > I mean, I get why he went up on Cripple creek. But, isn’t a drunkards dream more whiskey? And who dips donuts in tea, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/35 "2019-10-31T03:10:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I love Angie Baby. > > Did she really have magical powers and shrink that neighbor boy and hide him in the radio, or did she just murder him and keep his dead body in her room? I like it either way. Pretty sure I remember DC doing stories of Angie Baby AND In the Year 2525 without crediting the songs. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/36 "2019-10-31T03:13:57Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But, why was little Bessie a drunkards dream if he ever did see one? > I mean, I get why he went up on Cripple creek. But, isn’t a drunkards dream more whiskey? And in [_Chest Fever_](https://genius.com/The-band-chest-fever-lyrics), why was the girl down in the dunes, dealing with the goons? Why did the Swede think she was stoned, and why did the mooncalf agree?:dubious: The Band certainly took a leaf from Dylan in inscrutable lyrics at times. But _The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down_ was perfectly scrutable. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/37 "2019-10-31T03:24:22Z")
I have a sister named Dixie. She really hated those songs. When she turned 50 her SO gave her a surprise b-day party. He had downloaded every song known with Dixie in the lyric, and it was playing at the party. She dumped him soon after. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/38 "2019-10-31T03:41:35Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > First thing, he’s been gone a long time and instead of going home to be with his wife, he stops at a bar to get drunk. Shows you what kind of husband he was. I dunno, it says _a_ drink. A quick one to unwind after driving all day hardly makes him an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/39 "2019-10-31T04:26:15Z")
Thanks for the earworm, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702/40 "2019-10-31T04:53:16Z")
New songs too: “Can’t keep my hands to myself Think I’ll dust 'em off, out 'em back up on the shelf.” Dusting off is what you do when you take it down from the shelf, not putting them back up. Maybe I’m missing something… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listening-to-old-songs-only-serves-to-cause-confusion/842702.md?page=3)