# Love the music hate the lyrics (It has a good beat and the kids can dance to it.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130 "2013-09-06T00:15:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/22 "2013-09-08T18:25:11Z")
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned Heart’s “All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You.” What’s THAT about, you may ask? A woman has a one-night stand that results in the birth of a child she never tells him about, and they meet up again 12 years later. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/23 "2013-09-08T20:19:19Z")
_ **Hot Blooded** _ _Well I’m hot blooded, check it and see I got a fever of a hundred and three_ Sounds like a 12 year old wrote the lyrics ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/24 "2013-09-08T20:46:42Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > The ultimate example for me is _Stairway To Heaven_. And they stole the music. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/25 "2013-09-09T00:19:27Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > _ **Hot Blooded** _ > > _Well I’m hot blooded, check it and see > I got a fever of a hundred and three_ > > Sounds like a 12 year old wrote the lyrics A mentally challenged 12 year old using a rhyming dictionary. I was about that age when that song came out. Even then I noticed that behind the loud hard-charging guitar riffs, the song’s lyrics just dragggged on tediously. The song’s length is only about 4 and 1/2 minutes but it felt like 20. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/26 "2013-09-09T02:37:29Z")
Most rock songs have lousy lyrics. Good thing half of them are indecipherable! My favorite along these lines is almost unknown, so when you see the lyrics you’ll never know what hit you. Good band - Traffic. Good music - “Dream Gerrard.” Lyrics? Not even drugs can explain them. > [@](#): > > And it’s a fact, you are cold > They react, dream Gerrard > > Hippos don’t wear hats > Lobsters shriek if provoked > On long blue ribbons > > That he may see > While he sleeps > > Monsieur old Neddy > He wears spectacles in > Bed that he > May see dreams more clearly > > The night, it will be black > And white raven croaking > I am thirsty, die > > They won’t let it be > They think it should be done > With reality > > I scream from a skull > Fritz, bring your wigwam ---
**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:** [September 9, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/27 "2013-09-09T14:16:19Z")
Oh, can’t you see you belong to me My poor heart aches with every breath you take. It’s hard to write a song with lyrics that bad and creepy. The fact it was a hit is weird. The fact that people think it’s a love song is bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/28 "2013-09-09T14:25:57Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I was about that age when that song came out. Even then I noticed that behind the loud hard-charging guitar riffs, the song’s lyrics just dragggged on tediously. The song’s length is only about 4 and 1/2 minutes but it felt like 20. Foreigner: assonant with Filler for a reason. Other than Junior Parker’s killer horn on “Urgent” I got tired of them before I was out of high school. That song came on the car radio a few days ago and I cranked it up, urging my 13yo son to listen to it carefully - he’s a low brass player. After the first tedious minute or so (horn-free), he turned and said, “Yeah? And? Can we change this now?” He did geek out on the horn parts when they got there, though. But that’s the fastest change from “Whoa! Cool!” to “Jeez, enough!” on Foreigner I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/29 "2013-09-09T15:27:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > How about “Brick”? It’s about a guy taking his girlfriend to have an abortion the day after Christmas. On the contrary, that’s a very powerful song BECAUSE of the great lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/30 "2013-09-09T15:29:51Z")
The ultimate in great licks and lousy lyrics is Heart’s Barracuda. ---
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/31 "2013-09-09T16:12:29Z")
I can’t easily separate them. I became a music fan when I started hearing music with lyrics (and vocal delivery) that didn’t sound like sappy love songs or macho strutting, and so on. I remember being in sixth grade, turning on the TV in the morning before school, and being blown away by The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm”, and, to a lesser extent, “Creep” by Stone Temple Pilots. Was I wired that way at birth? Why did I, as a young child, gravitate to such dark material? I must investigate further. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/32 "2013-09-09T16:24:25Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > The ultimate example for me is _Stairway To Heaven_. Here, let me fix that issue for you: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sEk8wTB7UfU/hqdefault.jpg "Rodrigo y Gabriela | Stairway to Heaven") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEk8wTB7UfU) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/33 "2013-09-09T17:28:10Z")
Everything about _Empire State of Mind_ by Alicia Keys sounds great but it’s better to hum along than sing things like: _Concrete jungle where dreams are made of…_ Ack ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/34 "2013-09-09T18:19:07Z")
In my opinion, pretty much everything I’ve heard by Frank Zappa. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/35 "2013-09-10T02:59:17Z")
Billy Bragg’s “North Sea Bubble” fits the description for me. I find the sociopolitical commentary in the lyrics to be rather leaden, but the music is bouncy and a lot of fun, so I wind up listening to it relatively frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/36 "2013-09-10T03:25:03Z")
I want you. I want you so bad. I want you so bad it’s driving me mad. I want you. I want you so bad. I want you so bad it’s driving me mad. I want you. I want you so bad. I want you so bad it’s driving me mad. She’s so heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/37 "2013-09-10T03:49:14Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Oh, can’t you see you belong to me > My poor heart aches with every breath you take. > > It’s hard to write a song with lyrics that bad and creepy. The fact it was a hit is weird. The fact that people think it’s a love song is bizarre. People are idiots. However, that song, like several others penned by Sting during his Police days, is about unhealthy, obsessive infatuation. (See also: “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”. The other favourite theme of Sting’s at the time was soul-crushing loneliness.) It’s not like it was meant to be a straight-up love song. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/38 "2013-09-10T18:57:43Z")
Pretty much every song ever song by\* America\*, especially, “… I been to the desert on a horse with no name. It felt good to be out of the rain. In the desert you can remember your name, 'Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.” Wha… ? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/39 "2013-09-10T21:03:29Z")
At least obscure/nonsensical lyrics allow a creative mind to come up with interpretations. What’s worse is really, really, really, obvious lyrics that say nearly nothing in the most trite manner possible. And of course bad lyrics with crappy music are just avoidable. So, the worst are really obvious, trite lyrics with kick-ass music behind them, so you get sucked in by the music’s opening riff, then suddenly get bludgeoned with the painfully trite. So for me, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is the clear #1, by quite a lot. One of the top ten guitar parts in history, and lyrics that make me want to stab my own ears to never have to hear them again, and keep stabbing into my brain until all knowledge of them has been erased. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/40 "2013-09-10T21:17:34Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > So, the worst are really obvious, trite lyrics with kick-ass music behind them, so you get sucked in by the music’s opening riff, then suddenly get bludgeoned with the painfully trite. To me, that seemed to be a problem with a number of INXS songs. For example, “Suicide Blonde” and “Heaven Scent” had great openings but the lyrics that followed were disappointing. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130/41 "2013-09-10T22:09:41Z")
Here’s one I heard on the radio this morning, been awhile: “Sent a letter on a long summer day Made of silver, not of clay (eeeayay…)” I get the meaning- he wrote a letter that was really special and heartfelt, not ordinary, but I always thought that was a particularly tortured metaphor. Couldn’t come up with a better rhyme for “day”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-music-hate-the-lyrics-it-has-a-good-beat-and-the-kids-can-dance-to-it/668130.md?page=3)