# Love the song, hate what it's about **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017 "2008-09-17T19:38:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/61 "2008-09-18T13:12:51Z")
> [@Mojo\_Pin](#): > > how do i delete a post? Ask a Moderator. SkipMagic, C K Dexter Haven and Ukulele Ike are in charge of Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/62 "2008-09-18T13:29:26Z")
My song to nominate isn’t creepy like many mentioned here. I have always, since the instant it came out when I was in college, LOVED the song “Centerfold” by the J. Geils Band. Name me a more fun, catchy tune. It bops and rocks and makes me smile and sing at the top of my lungs! And what do I sing? Stupid lyrics about a former high-school flame the guy sees in the Playboy centerfold. Gah! Dumb, dumb, dumb DUMB subject for a song. And clumsy lyrics to boot! _We’ll take your car, yes we will Take your car and drive it! Take it to a motel room And take 'em off in private!_ Gonna take her car and what? Drive it? My word! 😉 But anyway, I will love this song til the day I die, despite it being dumb. And stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/63 "2008-09-18T14:15:20Z")
I thought “Follow Me” was about heroin. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/64 "2008-09-18T14:51:26Z")
> [@](#): > > by **glee** > You do Lennon a grave disservice. > He’s writing about a modern well-equipped society (e.g. National Health Service) where people share. In order to become well-equipped, you need the ability to accumulate capital, and an incentive to put that capital to good use. The profit motive accomplishes this far better than starry-eyed idealism. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/65 "2008-09-18T15:00:32Z")
_Imagine_ isn’t supposed to be a political call to arms. It’s just a reverie. If you listen closely, he just saying “IMAGINE” the world a certain way. He also acknowledges that people will say he’s a “dreamer.” ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/66 "2008-09-18T15:14:19Z")
Pretty much all of Pink Floyd’s **The Wall** qualifies, at least in the context of the film. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/67 "2008-09-18T15:23:28Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I cling to the belief that Mick and the boys were being ironic with [“Brown Sugar”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rolling+stones/brown+sugar_20117857.html) and [“Under My Thumb”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rolling+stones/under+my+thumb_20117884.html). Great, terrible songs. If you like Under My Thumb you should check out the Social Distorion cover. I think it does the song justice. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/68 "2008-09-18T15:43:45Z")
> [@Peanut\_Gallery](#): > > For me its most Beach Boys/Beatles and some gangsta rap. Yeah… I love the Beatles, pretty much the entire catalog, but some of the aforementioned songs (_Run For Your Life_, etc.) are somewhat scary, and even the sweeter ones can be annoying (_It’s Getting Better_ refers to how “I used to be cruel to my woman…”, and even _We Can Work It Out_, if you listen to the lyrics, is about “you doing it my way”). As for Gangsta Rap, I find all the lyrics depressing and repellent glorification of gang life (as opposed to the warning tone of earlier rap like _The Message_ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five), and all the abuse of women as sex toys. But damn, those hooks by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg are catchy. _The Next Episode_ has possibly the best hook I’ve ever heard. But the lyrics…! ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/69 "2008-09-18T15:50:18Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Yeah… I love the Beatles, pretty much the entire catalog, but some of the aforementioned songs (_Run For Your Life_, etc.) are somewhat scary, and even the sweeter ones can be annoying (_It’s Getting Better_ refers to how “I used to be cruel to my woman…”, and even _We Can Work It Out_, if you listen to the lyrics, is about “you doing it my way”). “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is pretty freaky too. Maxwell goes around killing people with a hammer. Charming. ---
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/70 "2008-09-18T15:52:57Z")
I’d jammed along to [“Tyler”](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/toadies/tyler.html) by The Toadies about a thousand times before I listened to the lyrics. I still jam along, but kind of uneasily. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/71 "2008-09-18T16:03:56Z")
“Sweet Home Alabama” is a pretty obvious one. ---
**Author:** ![Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver_of_Nightmares)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/72 "2008-09-18T16:05:23Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > It’s also funny that people mention John Mayer nobody’s brought up “Daughters”, because when I’ve heard people mention that song, all I hear about is how wrong it is. All I hear in that song is how we’re just supposed to marry and have kids. Why the need to do anything outside of that? Gah. This song is a major pet-peeve of mine. Lenny Kravitz’s _I’ll be Waiting_. It’s about him telling a girl that he’ll be around until she realises he’s the guy for her. His Nice Guy[sup]TM[/sup]-syndrome is flaring up here. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/73 "2008-09-18T16:27:26Z")
I’ve been learning some Jethro Tull with a band and for the first time I’ve paid attention to “Aqualung.” Great song, wonderful arrangement. Creepy makes-me-feel-dirty-inside-when-I-sing-them lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/74 "2008-09-18T17:33:46Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” … Unless you simply take the title out of context, what’s creepy about this song? He’s saying “we’re both mature adults, and I’m going to be honest with you, I’d like the same in return.” There is definite cockiness in “you wouldn’t get this from any other guy”, but I don’t see how it’s creepy. I’d provide a link so people can listen, but can’t seem to find a copy of it on the internet. Must be too old of a song to be popular these days… ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/75 "2008-09-18T17:35:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That was written by Woody Guthrie, and it was written after he read a newspaper story which referred to the Mexican victims only as “deportees,” without giving their names. Guthrie gave them names. I didn’t know that, but I figured it was something like that. Talk about majoring on the minors. Another vote for “Imagine”, an atheistic state with no private property? I’m sure it will work great after all the kulaks are liquidated. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/76 "2008-09-18T18:10:04Z")
I like a lot of Steve Taylor’s music–I don’t normally like Christian music, but he’s got a really catchy, sarcastic new-wave style that I like and he often picks on hypocrites more than he preaches. But when he does get preachy, I get a bit uncomfortable enjoying some of his stuff. I was raised Christian and still consider myself to be one, but I’m pretty much non/anti-religious, very pro-choice, pro-gay rights, etc. So some of it makes me a little oogy. He does rock, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/77 "2008-09-18T20:17:31Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > I’d provide a link so people can listen, but can’t seem to find a copy of it on the internet. Must be too old of a song to be popular these days… Hee! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/78 "2008-09-18T20:28:00Z")
“What’s the Matter Here” has a fun upbeat tune for a child abuse song. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/79 "2008-09-19T02:30:28Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > “Hook” by Blues Traveler > > Great song with a catchy tune and a refrain that gets stuck in your head. The lyrics are about how if you have a great song with a catchy tune and a refrain that gets stuck in your head it doesn’t matter what the lyrics are. And Peter Pan. This post made me find and actually listen to the song. Now, I like the song much _more_! It’s so…honest. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017/80 "2008-09-19T07:54:41Z")
#1: Mac The Knife. A peppy, catchy, thorougly delightful and cheerful lounge song about a SERIAL KILLER. #2: Moonlight Shadow. A melodic, sweet, almost hauntingly beautiful folk song about a MURDER. Explanations? Not that I’m likely to be convinced, but if anyone can come up with something… Re. Hook - It’s a great song, and I can’t get worked up at all about the supposedly negative message. “Lyrics don’t matter!” As opposed to, er, _murder?_ Besides, there’s plenty of truth in it. Remember how Ronald Reagan nearly had Little Pink Houses played at the Republican National Convention? Wallenstein - From what I gather, the song is about a teenage girl flirting, seducing, teasing, titillating, leading, dancing, strutting, and never actually having sex with anybody. From what I gather, this isn’t too far removed from Alizee’s actual professional persona. (C’mon, you figure there’s a _reason_ she’s called the French Britney Spears?) panamajack - You’ve displayed more wit and creativity with that one post than all 9,000+ stupid Internet memes put together. Good show. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-the-song-hate-what-its-about/464017.md?page=5)