# lyrics that don't sound right/make you cringe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831 "2003-05-17T03:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/1 "2003-05-17T03:48:28Z")
There are certain songs that have phrases that bug the crap out of me because they sound… stupid, mismatched, out of place. Things that make me think the songwriter didn’t know what he was talking about. Examples: _Glory Days_ by **Springstein** : Line: “He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool” Everybody who has minimal knowledge of baseball would say fastball, not speedball. Sounds awkward, and bugs the snot out of me. _Magic_ by **The Cars** : Line: “High shoes with the cleats a clickin’…” I don’t even know where to start complaining about this. A cool song but this line makes me cringe. Does anybody else have such cringe-worthy song lines, or am I just too into the words of the songs I listen to? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/2 "2003-05-17T03:55:22Z")
Life’s a birthday cake, so let’s have a slice, but not too much. -The Beatles, _It’s All Too Much_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/3 "2003-05-17T03:56:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xizor \* > \*\*There are certain songs that have phrases that bug the crap out of me because they sound… stupid, mismatched, out of place. Things that make me think the songwriter didn’t know what he was talking about. Examples: > > _Glory Days_ by **Springstein** : > Line: “He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool” > Everybody who has minimal knowledge of baseball would say fastball, not speedball. Sounds awkward, and bugs the snot out of me. > > _Magic_ by **The Cars** : > Line: “High shoes with the cleats a clickin’…” > I don’t even know where to start complaining about this. A cool song but this line makes me cringe. > > Does anybody else have such cringe-worthy song lines, or am I just too into the words of the songs I listen to? \*\* Although I like Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence,” there’s one thing that bugs me. He tells his girlfriend, “Lay your head back on the ground, and let your hair fall all around me.” Don- if she’s lying on the ground with her head back, how the hell is her hair supposed to fall all around you? Does her hair defy gravity or something? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/4 "2003-05-17T04:45:19Z")
Could work if he’s next to her. Anyway, about the Springsteen: “He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool.” D’oh - even worse than the baseball mistake, a speedball is an injection of heroin and cocaine. That’s sort of awkward. 😛 Then again, it’s not as bad as “Put Me In, Coach.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/5 "2003-05-17T13:08:26Z")
> [@](#): > > D’oh - even worse than the baseball mistake, a speedball is an injection of heroin and cocaine. True. But such an injection _would_ nake someone look like a fool! 😛 **Richard Hung Himself** by D.I. The last line is “Your answer is non **seglidur**.” First, it’s “non _sequitur_”. Come on; at least get the word right! Second, _non sequitur_ is a noun; not an adjective. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/6 "2003-05-17T13:49:49Z")
“Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain” - America’s “A Horse with No Name” ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/7 "2003-05-17T14:01:41Z")
“But she never lost her head, even when she was giv’n head.” - Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” This is the single dumbest line in music history. Somewhere in his dope fugue he forgot that rhymes should sound the same but not be the exact same word. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/8 "2003-05-17T14:02:51Z")
“Excuse me, While I kiss this guy” ``` Jimi Hendrix ;) ``` ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/9 "2003-05-17T14:08:23Z")
Another Beatles one … not for the lyrics but how they are sung (and believe me, I’m a huge Beatles fan … this pains me … every time I hear it): _And I Love Her_: “She gives me everything, And tender … LEEEE-EEEEE.” Paul. Let’s try to get the emPHAsis on the right syLABle. Jeez. ---
**Author:** ![UES\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@UES\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UES_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/10 "2003-05-17T14:52:16Z")
I cringe almost every time a songwriter uses a variation of that hackneyed old “fire/desire” rhyme (with the possible exception of Hendrix’s “Fire” and U2’s “Desire”). Makes me want to say “Here’s a dollar, buddy - go buy some creativity, or at least a thesaurus.” ---
**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:** [May 17, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/11 "2003-05-17T15:01:59Z")
ABBA’s \*\* Fernando \*\*–“Since many years I haven’t seen a rifle in your hand.” An ungrammatical line that ruins a great song, and proves that you shouldn’t write lyrics in a language you don’t know really, really well. In the translation from Frida’s Swedish version to Abba’s English version, the idiom wasn’t corrected. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/12 "2003-05-17T15:08:05Z")
CSNY’s “Ohio” Gotta get down to it. Soldiers are cutting us down. Should have been done long ago. The soldiers should have been cutting us down a long time ago? Gotta watch those references, Neil. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/13 "2003-05-17T15:18:17Z")
Just mentioned this on another thread, but this has got to be the single all time worst lyric in the history of the world: “Nobody call him on the phone, 'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome” _speaks for itself_ Then there’s Love & Rockets: “I don’t know what colour your eyes are baby but your hair is long and brown” _ewwwwwwww!_ And for a recent(ish) candidate, I don’t know who sings it but it goes “In the land of the living I will search no more 'cause it’s you I’m looking for” _what would you do if you didn’t find him, go gravedigging or something?_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/14 "2003-05-17T15:28:22Z")
Bob Dylan wrote some great lyrics, but even the greats come up with a clinker now and then. Witness this line from _Quinn the Eskimo_: > [@](#): > > \*\*I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet, > But guarding fumes and making haste, > It ain’t my cup of meat. > \*\* Cup of meat? _CUP OF MEAT?!?!?!?_ ---
**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:** [May 17, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/15 "2003-05-17T15:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*Just mentioned this on another thread, but this has got to be the single all time worst lyric in the history of the world: > > “Nobody call him on the phone, 'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome” _speaks for itself_\*\* Only if you had your sense of humor removed at birth. It’s a funny line that contrasts with the seriousness of the song brilliantly. I’ll vote for Bernie Taupin’s: “And losing everything’s like having the sun going down on me.” A really weak similie. “Losing you,” would work, but losing everything is much worse than sunsent. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/16 "2003-05-17T15:39:00Z")
I think that line’s kinda funny! Picture an Eskimo with a cup of whale blubber. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/17 "2003-05-17T15:50:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > **Only if you had your sense of humor removed at birth. It’s a funny line that contrasts with the seriousness of the song brilliantly.** Sorry, but that sounds like a really lame rationalisation for a really lame lyric. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/18 "2003-05-17T16:28:15Z")
Another one from Bob Dylan. (The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carol): _Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears, Bury the rag deep in your face For now’s the time for your tears._ Okay, I get why I, the sympathetic listener, would philosophize disgrace. But why, in the context of a song about injustice and racism, would I criticize all fears? No time to think it though, what with the instruction to bury a rag in my face. Oh and by now I’m sure someone has told the Indigo Girls that you don’t multiply by a power. You raise to a power. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/19 "2003-05-17T17:45:40Z")
Two on my way to work this morning, both Neil Diamond: _I am, I said! To no one there And no one heard at all, not even the chair._ Huh? And then for the sadly ungrammatical: _Songs she sang to me songs she brang to me words that rang in me rhyme that sprang from me_ Brang? I _love_ this song, and you had to screw it up by _brang_?! Brought! Songs she brought to you! Grr! ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/20 "2003-05-17T18:11:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*I’ll vote for Bernie Taupin’s: > > “And losing everything’s like having the sun going down on me.” > > A really weak similie. “Losing you,” would work, but losing everything is much worse than sunsent. \*\* Unless “going down” is meant in a sexual way and he fears his genitals being burnt off. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831.md?page=2)