# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/161 "2003-05-25T04:10:03Z")
Somebody mentioned Rod Stewart. That reminds me of this awful phrase: > [@](#): > > On the Peking ferry I was feeling merry > sailing on my way back here > I fell in love with _a slit eyed lady_ > by the light of an eastern moon ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/162 "2003-05-25T05:12:25Z")
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dr. “Stompin’” Tom Connors. - “Well, the girls are gone to bingo And the boys are getting stinko And we’ll think no more of Inco On a Sudbury Saturday night”.\* Or \*“He’s Bud the Spud from the bright red mud Rollin’ down the highway smilin’. Them spuds is big on the back of Bud’s rig And they’re from Prince Edward Island”. \* I think I have to go put on some Stan Rogers now to clear my brain out. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/163 "2003-05-25T05:48:19Z")
I present my favorite bit from Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s _Karn Evil #9_: “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends We’re so glad you could attend Come inside! Come inside! _There behind a glass is a real blade of grass be careful as you pass_ Move along! Move along!” I don’t know what it is about this song. But is just Pisses. Me. Off. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/164 "2003-05-25T13:55:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > **I present my favorite bit from Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s _Karn Evil #9_** I don’t see what’s so bad about that particular verse. The song is supposed to depict a futuristic, mechanized/computer-dominated world. In that context, the idea that a blade of grass is a curiosity to be found in a museum or sideshow makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/165 "2003-05-25T14:14:24Z")
Oooh! I can’t believe I forgot to mention the one lyric that makes me want to smash things everytime I hear it. Not that I listen to Creed that often but sometimes the song pops on the radio and I’m too lazy to change it. I don’t know the name of the song but the line goes something like, _“Hold me now, I’m six feet from the edge and I’m thinking, Maybe six feet ain’t so far down”_ Whaaa? If he is six feet from the edge, why is he saying six feet ain’t so far down? And why would he need someone to hold him if he’s only going to fall six feet? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/166 "2003-05-25T15:44:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Greywolf73 \* > \*\*Whaaa? If he is six feet from the edge, why is he saying six feet ain’t so far down? And why would he need someone to hold him if he’s only going to fall six feet? :smack: \*\* Um, mebbe he’s really really afraid of heights? 😕 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/167 "2003-05-25T22:22:55Z")
The “six feet down” suggests a grave; i.e., he’s thinking suicide doesn’t sound so bad, and “the edge” is the point at which it happens. Dunno why “six feet from the edge” is particularly significant, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/168 "2003-05-25T22:38:40Z")
Precicely, ‘maybe 6 feet ain’t so far down’ == I’m thinking it wouldn’t be so bad to die. Being 6 feet from the edge just makes the edge line echo that one. ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/169 "2003-05-25T23:48:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrazyMonkey \* > \*\*I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned the amazing one-hit wonders Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, who proved that the lyrics of a song had no need whatsoever to relate to the chorus. Heck, just for one line to relate to the next wasn’t necessary: > > I wanna rock right now > I’m Rob Base and I came to get down > I’m not internation’ly known > But I’m known to rock a microphone > Because I get stupid, I mean outrageous > **Stay away from me, if you’re contagious** > ‘Cause I’m a winner, no not a lose-uh > To be an MC, is what I **choose-uh** > Ladies love me, girls adore me > I mean even the ones who never saw me > Like the way that I rhyme at a show > The reason why? Man I don’t know > so let’s go, cuz’ > > It takes two to make-a things go right! > It takes two to make it outta sight! > It takes two to make-a things go right! > It takes two to make it outta sight! \*\* Wait wait wait a second. I perform this song when I sing at karaoke shows. It’s cause I’m \*\* THE \*\* winner not A winner. The chorous is staying it takes two people (Rob Base and Ez Rock) to make the party go right. They make the party Out Of Sight. They are saying they aren’t known world wide yet but the rock shows, and if you are sick (contagious) to stay away from them, because they don’t want to get sick and have to take time off. The women who go to their shows and never saw them before become groupines because of the way they can rock the mic, with lyrics that are outta sight. See it makes sense. Any other verses you need translated? ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/170 "2003-05-26T01:37:48Z")
“He’s a Pinball Wizard, there has to be a twist A Pinball Wizard’s got _such a supple wrist_…” Maybe it’s just because I have a dirty mind, but that just sounds wrong. And everyone to dis “Meet Virginia” has forgotten this gem: “When she wants to be the queen and she thinks about her scene throws her head back and she screams ‘I don’t really want to be the queen.’” Run out of rhymes much? ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/171 "2003-05-26T05:31:10Z")
“Imagine there’s no countries, It isnt hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And No religion too” I love the Beatles, John Lennon, and I actually like this song but… NO RELIGION TOO? NO RELIGION TOO? Maybe young Sean helped him with that line and so he kept it in the song. It should have been: “Imagine there are no countries, We could all take a breather, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion EEEEEEEEEEither…” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/172 "2003-05-26T05:50:15Z")
Hahaha. Grammar Nazi much, djf? I thought it was written as an added thought, since it’s not really related to countries. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/173 "2003-05-26T05:59:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Goofus \* > Somebody mentioned Rod Stewart.That reminds me of this awful phrase: > On the Peking ferry I was feeling merry > sailing on my way back here > I fell in love with a slit eyed lady > by the light of an eastern moon So, Rod, how YOU doin’? Sorry. Couldn’t resist. (MineFujiko \<- Asian IRL) ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/174 "2003-05-26T06:15:42Z")
Can’t believe I’m still defending a Train song, but here it goes. Between the chorus (which doesn’t bug me that much), Virginia’s odd and contradictory behavior, and lines like “Her confidence is tragic, but her intuition’s magic” I get the impression Virginia is supposed to be manic-depressive or bipolar. Maybe I’m just reading too much into the song. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/175 "2003-05-26T20:47:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > \*\*Can’t believe I’m still defending a Train song, but here it goes. > \*\* Well, at least you’re trying to defend “Meet Virginia.” There’s absolutely no defending the insipid “Drops of Jupiter” (except by saying, “weeeeell, it has nice production!”). ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/176 "2003-05-26T20:59:05Z")
How about that (Bad Company?) song that goes: “Well I take whatever I want And baby, I want you” Wouldn’t that be any woman’s cue to _run off screaming?_ ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/177 "2003-05-26T22:49:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diceman \* > \*\*“Turn The Page.” I don’t remember who sings it. You hear it on classic rock stations, and I think Metallica covered it. The first verse ends with the line “You think about the woman or the girl you knew the night before.” The woman _or the girl_??? Um, wouldn’t that be statutory rape? > \*\* Actually, a lot of that song irritates me. The part that always makes me roll my eyes is the line that goes… _Sometimes you can’t hear 'em talk, Other times you can, All the same old cliches: “Is that a woman or a man?”_ Not so much for grammatical reasons or creepiness as that it’s just stupid. 😉 Oh, and “The sweat rolls off your body like the music that you play” is icky, too. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/178 "2003-05-26T23:00:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, a lot of that song irritates me. The part that always makes me roll my eyes is the line that goes… > > Sometimes you can’t hear 'em talk, > Other times you can, > All the same old cliches: > “Is that a woman or a man?” > > Not so much for grammatical reasons or creepiness as that it’s just stupid. Not to necessarily defend the song but you have to consider that the song was written in the early 1970’s when “long hair” was still viewed with suspicion and/or ridicule by people in some of the more conservative parts of the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![djf750](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@djf750](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djf750)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/179 "2003-05-26T23:22:51Z")
And speaking of my beloved Beatles: “I’d rather see you dead little girl… than to see you with another man…” “catch you with another man…that’s the end-uh…little girl” WOW… ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831/180 "2003-05-27T00:59:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jsgoddess \* > \*\*“I must be sure > from the very start > that you > would love me more > than **her** ” > \*\* That doesn’t bother me - people actually talk like that, even though it isn’t gramatically correct, it is idiomatic english. But the same song has a line that doens’t make sense: _… and that she will cry if she learns we are two._ What does “we are two” mean? Isn’t any pair of people “two”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-dont-sound-right-make-you-cringe/175831.md?page=10)