# Lyrics that give you pause... In a bad way. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514 "2010-06-01T16:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![big\_alex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e56c9b/32.png) [@big\_alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/big_alex)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/81 "2010-06-02T22:22:50Z")
Maximo Park’s lyrics are often cringeworthy, I don’t have enough inclination to type all the examples here, but look them up. I think Paul Smith imagines himself as some sort of artist or poet. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/82 "2010-06-03T03:16:43Z")
David Guetta and Akon in “Sexy Bitch:” She’s nothing like a girl you’ve ever seen before nothing you can compare to your neighborhood ho’ I’m trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful . . . Damn Girl Damn, you’se a sexy bitch a sexy bitch This is now one of my favorite songs in recent months. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/83 "2010-06-03T03:57:41Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > The Kinks: “The only time I feel alright is by your side…” > > I want to scream at the radio: “That’s a PLACE, not a time, pinhead!!” > [@Manduck](#): > > Of course it makes sense if you change it to make sense, but “by your side” is a place, not a time. I don’t see how this _doesn’t_ make sense… Contextually the time referenced is any time with “you”. As it’s kinda been said the lyric reads “the only time I’m alright is the time I spend with you by your side”. Conversely every time that I’m _not_ by your side is time I’m not alright. So basically the time IS the place. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/84 "2010-06-03T05:02:30Z")
[QUOTE=David Guetta and Akon in “Sexy Bitch:”] She’s nothing like a girl you’ve ever seen before nothing you can compare to your neighborhood ho’ I’m trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful . . . Damn Girl Damn, you’se a sexy bitch a sexy bitch [/QUOTE] Respect… you’re doing it wrong. :smack: That said, it is pretty catchy. The song whose lyrics I find annoying lately is Ke$ha’s “Your Love is my Drug:” [QUOTE=Ke$ha] My steese(?) is gonna be affected If I keep it up like a lovesick crackhead [/QUOTE] Nice mental image. :rolleyes: I had to look up “steese” on [urbandictionary.com](http://urbandictionary.com). Basically it means “style with ease.” Then again, [songmeanings.net](http://songmeanings.net) says it’s “esteem,” but it sounds like “steese” to me. I do like the part at the end when she says, “I like your beard.” Like she was trying to think of something to say to her crush when she ran into him, and all she could come up with was that awkward compliment. :o ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/85 "2010-06-03T05:06:56Z")
From a song that was recently, and justifiably, nominated here for worst ever: _Hey soul sister, Ain’t that Mr. Mister on the radio?_ No, it’s probably not. Mr. Mister hasn’t been played on any terrestrial radio station since about 1993, and I think most of Western civilization has agreed to pretend they never existed. So whatever the singer is singing about hearing during his own crappy song, it’s probably something else. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/86 "2010-06-03T07:20:54Z")
**Aerosmith** , “Sweet Emotion” _You’re telling me things but your girlfriend lied You can’t catch me 'cause the rabbit done died Yes it did_ Huh? What the hell does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/87 "2010-06-03T10:13:18Z")
Back in the day (surely not any more?), pregnancy was confirmed by injecting the subject’s urine into a female rabbit. A few days later, the rabbit’s ovaries would be examined for changes indicative of chorionic gonadotropin. It was a common myth that if the woman was pregnant, the rabbit would die. Now, I’m not exactly sure of the story behind these lyrics, but it seems clear to me that a woman is pregnant, and she’s lying about sleeping with Steven Tyler. Exactly what she said, the song doesn’t go into, and I haven’t had the pleasure of asking Mrs. Perry. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/88 "2010-06-03T13:22:12Z")
Nametag: > [@](#): > > It was a common myth that if the woman was pregnant, the rabbit would die. It was the common idiom, but I don’t think anyone (other than Radar in that one episode of M_A_S\*H) was fooled into thinking that the rabbit would be kept alive regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy test. ---
**Author:** ![snowmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/89 "2010-06-03T13:34:35Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I know you’re all getting sick of me referencing the trio of trash that is Train, but darn it ,you can’t have a thread about sucky lyrics without Train being at the top of the list. “Can you imagine no love, pride, \*deep-fried chicken \*, your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know your wrong” indeed. > > Another one I find just plain awkward is Eve Six’s “Inside Out” > > "I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds but the l_ack thereof_ would leave me empty inside. . . " > > The _lack thereof_? Who the hell says the lack thereof? Why not throw in a couple of “henceforths” and a few “ergos” while they’re at it. Forthwith, sir. I say lack thereof often, and happen to love that selfsame song. I would swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, find nothing but faith in nothing. A little ironic, no? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/90 "2010-06-03T13:42:22Z")
> [@snowmaster](#): > > Forthwith, sir. I say lack thereof often, and happen to love that selfsame song. I would swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, find nothing but faith in nothing. A little ironic, no? Don’t ya think? ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/91 "2010-06-03T15:41:40Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Also the incredible lameness of describing a mountain by comparing it to… _a mountain_. Maybe you’d like the misheard version better? > [@not sung by Toto](#): > > As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like a lep’ress above the Serengeti ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/92 "2010-06-03T16:32:23Z")
I just happened to hear the Mamas & the Papas’ song [I Saw Her Again Last Night](http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Mamas%20&%20the%20Papas%20Lyrics/I%20Saw%20Her%20Again%20Lyrics.html). > [@](#): > > I saw her again last night, > And I know that I shouldn’t have… In light of recent revelations by Mackenzie Phillips…this song certainly gives me pause. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/93 "2010-06-03T16:36:24Z")
_Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’ I’m sitting here just contemplatin’_ ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/94 "2010-06-03T16:38:46Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Grrrr…that just reminded me of the song “White Hot” by Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, where he sings “by the Somalian shore”. Since when is “Somalian” pronounced “SUM a lion”? > [@Polycarp](#): > > It’s a pronunciation guide – that upside-down “e” is a schwa. Speaking of tortured pronunciation, somebody – Google indicates at least both John Mayer and Jason Mraz have covered the song – sings the chorus to “I’m Yours” with especially awkward pronunciation: > [@](#): > > So I won’t hesitate no more, no more > It cannot wait I’m sure Ignoring for the moment the rhyming of “more” and “sure,” the singer emphasizes each syllable of “hesitate”: “I won’t **hes - AH - tate** no more…” The “i” in “hesitate” is a schwa, properly pronounced as such, more-or-less a breathless and indistinct “uh” or “eh” sound. But in a pinch (or a poetic mood) you could pronounce it like the short “i” in “it.” **But it’s not an AH sound.** And what’s weirder is that the rhythm doesn’t require an AH sound for emphasis. He could have sung “hes-IT-tate no more, no more…” and it would have flowed okay. I guess it can’t be _correctly_ sung if you’re going to emphasize that syllable because a schwa is not emphasized, but “hes-UH-tate” would have worked just fine. But where does that flat AH sound come from? If you’re going to just randomly use a different vowel sound for kicks, you’re being needlessly annoying and can go fAHck off. . ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/95 "2010-06-03T20:27:12Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > I just happened to hear the Mamas & the Papas’ song [I Saw Her Again Last Night](http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Mamas%20&%20the%20Papas%20Lyrics/I%20Saw%20Her%20Again%20Lyrics.html). > > In light of recent revelations by Mackenzie Phillips…this song certainly gives me pause. I always thought the line was I saw her again last night And I know that it should end Which doesn’t change your comment at all, but just wanted to throw that different line out there. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/96 "2010-06-03T20:45:14Z")
> [@batsto](#): > > I disagree. Any song referring to both the way someone ‘walks’, and then rhyming it with the way that person ‘talks’, is exhibiting a horrific level of lazy rhyming. It was used in “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees: Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk. ===== However, the part of that song that makes me go “Whaa?” is: We can try to understand the New York Times’ effect on man. ===== Really? What does the New York Times have to do with anything related to the song? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/97 "2010-06-03T20:48:15Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > For bad rhymes what about “car” and “far”? > > “Badge” by Cream > _Thinkin’ ‘bout the times you drove in my car. > Thinkin’ that I might have drove you too far._ > > “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith > _I pulled into town in a police car > Your daddy said I took you just a little too far_ How is that a bad rhyme? (I have much more of a problem with “might have drove” myself.) There are words that rhyme in one locality, but not another, such as “jury/story.” “Car/far” have rhymed everywhichwhere I’ve ever lived. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/98 "2010-06-03T21:06:18Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > How is that a bad rhyme? (I have much more of a problem with “might have drove” myself.) There are words that rhyme in one locality, but not another, such as “jury/story.” “Car/far” have rhymed everywhichwhere I’ve ever lived. Not a bad rhyme, the lyrics just didn’t make any sense to me, but they were explained a few posts earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/99 "2010-06-03T21:06:59Z")
> [@monster](#): > > I always thought the line was > > I saw her again last night > And I know that it should end > Which doesn’t change your comment at all, but just wanted to throw that different line out there. Some sources (not all) transcribe it as “I saw her again last night / And you know that I shouldn’t / Just string her along; it’s just not right. . . .” You don’t always put a period at the end of a line. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514/100 "2010-06-03T23:44:43Z")
John Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” _No, I cannot forget from where it is that I come from._ Fair enough, but could you at least remember which of two ways you were contemplating structuring the sentence? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-give-you-pause-in-a-bad-way/541514.md?page=6)