# Lyrics that tick you off **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351 "2012-01-04T05:55:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/61 "2012-01-06T22:34:36Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > 'til the stars fall from the sky > For you and I! > > Yeah, ok, it rhymes, but come on Jim. > [@Doug\_K](#): > > And it would have been easy to fix: > > 'til the stars fall in the sea > For you and me! 'til the stars fall on the bus for both of us! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/62 "2012-01-06T22:56:30Z")
If her daddy’s rich, taker her out for a meal If her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel 'Cause if her daddy’s poor, she’s a ho! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/63 "2012-01-06T23:16:25Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > 'til the stars fall on the bus > for both of us! But will our love lose its power in a meteor shower? ---
**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:** [January 6, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/64 "2012-01-06T23:47:02Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > 'til the stars fall on the bus > for both of us! Till the stars stay where they were For me and her! ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/65 "2012-01-06T23:52:46Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Hey, Oakminster- if you don’t like _Southern Man_, try the other Neil Young song referenced in _Sweet Home Alabama_! > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD3bGEFxGC0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD3bGEFxGC0) Yeah. Still not needing him around, anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/66 "2012-01-07T00:44:18Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Plus, as I understand it the African continent is largely if not mostly Muslim. So yeah, they probably don’t know it’s Christmastime, or care, because Christmas is ENTIRELY IRRELEVANT TO THEM. It’s like a bunch of Muslim superstars were singing about us poor folks who don’t get to celebrate the feast of Eid. Technically true, but completely beside the point. Ethiopia - the country that song was written for - is a very strongly Christian country. The answer to “Do they know it’s Christmas” is yes, yes they do, and their ancestors were probably Christian long before yours were. The titular line is so mind-blowingly ignorant it puts the snow line to shame. That song is probably the most disgustingly patronising piece of shite ever committed to vinyl. That said, there is a large Muslim minority in Ethiopia, and the continent as a whole is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians, with slightly more Muslims. [Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Africa) if you want to read more about it, as this isn’t really the thread to go into great detail! ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/67 "2012-01-07T00:58:49Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Our chorus sang this song a few years ago. The audience proved its loyalty to us by not walking out during this number. > > If you ask me, I think the kid took the money for the shoes, and used it to buy drugs. Blech! Christmas Shoes…I’m a sucker for stuff that makes you cry, and even I thought it was lame! It was like it was calculated to be as sappy and tearjerking as possible, and they overdid it so much that it missed the mark and moved completely into Narm territory. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/68 "2012-01-07T01:28:38Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Yeah. Still not needing him around, anyhow. Truth hurts? D&R (Ouch, ouch, ouch…) ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/69 "2012-01-07T01:48:11Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Bah, you stole mine! > “Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you!” > great message there, be thankful somebody else got screwed over at least it wasn’t you. > “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas” > Well no shit, has it ever snowed in Africa? There won’t be snow in Miami either. Ha ha, those poor sorry sons-a-bitches ain’t gettin any snow. And you can’t have Christmas without snow, it’s in the rules. I read this entirely differently. “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you”. – Count your blessings. By luck you are living a rather comfortable and comparatively luxurious life. Remember that. “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas” – Here in the west we talk about the dreams of a white christmas and don’t ever really have to think about fresh, clean drinking water or other basic necessities. It is different there. No dreams of a white christmas. “Do they know it’s Christmas” – Around here we know it is Christmas because it is a special time. Cookies, treats, family, days of work, etc. There? Not so much. Just another day of trying to survive. Even for the Christians, who clearly know it is Christmas, it isn’t as if hunger and thirst and a desire for basic necessities takes a holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/70 "2012-01-07T02:22:37Z")
Meatloaf with, _I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that._ The video for this song just makes it worse by giving no clue as to exactly what Meatloaf won’t do for love. He’ll do anything for love, except that one unnamed thing. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/71 "2012-01-07T02:45:33Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Meatloaf with, _I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that._ > > The video for this song just makes it worse by giving no clue as to exactly what Meatloaf won’t do for love. He’ll do anything for love, except that one unnamed thing. Give her his Dr Pepper.😃 ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/72 "2012-01-07T02:50:14Z")
He’ll never lie to her and that’s a fact He mentions it earlier in the lyrics ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/73 "2012-01-07T05:01:13Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > He’ll never lie to her and that’s a fact > > He mentions it earlier in the lyrics In addition to that, he’ll also never: - forget the way you feel right now, oh no, no way - forgive himself if you don’t go all the way tonight - do it better than he does it with you - forget everything - see that it’s time to move on or - screw around Jeez, people, it’s not that hard. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/74 "2012-01-07T10:33:49Z")
[QUOTE=The Steve Miller Band] Billie Mack is a detective down in Texas You know he knows just exactly what the facts is He ain’t gonna let those two escape justice He makes his living off of the people’s taxes [/QUOTE] I’m not going to say this verse ticks me off because it’s the most painfully forced rhyme in the history of English-language songwriting. That would be cliche. No, what bothers me is that this verse is entirely _irrelevant_ to the story of the song. After we use an entire verse to set up Billie Mack, the very next line is “Billie Joe, oh he slipped away”. So what was the point of even introducing Billie Mack if he does NOTHING? You could omit the entire verse and it wouldn’t hurt the song at all. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/75 "2012-01-07T10:44:47Z")
Billy Joel has committed this particular crime countless times, but “We Didn’t Start The Fire” is by far the worst instance. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/76 "2012-01-07T10:49:03Z")
This thread is well-timed. Per the advice of half of everyone I know, I recently started watching _Community_. Its theme song, “At Least it was Here” by The 88, contains the following lyric that spurs my brain into conniptions every time I hear it: > [@](#): > > Give me some more time in a dream / > Give me the hope to run out of steam Actually, it’s really only the second line. It’s clear that the singer’s goal is to run out of steam. But, does he want to be given the specific hope to do it — that is, does he want to hope to run out of steam, but does not currently hope to do so, and wants to be given said hope — or does he instead require a gift of some generic hope that he will use _in order_ to run out of steam? Furthermore, why is this guy so dead set on running out of steam anyway? Does he mean the phrase in the literal sense? (I’m picturing a guy who’s been locked in a sauna for three hours, and is like, “dude, FUCK steam.”) Because if he means it figuratively, as in he wants to lose the energy to continue to do whatever it is he’s doing, then isn’t his final goal to simply stop doing it, in which case he ought to just knock it off anyway? I don’t know why this particular lyric messes with my head so much, but it does. Maybe I should ask the writers to have Abed analyze it next season. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/77 "2012-01-07T14:33:56Z")
From “Calendar Girl”: “You’re the Easter Bunny when you smile.” Does that mean she’s got buck teeth? And if it does, does he think telling her so is going to improve his chances of marching her down the aisle (as he says he wants to do in the previous line)? ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/78 "2012-01-07T22:23:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Hey, you’re out in the desert, out of the rain, you’ve got nothing better to do, give the damn horse a name! “Cause there ain’t no-one for to give you no pain” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/79 "2012-01-08T04:09:25Z")
Afternoon Delight. Yay for YOU! Yeah, I see your boner, just STFU and go hump your friend. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351/80 "2012-01-08T07:26:25Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > Mick Jagger’s 68. Why is that something to be proud of? Because he’s 68, uglier than hitting your da with a sweaty sock, and still getting the chicks. The Mick moves he’d really, really like to have are the ones in the horizontal mambo and the whole song amounts to a “what does that dude have that I don’t, uh? (Oh yeah, money and fame. I’m on my way to them, damnit, I just hope I get there before I turn 68)” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-that-tick-you-off/608351.md?page=5)