# Lyrics with a flaw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597 "2015-04-13T21:15:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/101 "2015-04-16T16:59:22Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > …um, no, Paul, no it doesn’t. Quite the opposite. > > (In all fairness, the lyric works with the song - it just sacrifices its own integrity for the greater good. Or something.) > > (Also, the last time I saw him in concert, he sang it as, “Everything looks BETTER in black-and-white” - which drew a big cheer from the crowd.) No, “quite the opposite” isn’t true. \*Everything \*does not look better in B&W. Sorry to state the truth. (I’m not a luddite. I enjoy B&W films, and photos. But being B&W does not make them _better_, it makes them _different_. That’s all.) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/102 "2015-04-17T02:45:12Z")
One of my favorite Yes songs, however, Here is my heart Waiting for you Here is my soul I eat at chez nous A non sequitur thrown in to rhyme. I love the song, but that part always jumps out at me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/103 "2015-04-17T03:41:38Z")
From Steve Martin/Edie Brickell’s “When You Get to Asheville”: She won’t sleep in the house now She just listens for the sound **Of your old eighty-four Ford** Coming down the road This could be immensely improved by saying “Of your eighty-four Ford” and dragging “four” out to two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/104 "2015-04-17T03:45:51Z")
Tom Petty’s “A Mind With a Heart of Its Own” _Well I been to Brooker and I been to Micanopy I been to St. Louis too, I been all around the world I’ve been over to your house And you’ve been over sometimes to my house I’ve slept in your tree house My middle name is Earl_ It’s true. His middle name is, in fact, Earl. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/105 "2015-04-17T03:57:16Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Tom Petty’s “A Mind With a Heart of Its Own” > > _Well I been to Brooker and I been to Micanopy > I been to St. Louis too, I been all around the world > I’ve been over to your house > And you’ve been over sometimes to my house > I’ve slept in your tree house > My middle name is Earl_ > > It’s true. His middle name is, in fact, Earl. So no flaw then. ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/106 "2015-04-17T06:51:00Z")
Most of the songs on John Mellencamp’s _Scarecrow_ are classics, but the lesser-known “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” contains this gem: I’ve seen a lot of things But I have not seen a lot of other things Really John? How insightful. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/107 "2015-04-17T12:03:26Z")
**This one:** What the hell is a "cane-and-derby hat"? Is it the latest thing from St Louis? Does it make it easier to tip your hat to the ladies? Which is most popular: the "Horizontal Front and Back," the "Horizontal Sideways," or the "Vertical Perpendicular" model? So many unanswered questions, so little time… :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/108 "2015-04-17T12:24:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **This one:** > > What the hell is a "cane-and-derby hat"? Is it the latest thing from St Louis? Does it make it easier to tip your hat to the ladies? Which is most popular: the "Horizontal Front and Back," the "Horizontal Sideways," or the "Vertical Perpendicular" model? > > So many unanswered questions, so little time… :dubious: 😕 It’s not a “cane-and-derby hat.” It’s “a cane and derby hat.” Two separate items. And before you protest, yes, you certainly can “wear” a [cane](https://murdocklondon.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/how-and-when-to-wear-a-cane/). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/109 "2015-04-17T13:20:57Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > It’s not a “cane-and-derby hat.” It’s “a cane and derby hat.” Two separate items. > > And before you protest, yes, you certainly can “wear” a [cane](https://murdocklondon.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/how-and-when-to-wear-a-cane/). You do realize that I was, uh, being facetious with regard to the “cane-and-derby hat”?\* :dubious: I beg to differ with your second point: One does not “wear” (don, doff) a cane. One _carries_ a cane. \*On the other hand, it does sound kind of cool. I can imagine people saying “Folks thought he was kinda batty, wearin’ that cane-and-derby hat. So they started callin’ him ‘Batty’ Masterson, and ‘fore y’know it, he was just plain ol’ Bat Masterson!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/110 "2015-04-17T13:47:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > You do realize that I was, uh, being facetious with regard to the “cane-and-derby hat”?\* :dubious: Well, uh, no. :smack: > [@](#): > > I beg to differ with your second point: One does not “wear” (don, doff) a cane. One _carries_ a cane. I’ve heard the phrase “wear a cane” before. Indeed, that’s the very point made by the site that I linked to. One might “carry” an umbrella or a walking stick, but a gentleman “wears” a cane. (Where’s the hoity-toity smiley when I need it?) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/111 "2015-04-17T13:48:17Z")
From the OED: _wear_: to carry or bear on one’s body or on some member of it, for covering, warmth, ornament, etc.; … Gregory House carries a cane, as it is an assistive device to help him walk. Bat Masterson’s cane is a fashion accessory. It is worn. You may not agree with the usage, but it’s established. The lyrics are entirely clear. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/112 "2015-04-17T14:02:11Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Gregory House carries a cane, as it is an assistive device to help him walk. Bat Masterson’s cane is a fashion accessory. It is worn. The lyrics also make it clear that he used it to whack bad guys. Ergo, it was more a weapon than a fashion accessory. Regardless, it sounds silly to “wear” a cane, whatever the OED says. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/113 "2015-04-17T14:10:03Z")
> [@RobotDevilDog](#): > > Most of the songs on John Mellencamp’s _Scarecrow_ are classics, but the lesser-known “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” contains this gem: > > I’ve seen a lot of things > But I have not seen a lot of other things > > Really John? How insightful. Well, this is the same person who, in “Pink Houses”, said: _Well, there’s people And more people_ At least he’s consistent. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/114 "2015-04-17T14:12:00Z")
One also wears a sword. These days, it not only sounds silly to wear a cane, it _is_ silly to wear a cane. When Bat Masterson was wearing a cane, that was the usage. What sounds silly to you in 2015 has nothing to do with whether or not lyrics from 1958, about a guy from the 1890s, are in fact silly. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/115 "2015-04-17T18:57:08Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Me three. I’d bet there are a lot of people that were introduced to the myth via this song. I always kind of giggle when people dis Sting for being pretentious. Can’t it be that he’s just actually very intelligent and his style is a little deeper than most other lyricists? _Bingo_. I adore the lyrics in “Wrapped around Your Finger” for exactly this reason. The imagery of turning someone’s face to ‘alabaster’ is particularly vivid. What do people want him to say, some b.s. cliché like “I will turn your face as white as paper?” “I will turn your face as pale as ashes” is mildly better but ruins the next powerful line of “when you find the servant is your master.” And I’ll defend Scylla and Charybdis with every breath I take. (Heh.) How many times do we need to hear the same lyrics a billion times? “Down on my knees, begging you please” etc.? Fuck that, give me some good metaphor and literary/mythological references–as long as they’re aptly chosen–and I’m right behind you. Sting excels at this, IMHO. Now, if you want to know _my_ pet peeve with many a lyric, especially from those who should know better, I’ll turn to “Island of Souls,” one of my favorite Sting songs: _One day He dreamed of a ship in the world It would carry **his father and he** to a place they would never be found to a please far away from this town…_ Sting was an English teacher, he knew damn well it should be “his father and him.” What particularly bothers me about this is that it’s _utterly unnecessary_–it’s not as if “he” was needed for a rhyme; there _is_ no rhyme until the last two lines of the chorus. Similar problem from “Rock Steady”– _Saw an ad in the newspaper that caught my eye. I said to my baby, “this sounds like the ticket for you and I…”_ Firstly, it’s “you and me,” damn it! Besides, “eye” and “I” isn’t exactly a great rhyme. Could’ve done… I dunno… _Picked up the newspaper, and what did I see? I told my baby “here’s an ad that’s ideal for you and me…”_ (Not great scansion but I’m just vamping here.) But if Sting must be stung for using “I” when “me” is correct, so must just about every lyricist in pop history. One lyric I adore because it _explicitly_ uses both “me” and “I” correctly is from the opening of “Hello, Young Lovers” from _The King and I_ (Rodgers and Hammerstein). _There are new lovers now on that same silent hill Looking at the same blue sea, And I know **Tom and I** are a part of them all, …and they’re all a part of **Tom and me**._ A perfect little English lesson in two phrases. Well done, Oscar. To switch to utter blasphemy, I’m gonna take some lyrics from… get ready for this… Stephen Sondheim. I know, I know, it’s disgraceful. But even he often kvetches about the lyrics he did for _West Side Story_, so… My “beef” is with one of the most beautiful songs ever, “Somewhere.” It’s not so much that the lyrics are problematic or even slightly wrong. I just think the message in one of the phrases would’ve been more powerful if switched around. The song as written: _There’s a place for us, A time and place for us, Hold my hand and we’re halfway there, Hold my hand and I’ll take you there…_ I have always sung it backwards, knowing full-well I’m wrong but I don’t care. To me, they should go: _There’s a place for us, A time and place for us, Hold my hand and I’ll take you there, Hold my hand and we’re halfway there…_ My rationale: Throughout the song the singer trying to convince her listener that there’s a place beyond time or space, where differences don’t matter, where it’s full of peace and joy. Their loving each other is part of both the metaphorical journey and the destination. In the lyrics as written, the singer tells the listener to hold her hand and that’s half the journey. Then she adds–rather redundantly IMHO–that if he holds her hand she’ll take him there. (Well duh, they’re already halfway there, right?) In “my” version, she first offers her hand to him to take him to this joyful place–and then she adds encouragingly that the mere act of holding her hand means they’re halfway there. Is that hubris or what? Sorry, Stephen, you know I worship at your feet. This is the one liberty I’ve ever taken with the Master’s lyrics. Does this make any sense? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/116 "2015-04-17T19:44:35Z")
> [@choie](#): > > _Bingo_. I adore the lyrics in “Wrapped around Your Finger” for exactly this reason. The imagery of turning someone’s face to ‘alabaster’ is particularly vivid. What do people want him to say, some b.s. cliché like “I will turn your face as white as paper?” “I will turn your face as pale as ashes” is mildly better but ruins the next powerful line of “when you find the servant is your master.” > > And I’ll defend Scylla and Charybdis with every breath I take. (Heh.) How many times do we need to hear the same lyrics a billion times? “Down on my knees, begging you please” etc.? Fuck that, give me some good metaphor and literary/mythological references–as long as they’re aptly chosen–and I’m right behind you. Sting excels at this, IMHO. I just don’t think it fits in well with the imagery of the song. “Young apprentice caught between Scylla and Charybdis” is not well-explained by any of the later lyrics, since there is zero indication of the choice he has to make. All we know is that it was metaphorically difficult, and by the end he has moved past it. Without additional context, the phrase sounds poetically overloaded. > [@](#): > > My rationale: Throughout the song the singer trying to convince her listener that there’s a place beyond time or space, where differences don’t matter, where it’s full of peace and joy. Their loving each other is part of both the metaphorical journey and the destination. > > In the lyrics as written, the singer tells the listener to hold her hand and that’s half the journey. Then she adds–rather redundantly IMHO–that if he holds her hand she’ll take him there. (Well duh, they’re already halfway there, right?) > > In “my” version, she first offers her hand to him to take him to this joyful place–and then she adds encouragingly that the mere act of holding her hand means they’re halfway there. > > Is that hubris or what? Sorry, Stephen, you know I worship at your feet. This is the one liberty I’ve ever taken with the Master’s lyrics. > > Does this make any sense? I sort of see the point, but it’s not strictly redundant to do the taking after hand-holding. Maybe they know the place but need guidance to go there. They aren’t quite sure how to make it there, or if they have the strength to make it. Sung out of context, I think your re-ordering is stronger, though. In the context of young lovers confused (and dying), the original works. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/117 "2015-04-17T19:48:50Z")
> [@choie](#): > > In “my” version, she first offers her hand to him to take him to this joyful place–and then she adds encouragingly that the mere act of holding her hand means they’re halfway there. Right – it is all still hypothetical; they haven’t gone anywhere yet. So the order doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/118 "2015-04-17T20:40:19Z")
I imagine Kid Rock is making fun of crappy rhymes for effect in the opening lyrics to “I Got One For Ya”. Anyhow, I think it’s pretty funny and I really like the song. > [@](#): > > Lit up like the Fourth, I’m a happy drunk > Come to poppa big momma cause your daddy’s drunk > > I wanna pump pump it up like the Goodyear Blimp > Make ya hollar for a dollar that’s the way I pimp > > Gold links and minks and shrimp dinners on the bayou > Thems are things that I ain’t gonna buy you > > It’s like one of them freak things > Hit it once maybe every couple week things ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/119 "2015-04-18T01:07:58Z")
> [@sich\_hinaufwinden](#): > > I imagine Kid Rock is making fun of crappy rhymes for effect in the opening lyrics to “I Got One For Ya”. Anyhow, I think it’s pretty funny and I really like the song. You mentioned Kid Rock I thought you were going to go for “All Summer Long” And we were trying different things We were smoking funny things Rhyming things with things. Genius. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597/120 "2015-04-18T02:17:34Z")
Lifehouse’s Between the Raindrops _There’s a smile on my face Knowing that together everything that’s in our way We’re better than all right_ I always want to change “all right” to “ok” because it just sounds better there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyrics-with-a-flaw/717597.md?page=7)