# Oddly chosen words in songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153 "2013-10-13T19:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/1 "2013-10-13T19:15:29Z")
I hear Van Halen’s “Jump” today on the radio, and as always noted that odd “standing with my back to the record machine” line. First off what is a “record machine”? And why mention it in the song? It reminded me of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”, which has a line about “turn on the telly”. What American refers to their TV as a “telly”? What unusual phrasings and words have you heard in a song that really stick out to you? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/2 "2013-10-13T19:45:46Z")
Scansion oftentimes trumps sense. Come up with another phrase meaning “device that plays recorded music to a crowd” that fits that meter. This brings up one of my favorite changes in a cover - Jimmy Buffett’s take on “Brown Eyed Girl,” which I think is superior in every way to the Van Morrison original. One thing he does is change a critical lyric from > [@Van Morrison original](#): > > Laughing and a-running, hey, hey, > Skipping and a-jumping > In the misty morning fog with > Our, our hearts a-thumping to > [@Jimmy Buffett rewrite](#): > > …our hearts agog …which changes the rhyming up a little but works better, IMVHO. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/3 "2013-10-13T19:47:32Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I hear Van Halen’s “Jump” today on the radio, and as always noted that odd “standing with my back to the record machine” line. First off what is a “record machine”? I’m no Van Halen fan, but I’d give 'em a pass on this one. Referring to a jukebox as a “record machine” has a venerable history in rock ‘n’ roll, as Chuck Berry used the phrase in “Little Queenie.” The word “triviality” has always stuck out oddly in the otherwise mostly monosyllabic lyrics to the Beatles’ “When I Get Home.” ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/4 "2013-10-13T19:54:29Z")
Well, I’ll get **lost shaker of salt** out of the way… and from the old **Daniel Boone** TV series: _What a Boone, What a doer, What a dream-come-a-truer…_ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/5 "2013-10-13T19:54:43Z")
It’s kind of the opposite, but whenever I listen to Pink Floyd’s “Learning to Fly” I wait for, and am rewarded by the lines “There’s no sensation to compare with this / Suspended animation / state of bliss” - it’s one of those cases where the melody and line become an almost perfect mix of content, neither verbal nor musical alone. \*\* @campp\*\*, if we’re going to get into TV theme lyrics, I refuse to go near those for “Spiderman.” “Is he strong? Listen, bud. He’s got radioactive blood.” Sorry, couldn’t help myself… ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/6 "2013-10-13T19:58:14Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > What American refers to their TV as a “telly”? The same kind that refers to an airplane as an [“aeroplane.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD77IJXUPUE) ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/7 "2013-10-13T20:03:05Z")
Sometimes words are put in because they rhyme. From Cecil’s [column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/908/what-is-don-mcleans-song-american-pie-all-about) on the song “American Pie”: > [@](#): > > …Or it simply rhymes, a big determinant of plot direction in pop music lyrics (which may also explain “drove my Chevy to the levee”). ---
**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:** [October 13, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/8 "2013-10-13T20:35:02Z")
My standard answer is “my blood’s so mad, feels like coagulating” from “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/9 "2013-10-13T20:50:20Z")
Well, in the Pretentious sub-category: Sting I will turn your face to alabaster - when you see the Servant is the Master. Wet bus stop - she’s waiting - he starts to shake and cough Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov Oh Sting, you’re eruditer than us. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/10 "2013-10-13T20:54:58Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I’m no Van Halen fan, but I’d give 'em a pass on this one. Referring to a jukebox as a “record machine” has a venerable history in rock ‘n’ roll, as Chuck Berry used the phrase in “Little Queenie.” It’s in Crocodile Rock too. Jukebox would be pretty hard to rhyme, I think (cleanly, anyway)… Always seemed awkward to me… _Big Girls Don’t Cry, that’s just an alibi_. Okay, yes, it’s chiefly in there for rhyme and meter… but it’s the chorus which means it’s not even just a line slipped in but repeated throughout the song. Plus… as used, it’s kind of nudging the definition of what the word means (oh it’s no Alanis Morrissette “ironic”, but it’s still a bit off) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/11 "2013-10-13T20:58:04Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Well, in the Pretentious sub-category: Sting Making references to something other than drugs, sex and the hard, hard life of a touring Rock Star is pretentious? I love hearing real words in well-crafted songs. Maybe it’s diction. Since you can’t understand most of them, you probably have no idea how many sophisticated words are used in Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/12 "2013-10-13T21:03:53Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Well, in the Pretentious sub-category: Sting > > I will turn your face to alabaster - when you see the Servant is the Master. > > Wet bus stop - she’s waiting - he starts to shake and cough > Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov > > Oh Sting, you’re eruditer than us. :(. Some of my favorite lyrics. One of my favorite Billy Joel songs is You’re My Home, which is a beautiful song utterly spoiled by this line: If I travel all my life And I never get to stop and settle down Long as I have you by my side There’s a roof above and good walls all around **You’re my castle, you’re my cabin and my instant pleasure dome** I need you in my house 'cause you’re my home. You’re my home. You’re my home. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/13 "2013-10-13T21:08:39Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > It’s in Crocodile Rock too. Also “I Love Rock & Roll.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/14 "2013-10-13T21:29:20Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Making references to something other than drugs, sex and the hard, hard life of a touring Rock Star is pretentious? I love hearing real words in well-crafted songs. > > Maybe it’s diction. Since you can’t understand most of them, you probably have no idea how many sophisticated words are used in Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone.” 🙂 I like well done sophisticated lyrics; I merely find the erudition to sound forced in these cases. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/15 "2013-10-13T22:04:17Z")
Yes, “Twilight Zone” has super-advanced words, like “circuits” and “cloned.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/16 "2013-10-13T22:25:23Z")
Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”, when he says his friend could throw a “speedball by you”. I always think of a speedball as what killed John Belushi, not what a baseball pitcher throws. “Fastball” works just as well scan-wise, so “speedball” just seems like a strange choice there. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/17 "2013-10-13T22:30:27Z")
From “These Boots Were Made For Walking”: _You keep lying, when you ought to be truthing_ and _You keep saming when you ought to be changing_. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/18 "2013-10-13T22:48:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > From “These Boots Were Made For Walking”: _You keep lying, when you ought to be truthing_ and _You keep saming when you ought to be changing_. That’s very clever and sophisticated wordplay – inventing a nonce word whose meaning is perfectly clear in context. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/19 "2013-10-13T22:55:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days”, when he says his friend could throw a “speedball by you”. I always think of a speedball as what killed John Belushi, not what a baseball pitcher throws. “Fastball” works just as well scan-wise, so “speedball” just seems like a strange choice there. Actually, that’s a great example. Speedball? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153/20 "2013-10-13T23:03:10Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Yes, “Twilight Zone” has super-advanced words, like “circuits” and “cloned.” Not words you typically find in hard rock/metal lyrics. Nor lines like “My beacon’s been moved amid moon and stars / where am I to go now that I’ve gone too far.” I had acquired an entire mondegreen set of lyrics for this song that barely rose above the grunt and groan level, and was pleasantly surprised to find these unusual words and nuanced imagery amid the three chords. No, it’s not Shakespeare, or even Sting, but. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddly-chosen-words-in-songs/671153.md?page=2)