# Ordinary songs that no one notices are actually creepy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639 "2004-03-11T04:44:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/241 "2004-04-19T22:59:47Z")
[hijack] Re Toadies: I don’t think of them as one hit wonders, but maybe that’s because they’re really popular in Austin. I regularly hear Possum Kingdom, Tyler, Backslide, and I Come From the Water on the radio down there. Re Disturbed: I’ve been a huge Disturbed fan since before they were famous (got the first CD for $9.99, saw them at the second stage at 2pm at an Ozzfest - aka the Crappy Time). I’ve read and listened to a lot of interviews with David Draiman. Their songs really aren’t supposed to be taken literally. A lot of them are actually social commentaries. “Mother” in Down With the Sickness actually referrs to Mother Culture, and Voices is about, basically, the Id. You gotta give a man with a Philosophy degree a little more credit, hehe. [/hijack] Well, since Toadies have already been covered, I’ll go with the other band I was thinking of, Cold. **Sad Happy** She was only seventeen and forced to blame it on herself as she hides away to tame the pain she feels she was thrown to a scene a drunken man without a will and a God that makes mistakes and still pretends It’s a creepy song to begin with, but it only gets worse when you know the story behind it. Scooter (lead singer) tends to talk to his fans a lot. Apparently, he was meeting people after a show, and this girl told him how her dad raped her all the time, and that Cold’s music helped her through some really dark times. Thus the chorus: "and I’ll be strong and I will sing and I will take your pain away " Songs are always creepier (to me) when based on actual occurences. Then we get to some of the most depressing songs I know, from Tea Party. **Emerald** just be still my emerald I’ll be waiting for you do exactly what you’re told I’ll be waiting for you ashamed by the threats you pierce the embrace afraid and alone in a dark and lonely place **Transmission** confused by the weight of our virtue we follow the paths of the slain in silence we walk through these shadows embracing the pleasures of pain once again And Rammstein, which is atcually quite disturbing when you get the English. **Tier(Beast/Animal)** He will go to his daughter so late She is young and she 's such sweet bait Just as if he were a dog With his own flesh and blood he will mate **SPIEL MIT MIR (Play With Me)** We share a room and the bed Brother dear please go right ahead Brother dear come touch me here Slide to me so close and near ---
**Author:** ![ZombiesAteMyBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ZombiesAteMyBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZombiesAteMyBrain)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/242 "2004-04-20T01:40:18Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I still don’t understand why they have played **YMCA** at every wedding reception I’ve gone to. I mean, it’s a song about picking up guys at the YMCA. I like the song, but… They played this at my daughter’s wedding too - I think it has something to do with getting people up on the dance floor to boogie - everybody knows the moves. When the DJ played ‘Spirit in the sky’ I remarked on it not being very appropriate for a wedding. I can’t bear to listen to it now, as my husband died suddenly the following year, and the only video I have of him is the wedding video, which ends with him dancing energetically to this song . ---
**Author:** ![igloorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@igloorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igloorex)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/243 "2004-04-20T03:54:54Z")
There’s a Toad the Wet Sproket song that is incredibly catchy about date rape. Part of the chorus is “Take her arms and hold her down and hold her down until she stops kicking.” Very disturbing, but moreso because the song itself is so damn catchy. There’s a number of Barenaked Ladies songs that could make the cut. “The night I fell asleep at the wheel” caught me by surprise when I found myself singing “'cause I’ve never seen so much, never seen so much, never seen so much BLOOOOOOD!” before I stopped to register what the pleasant little ditty was about. They never made it too big (but should have) but “The Pursuit of Happiness” had some happy sounding / creepy in reality songs like “Runs in the family” with lyrics like “Paula’s sister has legs as long as hers, maybe a little bit longer. They’re tan and shiny and newly grown and they fit so easily on her.” Good call on “my Sharona” – especially since the next song on that album is called “That’s what the little girls do.” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/244 "2004-04-20T04:50:17Z")
“Brick” by Ben Folds has already been mentioned, but I thought that I’d add another, this one from his solo album, _Rockin the Suburbs_. In “The Luckiest,” a song about how lucky he is to have found his wife, there’s a verse that goes: What if I’d been born Fifty years before you In a house on the street Where you live? Maybe I’d be outside As you passed on your bike Would I know? A little creepy, to me. And an 80’s song. Not so much CREEPY, per se, but a little out-of-sorts with the rest of the song. I’m referring, of course, to “Second Chance” by .38 Special. A song about trying to convince his wife/girlfriend to forgive him after he’s cheated on her, and he sings “I never loved her…I never needed her…she was willing, and that’s all there is to say.” Even as a kid, when this song played on the radio, I always found myself thinking, “no, that’s NOT all there is to say. She was willing. Why were YOU?” And, on the topic of date rape, Sublime has a song called “Date Rape,” which tells the story of a guy who rapes a girl and goes to jail. But it’s got such a good beat that you may miss the message. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/245 "2004-04-20T06:43:38Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > “Daddy’s Hands” by Patti Loveless. My sister, a folk musician, sees it as a kind of celebration/legitimization of child abuse. I think that’s digging pretty deep for it, though. Well, a lot of people do see spanking as child abuse. You can usually tell who these people are by observing their undisciplined monster children. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/246 "2004-04-20T06:50:59Z")
I can’t beleive nobody mentioned “Don’t stand so close to me”, by the previously mentioned Police. A teacher fooling around with his student… Young teacher the subject Of schoolgirl fantasy She wants him so badly Knows what she wants to be Inside her there’s longing This girl’s an open page Book marking - she’s so close now This girl is half his age Her friends are so jealous You know how bad girls get Sometimes it’s not so easy To be the teacher’s pet Temptation, frustration So bad it makes him cry Wet bus stop, she’s waiting His car is warm and dry Loose talk in the classroom To hurt they try and try Strong words in the staff room The accusations fly It’s no use, he sees her He starts to shake and cough Just like the old man in That book by nabakov\*\* That book being [Lolita](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=ZYw1fcH7dB&isbn=0851703682&itm=1) , of course. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/247 "2004-04-20T06:55:29Z")
And then there’s always [Aqualung](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jethrotull/aqualung.html) … a song about a pedophile hobo dying of pneumonia… ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/248 "2004-04-20T07:03:45Z")
My favorite ‘murder’ song is Garth Brooks - Papa Loved Mama A story about a jealous husband’s revenge on a cheatin wife 🙂 makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Papa drove a truck nearly all his life You know it drove mama crazy being a trucker’s wife The part she couldn’t handle was the being alone I guess she needed more to hold than just a telephone Papa called Mama each and every night Just to ask her how she was and if us kids were alright Mama would wait for that call to come in When Daddy’d hang up she was gone again. (chorus) Mama was a looker Lord, how she shined Papa was a good’n But the jealous kind Papa loved Mama Mama loved men Mama’s in the graveyard Papa’s in the pen. Well, it was bound to happen and one night it did Papa came home and it was just us kids He had a dozen roses and a bottle of wine If he was lookin’ to surprise us, he was doin’ fine I heard him cry for Mama up and own the hall Then I heard a bottle break against the bedroom wall That old diesel engine made an eerie sound When Papa fired it up and headed into town. Well, the picture in the paper showed the scene real well Papa’s rig was buried in the local motel The desk clerk said he saw it all real clear He never hit the brakes and he was shifting gears. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/249 "2004-04-20T10:17:45Z")
> [@Alcatraz](#): > > I can’t beleive nobody mentioned “Don’t stand so close to me”, by the previously mentioned Police. Huh… I’ll be damn. I almost mentioned it but then backspaced over the second paragraph of my post. :smack: That’ll teach me. From the link: > [@](#): > > Nabokov’s tale of a barely pubescent girl who excites the lust and love of a scholarly middle-aged man… :eek: I did not know about that book. It all makes sense now. I wonder if that is also what [Billy Joel refers to](http://www.lyricsdomain.com/2/billy_joel/no_mans_land.html): > [@](#): > > Lots more to read about Lolita and suburban lust ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/250 "2004-04-20T12:26:47Z")
> [@Alcatraz](#): > > I can’t beleive nobody mentioned “Don’t stand so close to me”, by the previously mentioned Police. > > A teacher fooling around with his student… The thing that gets me about this one is that I really think they didn’t **do** anything. That she fantasized about him, and he got a little too close, but he’s doing his best to resist temptation, which is on one hand, er, good, and on the other really damn creepy. It seems to me the storyline is a little closer to: Girl has crush on teacher Girl tells classmates Girl stays after school to study with teacher (teacher’s pet) Girl perhaps starts doing the flirty coquetteish thing Teacher tells himself no (This girl is half his age; it’s saying how old she is but also it seems like these would be the words going through his head…temptation, frustration, so bad it makes him cry sounds like he really isn’t acting on it) Girl goes on flirting Teacher does utterly boneheaded thing and picks her up from the school bus stop, presumably in front of all her friends, and gives her a ride home This is where it gets fuzzy. Did he take her to HER home, wave goodbye, drive home, and take a cold shower…or did he take her somewhere else? I kind of think that he took her home, and I’m hoping this isn’t wishful thinking. Girl gets teased in class about it by her friends (to hurt they try and try) Teacher gets yelled at in staff room, girl gets brought in. I haven’t read Lolita – I know the general idea, but I’m curious…does Humbert Humbert actually sleep with the girl? Is this obvious? Is it inferred, like it is in the song? I remember the first time I really listened to the lyrics of that song…really ooged me out. And of course, Smells Like Teen Spirit is just a freaky damn song. Especially when Tori Amos sings the slow, soft, kill yourself now version. 😃 And the Cardigans. Damn, I heard that song so many times in high school. I remember one time driving into town of an evening hearing that song and thinking “God, that’s sick…” ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/251 "2004-04-20T14:08:27Z")
Here’s a vote for Brooks and Dunn’s _Rock My World, Little Country Girl_. Oh, I hate this song SO much! It’s about a girl who “acts like Madonna, but she listens to Merle,” and “got an ‘A’ in math and never cracked a book.” I always abbreviated the title and called the song _Rock My World, Little C_nt\*, because, IMO, that’s basically what the song means! ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/252 "2004-04-20T16:14:21Z")
How about [_Nights on Broadway,_](http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=XrSfEYdT3mA%3D) by the Bee Gees? It’s sung from the POV of a guy who can’t accept the fact that his former girlfriend is not coming back, so he stalks her: \*Now in my place There are so many others Standin’ in the line How long will they stand between us Well, I had to follow you Though you did not want me to But that won’t stop my lovin’ you I can’t stay away Blamin’ it all on the nights on Broadway… \* ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/253 "2004-04-20T16:59:17Z")
A song from the 60’s Cecilia (he and his girlfriend in bed) I go to the bathroom to wash my face and when I come back someone’s taken my place wow, that was quick! Also Born a Woman must go look it up on google ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/254 "2004-04-20T17:08:12Z")
Born a Woman It doesn’t matter if your rich or poor or smart or dumb a womans place in this world is under some mans thumb If your born a woman youre born to be hurt to be stepped on, lied to and treated like dirt (not the complete lyrics so Uke Ike won’t come get me) ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/255 "2004-04-20T17:38:57Z")
> [@vanilla](#): > > A song from the 60’s > Cecilia > (he and his girlfriend in bed) > I go to the bathroom to wash my face > and when I come back someone’s taken my place That would be [_Cecilia_](http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=drrZJzv3biQ%3D) by Simon & Garfunkel. It does have a happy ending, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/256 "2004-04-20T18:48:08Z")
> [@cityboy916](#): > > Nabokov’s tale of a barely pubescent girl who excites the lust and love of a scholarly middle-aged man… Another way to say it is “A dirty old man’s debauchery of his gum-popping, jailbait stepdaughter.” Why is it that B & N won’t let ME write their reviews? 😉 > [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > I haven’t read Lolita – I know the general idea, but I’m curious…does Humbert Humbert actually sleep with the girl? Is this obvious? Is it inferred, like it is in the song? Yes he does. I don’t remember exactly how graphic the telling of the experience is, because I sold my copy long ago. It made me feel dirty, ya understand? > [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > The thing that gets me about this one is that I really think they didn’t do anything. That she fantasized about him, and he got a little too close, but he’s doing his best to resist temptation, which is on one hand, er, good, and on the other really damn creepy. That’s a good point. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/257 "2004-04-20T19:00:13Z")
Randy Newman has a wonderful musical, called [Randy Newman’s Faust](http://www.randynewman.com/faust.html), which is quite good and was staged once in CA and once in Chicago. The Chicago version was one of the best tellings of the Faust legend I’ve ever seen–the man knows his myths and the characters in the updated tale were well-drawn. One song is ‘Sandman’s Coming’, a lullaby sung by Margaret to her baby–who she’s in jail for murdering: Close your eyes now, little girl, They don’t want to see you crying. You never had a chance, you never had a chance. In the musical, Amy Young let the bundle she was singing to fall, and it unrolled on the floor. It was an empty blanket. There’s a rollicking fun song on _Trouble in Paradise_ called “There’s a Party at my House” which is all fun and games until the last verse: There’s a party at my house tonight Everybody’s wound up nice and tight They’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ till the mornin’ light There’s a party at my house tonight… Don’t forget to bring that little blonde-haired girl along You know the one Love to watch her jumpin’ up and down Seem like her face gets all red and spotty Like she’s been out too long in the sun And that little blue vein right beneath her breast Man, those nipples Pink as a rosebud! Hey, Bobby, get the rope All right There’s a party at my house tonight! Yay, gang rape! You can bring the chips! But Randy is also world-record-holder, I think, for the creepiest song EVER: [In Germany Before the War](http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=waT7cLsuZNM%3D): A little girl has lost her way With hair of gold and eyes of gray Reflected in his glasses As he watches her Here’s Randy’s notes on the song from his GUILTY compilation: > [@](#): > > Inspired by the move M. Also, my first wife, Roswitha, told me about Peter Kurten, who was from Dusseldorf, as she was. He killed children around 1925 or so. The parents in Dusseldorf used him as a kind of bogeyman. An interesting German equivalent to Dr. Spock. And it’s the kind of song where the pauses and musical interludes are as creepy as the words, as your imagination fills in the blanks. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/258 "2004-04-21T13:55:03Z")
> [@Mayflower](#): > > Here’s a vote for Brooks and Dunn’s _Rock My World, Little Country Girl_. Oh, I hate this song SO much! It’s about a girl who “acts like Madonna, but she listens to Merle,” and “got an ‘A’ in math and never cracked a book.” > > I always abbreviated the title and called the song _Rock My World, Little C_nt\*, because, IMO, that’s basically what the song means! You mean a popular song that is about sex?! That’s shocking! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/259 "2004-04-21T22:36:41Z")
> [@cityboy916](#): > > I wonder if that is also what [Billy Joel refers to](http://www.lyricsdomain.com/2/billy_joel/no_mans_land.html): Well, that and the fact that Amy Fisher was dubbed the “Long Island Lolita” after she tried to bump off Joey Buttafuoco’s wife off by shooting her in the head. Ol’ Joey was throwing it in Amy, and she - if memory serves - wanted to stay with Joey. That happened in 1992, and Billy Joel’s _No Man’s Land_ was released in 1993. And Bill’s always had a way of working recent events into some of his songs. The obvious _We Didn’t Start the Fire_, but also in others. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/260 "2004-04-21T23:40:34Z")
The **Wilco** song “She’s a Jar” starts like this: > [@](#): > > She’s a jar > With a heavy lid > My pop quiz kid > A sleepy kisser > A pretty war > With feelings hid > She begs me not to miss her and ends with the same verse, except for the last line > [@](#): > > You know she begs me not to hit her Randy Newman has been mentioned numerous times in the thread, but nobody has commented on “Sail Away”, his song from the POV of a slave-ship captain: > [@](#): > > Climb aboard little wog sail away with me > Sail away sail away > We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639.md?page=14)