# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/141 "2004-03-14T00:44:56Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > It’s still one letter more than the worst case scenario. Besides, isn’t Stipe singing about the song itself, not the loved one? Yea, that’s how I always saw it… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/142 "2004-03-14T01:47:27Z")
“Saving All My Love”-Whitney Houston. Isn’t it about having an affair with a married man? And even though she knows that she’s the other woman and he puts his family first, she still wants to keep loving him? (Oh wait, someone did mention it. Either way, it’s my favorite to mention in a “creepy song” discussion. Maybe because I loathe Whitney so much?) Didn’t Sarah McLachlan write “Possession” (love that song, btw) after she got a letter from a stalker? I seem to recall reading that the chorus is an exact quote from said letter. “Wishin’ and Hopin’” (Dusty Springfield?). “Wear your hair, just for him, do the things, he likes to do…” blah blah blah. So in other words, don’t be yourself, be what HE wants, and turn yourself into something you’re not so you can get the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/143 "2004-03-14T01:50:39Z")
I was going to nominate just about everything on **Disturbed’s** first album, “The Sickness” but then I remembered that those songs are _blatantly_ creepy. Like _The Game_: “You always wanted people to remember you To leave your little mark on society Don’t you know your wish is coming true today Another victim dies tonight…” and the end of the song: “The little bitch, she went and she told a lie Now she will never tell another a lie The little bitch, she went and she told a lie NEVER FUCKING LIE TO ME!” In fact, on that album, he kills his asshole boss in _Voices_, kills his abusive mother in _Down With the Sickness_, kills his lying girlfriend in _The Game_ and then kills just about everybody in _Conflict_. I was actually pretty impressed with the album, though. The absolute best expression of total rage I’ve ever heard in music. But anyway… I don’t see Dido’s _White Flag_ as a stalker song. The way I hear it, she seems to be simply acknowledging her own fault in causing the breakup of her relationship with her lover. She still loves him, and is sure that she always will, and she will always regret the breakup. She admits that she was wrong, and that she will do her best to put it behind her. But then, maybe I hear it that way because I first heard the song shortly after the end of a relationship I had with a mentally ill woman. This young lady suffered from severe Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder, and it turned our relationship into a nightmare (for me, anyway). So when I heard the song, it almost seemed like it was my ex-girlfriend singing. ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/144 "2004-03-14T02:17:51Z")
The first song I thought of (and I can’t believe anyone’s mentioned it) is “Love Fool” by **The Cardigans**. To wit: _Reason will not lead to solution I will end up lost in confusion I don’t care if you really care as long as you don’t go_ And from the chorus: _Love me love me say that you love me leave me leave me just say that you need me I can’t care 'bout anything but you…_ Et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum. I’ve dated girls like this, and it never turns out well. ---
**Author:** ![mishypoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@mishypoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mishypoo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/145 "2004-03-14T02:39:16Z")
I have always been creeped out by the Crash Test Dummies ''Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". I don’t know if it was the lead singers deep penatrating voice or the fact that I can’t even get the simplest grasp of what the songs about… Something about freaky kids with really bad luck. [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/crash-test-dummies/34093.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/crash-test-dummies/34093.html) And I would hate to think I’m dimwitted especially with a title like “Stinkfist” but I was shocked when it dawned on me that the song was about anal sex, not just that, but bored angry sex because of needed the pain to feel alive. Still love the song though. [http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/tool/139392.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/tool/139392.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/146 "2004-03-14T08:38:36Z")
Don’t know if this strictly qualifies, but I think it was the hundred and fifty gazillionth time I listened to Deep Purple’s “Knocking at Your Back Door” when I heard the phrase “So we put her on the hit list/ of a common, cunning linguist”. Somehow, somewhere deep in the corner of my brain where I keep all my perverted thoughts, something connected to my consious mind. Cunning Linguist A few letters fell out of the phrase. Cunnilingus I love the way Ian Gillan writes lyrics. It took me about three years to catch that one. ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/147 "2004-03-14T19:35:52Z")
_Talking in your Sleep_ by the **Romantics**. \*When I hold you in my arms at night Don’t you know you’re sleeping in a spotlight And all your dreams that you keep inside You’re telling me the secrets that you just can’t hide \* I talk in my sleep a lot and I hate it when someone tells me what I said. Icky _Orange Crush_ by **R.E.M.**. I didn’t know this song was about Agent Orange until I saw the video. The scene with the soldier sticking his hands in the tainted soil and rubbing it on his face as camouflage is very creepy. ---
**Author:** ![zephyrine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/35a633/32.png) [@zephyrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zephyrine)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/148 "2004-03-14T20:18:50Z")
A lot of the songs mentioned are intentionally disturbing. Personally I find Dido’s lyrics incredibly bleak and negative, and humdrum (although I like them) (and I don’t know how to define humdrum, except to say that even the love songs seem exceptionally joyless). ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/149 "2004-03-14T20:38:27Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Evanessence’s current hit “Wake Me Up Inside” has far too much of what I don’t want my next relationship to be: I don’t think they’re referring to any sort of earthly relationship–I’m pretty sure they’re a Christian Rock group, and this song is referencing a relationship with and complete dependence on God. Of course, I could be entirely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/150 "2004-03-14T21:34:35Z")
Heard this one at a cafe today. It’s very much of its time ('40’s?): **Keep young and beautiful It’s your duty to be beautiful Keep young and beautiful If you want to be loved.** :🙂 To be fair, many songs of that time have similar lyrics, but this one still gets a lot of airplay, even if only in adverts (and East End cafes). I also remembered a song which, to capitalise on its double-meaning, was used in a drink-driving campaign many years ago: ‘In the Summetime’, which includes the line: \*\*Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find. \*\* In the ad, the song was played at a happy Summer party, then this line was repeated on stutter while various car cashes were depicted. It was pretty effective, to me anyway. ‘Take My Breath Away’ could be effective for an anti-smoking advert too. I really like happy-sounding songs with sad content (and vice-versa). Looks like I need to get me some Elvis Costello. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/151 "2004-03-14T21:50:48Z")
Creepy song that I’m sure no one here but me has ever heard " Faithless" by Marry Me Jane. I can’t even find lyrics for it online. Good thing I have the liner notes. Oh wait! there’s one, yes one, site with the lyrics for this song. your scent is too famililar your fingers nullify my skin am i still your creepy **sister** when you wash me away and away we go again he leads me down to the basement he waits 'til no one can hear he leaves me dirty and wasted i an faithless i am shameless i am faithless i don’t expect to be forgiven i don’t expect these scars to disappear i came to life as you predicted so you were right i’m your souvenir can i return your little secret… The entire lyrics can be found here [http://www.amandakravat.com/lyrics/tick/faithless.htm](http://www.amandakravat.com/lyrics/tick/faithless.htm) Better yet, go buy the cds, they’re both cheap and incredible. [http://half.ebay.com/search/search.jsp?nthTime=1&product=all&keyword=marry+me+jane](http://half.ebay.com/search/search.jsp?nthTime=1&product=all&keyword=marry+me+jane) > [@Gundy](#): > > I’m surprised that anyone can listen to that song and not get what it’s about – the end is all guitars crunching and the singer screaming, “DOOOO YOU WANNA DIE?!” > > What _is_ creepy is that I find that song sexy in the extreme. So do I, oddly enough. It’s preverse, but man…I like it, but it makes me feel dirty 😉 Along those lines: **Porcelain** by Better Than Ezra Well I wish I could kill you, savor the sight Get into my car, drive into the night Then lie as I scream to the heavens above That I was the last one you ever loved (skin is like) Porcelain Yeah your skin is like porcelain… **Slow Drag** by Fastball (this song is so much better than "The way) Slow drag and I can’t get up now Slow drag. You’ve been messing with my mind All the world is sleeping like a baby tonight I wanna see you dead Laying in the muddy ground You’re nothing to me Nothing to me Nothing to me no more… ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/152 "2004-03-14T22:01:17Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > **Keep young and beautiful > It’s your duty to be beautiful > Keep young and beautiful > If you want to be loved.** This is “Keep Young and Beautiful” by Annie Lennox, off of her 1992 _Diva_ album. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/153 "2004-03-14T22:35:52Z")
> [@AwSnappity](#): > > This is “Keep Young and Beautiful” by Annie Lennox, off of her 1992 _Diva_ album. That’s a cover version. The original was written by Harry Warren, and performed in 1933 by Eddie Cantor: [http://www.harrywarren.org/songs/0259.htm](http://www.harrywarren.org/songs/0259.htm) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/154 "2004-03-15T00:03:26Z")
It was the thirties version I was thinking of - I’m sure Annie Lennox’s was much more ironic (haven’t heard it myself). ---
**Author:** ![JanetReno.is.hot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JanetReno.is.hot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JanetReno.is.hot)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/155 "2004-03-15T01:21:59Z")
but I am dumbfounded that this thread has lasted this long without the slightest mention of blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t fear the reaper”. I see this song misunderstood all the time. I even heard it requested on valentines day ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/156 "2004-03-15T02:01:39Z")
Creepy 70’s song that was probably meant to be creepy: “Timothy” Also, “Uncle Ernie” by the Who on the Tommy album. I had never heard of pedophelia at that time and didn’t know what it was about for a long time. Just thought it was creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/157 "2004-03-15T02:08:42Z")
I’d heard somewhere that **Iron Man** was about child abuse and his dreams of retaliating against the people who hurt him. "How did Marvel handle their use of the phrase?) ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/158 "2004-03-15T03:42:53Z")
The Toadies were a one hit wonder from the early 90’s with Possum Kingdom, named after a park in Texas where some guy drowned a woman he was crazy about so that he could ‘preserve forever’ . (Llama Poet) I love that song! Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought “Possum Kingdom” was about vampires. I don’t know if anybody’s mentioned this before, but Barry Manilow’s “Copa Cabana” sounds cheerful, but isn’t. Two guys fighting over Lola. Lola’s best guy gets killed and Lola spends the rest of her life in the same outfit ala Miss Haversham. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Eyed\_Stranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Green\_Eyed\_Stranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Eyed_Stranger)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/159 "2004-03-15T04:11:42Z")
What about all the original songs by “Weird Al” Yankovic? I don’t know about all his albums, but “Even Worse” has: **Stuck in a Closet With Vanna White** : \*… Now I’m being followed by these Russian spies They give me some velcro and an order of fries Suddenly I’m bowling on the Starship Enterprise I fall down a how and that’s when I realize I’m stuck in a close with Vanna White [Chorus] \* Okay, a little weird, kinda goofy, not creepy, but then comes **You Make Me** : \*… You make me wanna hang out in a trailer park Then take my hamster to the beach You make me wanna do my laundry in the dark And use a recommended bleach When I’m with you I don’t know whether I should study neurosurgery or go to see the Care Bears movie … \* More of the same. However, **Melanie** really starts to get weird. Talk about stalker songs: \* … She lived across the street on the fifteenth floor of the Gailmore building I saw her in the shower reaching for some soap I knew she had to be the girl for me and to think I probably never would have found her If I hadn’t bought that telescope …\* Okay, very creepy, since it’s a short song, I won’t quote more (I’m doing the lyrics from the liner notes from my CD - are they still liner notes? So you’ll have to do your own Googling), but he talks about giving her cat a mohawk, tatooing her name on his forehead, and jumping out of the window above her (“Now I may be dead but I still love you”). It’s back to goofy with **Velvet Elvis** : \* … When I’m at home watching my TV Iknow the king is always looking down on me He looks so handsom, he stands so tall So glad he’s big enough to cover up that hole in the wall …\* And the last song **Good Old Days**. It starts off as a sweet rememberance of days gone by. An idyllic setting with Dad going fishing and mom in the kitchen, but rather abruptly: _And I’d spend all day long in the basement, torturing rats with a hacksaw and pulling the wings off of flies_ But then there’s the chorus singing about the good old days, and you wonder if you actually heard what you heard. The next verse starts out with fond memories of Mr. Fender, the grocer. About the time you start to relax: \* … Always treated me nice, gave me kindly advice I don’t know why I set fire to his place Oh, I’ll never forget the day I bashed in his head Well, you should have seen the look on his face …\* Well, yuck. But we get one more verse. So what’s in store for Michele? \* … So I took her to the homecoming dance Then I tied her to a chair and I shaved off all her hair And I left her in the desert all alone Well, sometimes in my dreams I can still hear the screams Oh, I wonder if she ever made it home? …\* So when I read this thread title, I thought of this song (Good Old Days), but seriously all the original “Weird Al” songs range from slightly goofy to uncomfortably creepy. Like I said, I don’t know if the rest of his originals are like that (I only have the one album, and the original songs don’t get much airplay). Of course I could be just a result of taking the “Even Worse” theme and really running with it, but I don’t know. Sorry I rambled on for so long, I think this is by far the longest of my limited posts. I also hope I didn’t cross the too much quoting of the songs (Good Old Days is probably close, although I tried to paraphrase where I could. GES ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639/160 "2004-03-15T04:47:51Z")
Pearl Jam’s radio hit “Betterman” has been interpreted as romantic by people who 1) can’t make out any of the lyrics aside from “Can’t find a better maaaaaaaan”, and 2) interpret this to mean that the song is about a woman who thinks her man is the best one in the world and no one better could possibly be found. What these people don’t notice is that the line preceding the famous one is “She lies and says she’s in love with him.” Kind of puts a different spin on things, doesn’t it? Eddie Vedder wrote the lyrics to this song when he was only seventeen. It was inspired by his mother’s unhappy second marriage, and is about a woman who won’t leave a bad relationship because she thinks she can’t find anyone better. I’ve actually heard of people requesting that DJs play this song at their wedding. Another song that’s been widely misinterpreted by people who listen to the repeated title line and ignore the rest of the lyrics is The Guess Who’s “American Woman”. I’m always surprised by how many people fail to realize that the song is not exactly complimentary towards women from the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordinary-songs-that-no-one-notices-are-actually-creepy/233639.md?page=9)