My Spidey-sense tells me that a thread like this was done somewhat recently, but a quick search did not turn it up for me, so here we go. Apologies if this is a repeat.
How much poor grammar is out there in modern music? And for the purposes of this thread, I’m not referring to Ebonics or anything like that where the usage would be considered acceptable amongst a specific group of people. I’m looking for examples of flat-out wrong uses of language.
This thread came to mind for me because of recently listening to Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet” album in which, at one point, Chuck D states:
which causes me to want to pull out what little hair I have every single time the phrase is uttered.
I was all set to come in here and do a descriptivism rant, but your example is actually really good. It appears Language Log has discussed the shit out of your particular example, in fact (as seen from all the links at the top of here).
The most prominent example that grates on my ears, more from the utter sincerity and clarity with which it’s sung than from egregious grammer breakitude:
Other songs may have worse breakages but are not so prominently placed in the song.
It’s indistinct, but it’s actually: “But in this ever-changing world in which we’re livin’…”
For me, I get bugged by:
Why did they do this? Not only did they fuck up the grammar, they also added a redundant syllable that messes up the scansion of their song, while Rudyard Kipling’s original “more deadly” would have fitted perfectly. Grr.
In most cases, bad grammar simply sounds better. “I can’t get no satisfaction” sounds much more appropriate, to me, than “I can not receive any personal fulfillment.” I hyperbolize, of course, but you get the idea. When people start singing with emoticons, we’re in trouble. “Dear Prudence, let me see you Colon dash end parenthesis”
“They said she died easy of a broken heart disease as I listened through the cemetary trees.” The Wallflowers
Unless they literally meant she died while he listened it should be reversed “As I listened through the cemetary trees they said she died easy of a broken heart disease.”
“She’s in the bathroom, she pleasures herself/ Says I’m a bad man, she’s locking me out/ It’s cause of these things, it’s cause of these things” She Wants Revenge
Yikes. How about this instead?
“She’s in the bathroom and she pleasures herself/ She says that I’m a bad man, and she’s locking me out/ It’s because of these things**.** it’s because of these things”
“Flashback on to Saturday night/Would you tell me please did we got in a fight?” The Greenkeepers
Did we got?! And the on in hte first line looks like they knew there ought to be an on somewhere in the sentence, but they didn’t stick it onto the end of in like they meant to…
Settle a disagreement between Fiona Apple and I: can you be forgiven to someone?
I’ve always comforted myself by saying that there’s a second syllable at the end of that which is drowned out by the music and his fading voice. I refuse to entertain any other options.
This has bothered me for nearly 50 years, from one of my favorite doowop songs “A Casual Look” by the Six teens - “Oh soldier boy when you proposed, I said “no” your face just frozed.”
That’s not technically incorrect, just awkwardly phrased.
The only thing wrong with the original is the punctuation. The first and second lines should have semicolons, not commas, and “cause” ought to have an apostrophe to denote the abbreviated syllable. Grammatically, though, it’s fine.
Okay, that’s pretty bad.
That should be “Fiona Apple and me,” but other than that, I agree with you.
From TLC, paraphrased: “What gives you the right to write me off on the wall?” Um, girls, those are two phrases, “write someone off” and “off the wall.” Unless you’re talking about someone writing “ME OFF” on a wall, which seems unlikely.
But my favorite, from “Heard It In A Love Song,” by the Marshall Tucker Band:
"Always something greener on the other side of that hill
I was born a wrangler and a rounder and I guess I always will