James Brown: “It’s Man’s, Man’s Man’s World”
Practically the whole song, but this part especially:
Man thinks of our little baby girls
And the baby boys
Man make them happy 'Cause man makes them toys
And after man make everything, everything he can
You know that man makes money to buy from other man
Tom Lehrer
[QUOTE=Pine Fresh Scent]
I just took it as deliberate irony, as “Teacher, leave them kids alone” ends the refrain. Kids using poor grammer to rail against their teacher/school - it works for me.
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I always took it as irony on top of irony. I don’t remember if someone told me this, or if I read it, but the fact that the kids singing in that song weren’t allowed to user the improper grammar just makes me chuckle.
[QUOTE=Windwalker]
Heh, what exactly is he trying to get across? If he was to say X to her, they couldn’t get much higher? Or that if he was to tell her that they couldn’t get much higher, some unknown, unstated consequence would happen?
[/QUOTE]
I’m sure I’m missing the point, but it should be the conditional “If I were”. As should your second and third sentences. 
Amanda Marshall’s “Beautiful Goodbye”:
Cause I still remember you and* I**
And that beautiful goodbye
Do you ever think of you and** I**
And that beautiful goodbye*
They’re trying so hard for that rhyme that it makes me wince.
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th]
Paula Cole’s song ‘‘I Don’t Want to Wait’’
Open up your morning light
and say a little prayer for I
I don’t care if you were raised by wolves! There is no excuse for that.
[/QUOTE]
I agree. I find this the most egregious example I can think of.
[QUOTE=Windwalker]
Heh, what exactly is he trying to get across? If he was to say X to her, they couldn’t get much higher? Or that if he was to tell her that they couldn’t get much higher, some unknown, unstated consequence would happen?
[/QUOTE]
In the context of the preceding lines it makes a modicum of sense - he would be a liar, were he to say to her that they couldn’t get much higher: ergo it is possible for them to get higher.