# Popular songs that give terrible advice **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 5, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343 "2023-02-05T16:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/1 "2023-02-05T16:00:47Z")
Watching Umbrella Academy and Klaus tells his followers, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Stick to the rivers and lakes you’re used to” and, although I love the song, advising people not to take any chances is not good advice at all. Still’s lovely, sing-along song telling everybody to fuck whoever because your loved one isn’t directly on hand at the moment. I know it was the '60s and all, but Love The One You’re With is bad advice. My son thinks Shaggy gave the worst advice ever. Basically deny, deny until you die with by just keep telling your girl It Wasn’t Me. What’s your vote for a popular sing with the worst advice? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/2 "2023-02-05T16:14:03Z")
“Eat it” and" I Love Rocky Road" can lead to “Fat”. Though, in all seriousness, “Eat It” _is_ full of bad advice. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/3 "2023-02-05T16:15:56Z")
Highway to hell Sympathy for the devil The devil went down to Georgia (don’t accept talent contests with the devil) Any songs involving hell or the devil, really ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/4 "2023-02-05T16:18:27Z")
I don’t think Highway to Hell is giving advice, just telling you what the singer is up to. He isn’t advising you to do it. In fact, he’s warning everyone that all this fun partying is, well, the highway to hell. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/5 "2023-02-05T16:19:30Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The devil went down to Georgia (don’t accept talent contests with the devil) - In that song, he got his ass _whupped_. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/6 "2023-02-05T16:21:37Z")
So thanks to _Cunk on Earth_ my brain is infested with a “Pump Up the Jam” ear worm. I always thought “Get your booty on the floor” just meant get your ass out on the dance floor. But watching the dancer in the video, I think they literally mean putting your butt on the floor. Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/7 "2023-02-05T16:24:19Z")
_Strychnine is good for what’s ailin’ you_ …probably ranks in the top ten for [bad advice in a popular song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvbLNXj4ooY). _Hey Joe_ (a song covered by Jimi Hendrix and a bazillion other people)\* suggests it’s perfectly acceptable not to try to discourage a guy out to murder his cheatin’ girlfriend, and after the shooting, to advise him to become a fugitive from justice. \*the best recording is probably [the original garage rock version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZNFPaz1iw) by The Leaves, probably because the music partially drowns out the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/8 "2023-02-05T16:26:57Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I don’t think Highway to Hell is giving advice, just telling you what the singer is up to. He isn’t advising you to do it. In fact, he’s warning everyone that all this fun partying is, well, the highway to hell. You call these lyrics a warning? He makes the highway to hell sound like a fun as hell ride: > **[AC/DC – Highway to Hell](https://genius.com/Ac-dc-highway-to-hell-lyrics)** > > For all it’s heavy riffing and dark imagery, “Highway to Hell” is a depiction of something altogether more lighthearted. A typical move, considering the overriding sense of humor ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/9 "2023-02-05T16:27:29Z")
There’s an old Bing Crosby song called _Three Wise Monkeys_, based on a Japanese fable, that says we should all “See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil”. And that can’t be good. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/10 "2023-02-05T16:28:14Z")
Because partying IS fun as hell. But he is not advising people to do it. He is telling everyone that doing it is a highway to hell. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/11 "2023-02-05T16:31:45Z")
Yeah, where all his friends are going to be. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/12 "2023-02-05T16:32:29Z")
_The Gambler_ “The best you can do is die in your sleep” is an incredibly low bar for living your life. And ultimately urges you to just give up. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/13 "2023-02-05T16:36:08Z")
Putting the lime in the coconut is sure to give you a bellyache. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/14 "2023-02-05T16:36:14Z")
Not to mention _Dare to Be Stupid_. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/15 "2023-02-05T16:37:43Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Not to mention _Dare to Be Stupid_. - Damn. Should have remembered that one. Though that may have been deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/16 "2023-02-05T16:41:21Z")
Right on cue: the Tom Jones classic, frequently sung at Welsh International Rugby matches, has been banned from the terraces. “I felt the knife in my hand, and she laughed no more…” > **[Delilah: Song ban opens debate on depictions of violence against women](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64511615)** > > Comparisons have been made over how gendered violence is shown across different artforms. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/17 "2023-02-05T16:53:09Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Watching Umbrella Academy and Klaus tells his followers, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Stick to the rivers and lakes you’re used to” and, although I love the song, advising people not to take any chances is not good advice at all. That song wasn’t about taking chances, it was pleading with someone as they fall deeper into the world of drugs (IV cocaine), violence (shooting someone in the brain) and HIV (they mention his failing health, sleeping with someone and ‘three letters’ killing him). At least that’s always been my interpretation. > [@running\_coach](#): > > “Eat it” and" I Love Rocky Road" can lead to “Fat”. I’m not sure if you said that because you’ve heard it before, but [Weird Al has mentioned](https://youtu.be/ETyCK9mqhDI?t=699) (in a joking way) that Fat is a sequel to Eat It. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/18 "2023-02-05T16:55:28Z")
I don’t think it’s terrible advice, but eating “a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down” would suggest there’s something wrong with the medicine. And unless you’re on your property, I would suggest against tiptoeing through some tulips. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/19 "2023-02-05T16:59:01Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I don’t think it’s terrible advice, but eating “a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down” would suggest there’s something wrong with the medicine. I’d imagine those liquid medicines were awfully bitter before they started trying to mask the taste (with sugar). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343/20 "2023-02-05T17:10:33Z")
If you want to be happy for the rest of your life Never make a pretty woman your wife So for my personal point of view Get an ugly girl to marry you […] But if you make an ugly woman your wife Ah you’ll be happy for the rest of your life An ugly woman cooks meals on time She’ll always give you peace of mind (Apparently personality and compatibility don’t enter into the equation at all.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-give-terrible-advice/979343.md?page=2)