# Pretentious rock lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504 "2024-10-31T16:00:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/1 "2024-10-31T16:00:49Z")
Everyone defines “pretentious” slightly differently, so let me give my definition. Rock’n’roll lyrics are generally written by musicians who are primarily interested in the chords, melodies and harmonies and are indifferent to the quality of lyrics. Some even consider writing lyrics a necessary evil, a burden imposed on the song’s composers, and often they must engage a co-writer to write the lyrics. But other times, someone not especially gifted in composing words, much less poetic words, comes up with a phrase or two sufficient to the task, and he goes with that. When the words he coughs up are simple enough, “I love you, you love me, will you take a cuppa tea?” sort of drivel, that’s unpretentious, but when he comes up with words he barely understands and stews them together with other big words or deep concepts he might have overheard an articulate speaker utter once, well, that’s what I’m talking about. When the music is good enough, a song with highly pretentious lyrics can become a hit, even a classic, and the song’s listeners will strain themselves to take some grand meaning from the mish-mosh of words. This is how pretentious lyrics thrive, often taking on a life of their own, where fans’ imposed interpretations assume a widespread appeal to other fans, and the original songwriter might even come to endorse these grand interpretations as being accurate. But it’s still spinach, I say, and I won’t eat it. One final distinction: sometimes, talented lyricists will write deliberate nonsense, either to make fun of those who too eagerly interpret lyrics as meaningful (Lennon, for example, in “I am the Walrus”) or they’ll write deliberately obscure lyrics that they don’t understand themselves but like the emotions they convey. The latter type of lyrics, exemplified by Bob Dylan perhaps, is sort of pretentious, as I’m defining it here, except that Dylan has shown himself capable of writing very fine and meaningful lyrics, as has Lennon, so I’ll cut them a break. I’m really talking about songs written by musicians who’ve never shown themselves to have a gift for writing lyrics, but who went out on a few limbs and wrote songs, or parts of songs, that pretended to a kind of profundity that doesn’t stand up to any analysis. (Howlers include pretentious songs that contain all sorts of elemental grammatical errors.) I’ll refrain from nominating any songs in this post, but I’ve got several in mind once I hear your nominations of rock songs that strive for profundity but fall well short of that mark. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/2 "2024-10-31T16:04:22Z")
Not sure I understand your criteria, but MacArthur Park seems to fit. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/3 "2024-10-31T16:05:00Z")
Not 100% sure I do either, but which lines in particular would you cite?Jimmy Webb is usually pretty competent as a lyricist. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/4 "2024-10-31T16:06:49Z")
Pretty much the entire song reads like it was written by someone on a bad acid trip. I’ve never been able to make any sense out of it other than perhaps it’s supposed to elicit some sort of longing. It fails. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/5 "2024-10-31T16:43:30Z")
The first song that came to mind was _Silent Lucidity_. Also, when Robert Plant wrote: _You were pumping iron as I was pumping irony_ and _See the whites of their eyes then shoot_ _With all the romance of the Ton Ton Macoute_ Was it pretentious or just plain terrible? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/6 "2024-10-31T16:48:20Z")
I’m not sure this fits, because Sting is otherwise a good lyricist, but this always bothered me (once I could finally decipher what he was singing!) You consider me the young apprentice Caught between the Scylla and Charibdes The epi-tome of pretentiousness! Obscure allusions! You thought “rock and a hard place” was too…pedestrian? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/7 "2024-10-31T18:04:35Z")
I wonder if Sting was just having a laugh. That song also has: _I will listen hard to your tuition_ _You will see it come to its fruition_ and _I will turn your face to alabaster_ _When you’ll find your servant is your master_ Blech. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/8 "2024-10-31T18:22:10Z")
Jim Morrison. It might make good poetry (I wouldn’t know), but as Rock lyrics, his verse is insufferably pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/9 "2024-10-31T18:31:46Z")
I’d argue the art of rock song writing is to come up with some pretentious bullshit, that has a banging tune, and sounds at first listen like it could have some deeper hide meaning. That is what the best rock music is IMO. We all know that it’s just some pretentious crap Lennon/Dylan/Page came up with that rhymes and sounds cool, but just for that moment (especially as a stoned teenager) you can imagine its actually revealing some deep hidden truth about the universe. Led Zep has to be some of the most pretentious. Stairway to Heaven in particular, closely followed by the whole prog rock genre ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/10 "2024-10-31T18:33:56Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Jim Morrison Oh yeah this, even more than Led Zep ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/11 "2024-10-31T18:36:38Z")
Ahh, just be glad you didn’t have to listen to him bring a Doors concert to a sad intermission as he read a long poem “from the Lizard King” (referring to himself). [https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic-poem-20235](https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic-poem-20235) I told my kid that dying young was a good career move for him, before he ended up doing a Vegas residency in a large white sequined jumpsuit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/12 "2024-10-31T18:40:14Z")
I love progressive rock. Yes is one of my all-time favorite bands. Prog rock in general, and Yes in particular (especially their singer/lyricist Jon Anderson) are often guilty of this. **Roundabout** > [@](#): > > I will remember you > Your silhouette will charge the view > Of distant atmosphere > Call it morning driving through the sound of > Even in the valley **Starship Trooper** > [@](#): > > Speak to me of summer > Long winters longer than time can remember > The setting up of other roads > To travel on in old accustomed ways > I still remember the talks by the water > The proud sons and daughter > That knew the knowledge of the land > Spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways **Close to the Edge** > [@](#): > > A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace > And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace > And achieve it all with music that came quickly from afar > Then taste the fruit of man recorded losing all against the hour ---
**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:** [October 31, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/13 "2024-10-31T18:58:08Z")
The first thing that came to my mind was [Xanadu by Rush](https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+Xanadu+rush&oq=lyrics+Xanadu+rush). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/14 "2024-10-31T19:01:25Z")
Africa by Toto has always struck me as having pretentious lyrics. “I bless the rains down in Africa?” Blerg. “Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti?” Double blerg. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/15 "2024-10-31T19:06:28Z")
Same as how Rob Banks was destined for a life of crime, and Phyllis Glass doomed to become a barmaid, so too [Robert Fripp](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/frippery#:~:text=Definitions%20of%20frippery,beer%2C%20trifle%2C%20trivia%2C%20triviality) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/16 "2024-10-31T19:16:59Z")
Yeah. **Rush** is one of my favorite bands, but Neil could really write some shit from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![BertNobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3e96dc/32.png) [@BertNobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BertNobbins)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/17 "2024-10-31T19:27:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Not sure I understand your criteria, but MacArthur Park seems to fit. I can’t immediately find a cite, but I have read in several places that there really was an aborted picnic where a cake was left out in the rain. As a song I quite like it. And agreed, Jon Anderson is the man to go to for lyrics that are certainly incomprehensible if not pretentious. But I do love Yes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/18 "2024-10-31T19:37:21Z")
My first thought was “Anything by Rush.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/19 "2024-10-31T19:46:08Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Led Zep has to be some of the most pretentious. How about Ramble On and The Battle of Evermore, which borrow heavily from Tolkien, but not in a way that adds anything other than name dropping. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504/20 "2024-10-31T19:52:33Z")
I love YES, but was amassing a list of “Meaningless Jon Anderson Lyrics” when **kenobi** beat me to it. It seems the entire Prog Rock genre was so enamored of experimenting with music that the lyrics weren’t even thought about. (looking through LPs…) Yep! _Yes, King Crimson, Rush, EL&P, Triumvirat, Renaissance, Curved Air, Uriah Heap_… even more modern stuff like _Dream Theater_ and _Mars Volta_, they all seem to do the Unintelligible/Throwaway/Pretentious Lyrics thing. _Genesis (the Peter Gabriel one)_ stands out for actually having decent lyrics. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pretentious-rock-lyrics/1009504.md?page=2)