# Song Lyrics That Always Bugged You **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944 "2011-02-02T21:50:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/1 "2011-02-02T21:50:42Z")
You ever listen to a song, and you get to a lyric where you’re just “Wait, what?” Not necessarily songs that are bad or even ones you don’t like, just where you find particular lyrical choices that got under your skin for some reason. My favorite example of this is from the Beatles song “Come Together”. “He’s got feet, down, below his knees…” Now, I know this song isn’t strictly supposed to make any sense, but… he’s got feet down below his knees? Where the hell else would he keep them?!😕 ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/2 "2011-02-02T21:52:10Z")
What does having a degree have to do with getting convicted? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/3 "2011-02-02T21:53:49Z")
Totally off topic (in my own thread, even), but I just wanted to say: After posting this, I realized I had no idea what forum I had posted it _into_. Fortunately I seem to have picked the right one by pure chance. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/4 "2011-02-02T21:58:03Z")
“There’s a bathroom on the right…” “Wrapped up like a douche another woman in the night…” “'Scuse me while I kiss this guy…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/5 "2011-02-02T22:31:11Z")
Jackson Browne- “they look at life with such disregard”- If you’re looking at it, you’re regarding it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/6 "2011-02-02T22:35:57Z")
Rod Stewart: “Don’t say a word, my virgin child. Just let you inhibitions run wild.” Doesn’t this mean “be very, very inhibited?” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/7 "2011-02-02T22:38:20Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Rod Stewart: > > “Don’t say a word, my virgin child. > Just let you inhibitions run wild.” > > Doesn’t this mean “be very, very inhibited?” Well, you ought to be, around your parent. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/8 "2011-02-02T23:12:40Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > “He’s got feet, down, below his knees…” > > Now, I know this song isn’t strictly supposed to make any sense, but… he’s got feet down below his knees? Where the hell else would he keep them?!😕 That’s the most coherent line in the song! Contrast that to another stanza: he roller coaster he got early warning he got muddy water he one mojo filter Personally, I always found the lyrics of **Wildfire** somewhat idiotic, talking about tragedy striking due to a “killling frost”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/9 "2011-02-02T23:18:48Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > What does having a degree have to do with getting convicted? Because you’re guilty of love in the third degree? Or maybe you’re thinking of another song… ---
**Author:** ![atlantic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@atlantic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atlantic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/10 "2011-02-02T23:21:09Z")
Two from Train … Drops of Jupiter - “Can you imagine no love, pride, deep fried chicken” - huh??? Hey Soul Sister - “My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest” - that’s just gross. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/11 "2011-02-02T23:29:42Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Because you’re guilty of love in the third degree? > > Or maybe you’re thinking of another song… “She’s Always a Woman”-Billy Joel ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/12 "2011-02-03T00:01:27Z")
> [@atlantic](#): > > Two from Train … > > Drops of Jupiter - “Can you imagine no love, pride, deep fried chicken” - huh??? > > Hey Soul Sister - “My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest” - that’s just gross. And from the very first words of ‘Hey Soul Sister’ – “Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains …” WTF? I mean to say … WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/13 "2011-02-03T00:06:14Z")
From the 80’s _Flashdance_ hit, “Maniac”: _There’s a cold kinetic heat…_ Michael Sembello, you can’t just string random words together. They need to make sense! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/14 "2011-02-03T00:25:23Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > And from the very first words of ‘Hey Soul Sister’ – “Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains …” > > WTF? I mean to say … WTF? Honestly, when I posted this, I expected the _first_ reply to be someone complaining about a Train song. 😃 It’s kind of like mentioning _Everybody Loves Raymond_ and starting your stopwatch to time how many seconds it takes for someone to mention how much they hate that show. 😃 But yes, more to the point, I think it quickly becomes obvious that this is a love song from a man suffering from tachycardia who is in love with a zombie. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/15 "2011-02-03T00:25:52Z")
Back in the '50s there was a popular song in which a very pedantic man was writing a love letter to his girlfriend, writing it in “perfect” English. It began “Sweetheart semi-colon I love you exclamation point Some day comma in the future comma can we go steady question mark” It used to drive me crazy because the songwriter, obviously in over his head when it came to punctuation, incorrectly used a semi-colon. A comma is called for where he had a semi-colon. This misuse of a semi-colon invalidates the whole premise of the song. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/16 "2011-02-03T01:03:06Z")
Getting back to the Beatles, behold _Maxwell’s Silver Hammer_: Joan was quizzical; studied Metaphysical Science in the home. Late nights all alone with a test tube. Oh–o--o–oh I’m not so sure what metaphysical science is, but surely it wouldn’t involve something so mundane as a test tube; that’s for mere chemists! ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/17 "2011-02-03T01:09:05Z")
“I want a lover that won’t drive me crazy” My English teacher/editor brain **always** corrects that to “who.” I just can’t enjoy that song because of the “that.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/18 "2011-02-03T01:11:37Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Getting back to the Beatles, behold _Maxwell’s Silver Hammer_: > > Joan was quizzical; studied Metaphysical > Science in the home. > Late nights all alone with a test tube. > Oh–o–o–oh > > I’m not so sure what metaphysical science is, but surely it wouldn’t involve something so mundane as a test tube; that’s for mere chemists! FWIW, the line is actually “[pataphysical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'Pataphysics) science.” ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/19 "2011-02-03T01:46:58Z")
> [@kapri](#): > > “I want a lover that won’t drive me crazy” > > My English teacher/editor brain **always** corrects that to “who.” I just can’t enjoy that song because of the “that.” And for me, it’s “Hot, sweet cherries on the vine” from Sammy Hagar. While I’m not a botanist, my brain does know cherries do not grow on trees, and it bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/20 "2011-02-03T02:01:06Z")
**Into the West** from the LotR movies is the one I hate the most. “Across the sea A pale moon rises The ships have come to carry you home” No Goddamit. The moon rises in the _east_. Even in Middle Earth the moon rises in the _east_. If you are standing on the \*western \*shore, watching ships coming to take you into the _west_, then you can not see a pale moon rising across the sea. You can see a pale moon rising over the mountains. You can see a pale moon setting across the sea. From the Grey Havens you can not possibly see a pale moon rising across the sea. This one crappy lyric totally ruined a good song for me. I was listening to the music in the theatre after the movie ended and I was really enjoying the song, then I heard the jarring lyric and it totally fucked it up. Now that is a lyric that really bugs me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944.md?page=2)