# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/81 "2011-02-05T02:48:33Z")
_Rocket Man_, by Elton John. “Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids. In fact, it’s cold as hell. And there’s no one there to raise them, If you did.” If you did what? Raise them? “There’s no one there to raise them if you raise them.” If I raise them, then there is someone there. If not, then I am not raising them. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/82 "2011-02-05T03:07:57Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, according to the Anthology, refers to a police raid on one of the Beatles where they in fact came in through the bathroom window. So this line is intentionally insulting to the police, and thus makes perfect sense.It was one of our favorite lines when Abbey Road came out. No. It was about a fan who came through his bathroom window, and an NYC cabbie that happened to be an ex-cop. I still think that it sounds dumb… the trick with Paul’s lyrics is not to examine them too closely. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/83 "2011-02-05T03:35:34Z")
Dennis Miller points this out. “Jimmy crack corn. But I don’t care.” What the hell kind of attitude is that? If you don’t care, why are you bringing it up? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/84 "2011-02-05T04:11:19Z")
I apologize for another **Train** oddity, but damned if I can find any reference to what these cryptic lines in “Calling All Angels” mean, so I’m taking full advantage of this thread to ask: And football teams are kissing Queens and losing sight of having dreams Nice song, but I just gnash my teeth over that part. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/85 "2011-02-05T04:51:17Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Gimme fried chicken! > > A ridiculous line at a climax of the song that ruins what is otherwise an awesome track by Queen. YES!! Where in the HELL did that come from??😕 ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/86 "2011-02-05T07:26:56Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > I apologize for another **Train** oddity, but damned if I can find any reference to what these cryptic lines in “Calling All Angels” mean, so I’m taking full advantage of this thread to ask: > > And football teams are kissing Queens > and losing sight of having dreams > > Nice song, but I just gnash my teeth over that part. That’s the only Train song I can stand and I absolutely agree that these lines are infuriating. What do they mean?! One of life’s great mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/87 "2011-02-05T08:09:47Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > You young punks probably never heard of it, but there was a #1 song in the 70’s called “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.” It is beyond stupid. > > It’s narrated by a woman who is lamenting that her brother was hung for a crime he didn’t commit, namely killing his wife and her lover. But if you can force yourself to listen to the lyrics, you see that the woman herself killed them, so her brother is dead because of her. > > But it’s the title that really gets me — I guess her brother was white, so the title implies that this miscarriage of justice has besmirched the formerly perfect record of southern justice with regard to hanging people without a proper trial. > > Really kind of disgusting. Huh? Please 'splain. I don’t understand how the title has anything to do with what color the characters in the song were, nor do I remember anything in the song about what color they were period. I’m from about as far away from the south as a 'merkin can get though, so if this is a southern thing, please let us yankees know? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/88 "2011-02-05T08:17:08Z")
I’ve mentioned my loathing for this song more than once, in the past. \* “You’re so vain, You probably think this song is about you.” \* Of course I do. Who else do you mean, when you say “you”? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/89 "2011-02-05T08:48:11Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > From _Wildfire_: > So what was she, a tomato plant? A killing frost is not the same thing as a blizzard you California dipshit. 😕 The writers of this song are from Texas; the singer’s presumably Nebraskan. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > If I give my heart to you > I must be sure > From the very start > That you would love me more than her. “She” didn’t love him enough. The song’s about someone anxious about falling in love with a new girl because his heart was broken by another girl (who he’s obviously not over yet). > [@42fish](#): > > Opening line of Lee Michael’s “If You Know What I Mean”: > > “Been fourteen days since I don’t know when…” Not that it changes your point much, but it’s “forty days”. > [@etv78](#): > > What does having a degree have to do with getting convicted? Perhaps the degree is a D.D, and she has _privilegium clericale_. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/90 "2011-02-05T08:52:01Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’ve mentioned my loathing for this song more than once, in the past. > \* > “You’re so vain, > You probably think this song is about you.” > \* > Of course I do. Who else do you mean, when you say “you”? You see? That attitude? That vanity? That’s why the song’s not about you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/91 "2011-02-05T09:42:51Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I actually dislike their song “Imma Be” more. First, it’s just plain an awful song. Second, I really hate the word “imma”, meaing “I’m going to”. It just feels really lazy and half-literate to me. I imagine will.i.am is saying “I’m a bee!” Since I have no idea what any of the other lyrics are, that song to me is about the thug life of bees. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/92 "2011-02-05T16:19:12Z")
From Ron Wood: Well you should have been buried alive 'cause you’re far to pretty to die. Always thought that was kind of creepy. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/93 "2011-02-05T18:52:37Z")
> [@Euryphaessa](#): > > I imagine will.i.am is saying “I’m a bee!” Since I have no idea what any of the other lyrics are, that song to me is about the thug life of bees. Check out the single artwork: [http://thehypefactor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the-black-eyed-peas-imma-be.png](http://thehypefactor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the-black-eyed-peas-imma-be.png) Told y’all they at least had a sense of humour about their work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/94 "2011-02-05T20:03:02Z")
**Paper Lace** ’s _The Night Chicago Died_ used to bother my mother: _Daddy was a cop on the East side of Chicago_ … _And the sound of the battle rang Through the streets of the old east side_ “There’s no East Side of Chicago! Where are they from?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/95 "2011-02-05T20:10:02Z")
ETA: Apparently there is an [East Side](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side,_Chicago). ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/96 "2011-02-05T21:05:38Z")
“If you love somebody, set them free.” Sting, you know better than that! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/97 "2011-02-05T21:14:06Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Dennis Miller points this out. > > “Jimmy crack corn. But I don’t care.” > > What the hell kind of attitude is that? If you don’t care, why are you bringing it up? > > Regards, > Shodan I prefer Pinky’s response: “I think so, Brain–but if Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why does he keep doing it?” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/98 "2011-02-05T21:26:01Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > “If you love somebody, set them free.” > > Sting, you know better than that! He’s just singing a variation of “If you love something set it free if it comes back its yours if not it never was”. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/99 "2011-02-05T23:14:04Z")
No, I know that. It’s the grammar – “somebody” is singular and “them” is plural. Somebody as bookish as Sting is would know that. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944/100 "2011-02-05T23:31:51Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > No, I know that. It’s the grammar – “somebody” is singular and “them” is plural. Somebody as bookish as Sting is would know that. Are we really about to get into the whole beaten-to-death argument about the singular they? It’s happening! STOP STANDING IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-always-bugged-you/569944.md?page=6)