# Song lyrics — the good, the bad, and the ugly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 14, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148 "2023-11-14T22:02:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/21 "2023-11-15T16:18:50Z")
I think the message of the song is “Why are you complaining about immigrants from Africa and Asia? The ones from northern Europe were a lot worse.” ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/22 "2023-11-15T16:31:53Z")
Anything by America is easy pickin’s! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/23 "2023-11-15T16:38:00Z")
I love song lyrics. I’d nominate practically anything off Hozier’s debut album, but try **“Work Song.”** _Boys, workin’ on empty_ _Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?_ _I just think about my baby_ _I’m so full of love I could barely eat_ _There’s nothing sweeter than my baby_ _I’d never want once from the cherry tree_ _'Cause my baby’s sweet as can be_ _She give me toothaches just from kissin’ me_ _When my time comes around_ _Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth_ _No grave can hold my body down_ _I’ll crawl home to her_ Or **“Jackie and Wilson”** _She blows outta nowhere, roman candle of the wild_ _Laughing away through my feeble disguise_ _No other version of me I would rather be tonight._ _And, Lord, she found me just in time_ _'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done_ _I need to be youthfully felt 'cause, God, I never felt young_ Boy do I feel that last line! I’m also a big fan of Eve 6 lyrics: **“Girl Eyes”** _Vodkareenin’ through the hotel door_ **Promise** _I spit & stutter_ _Stuff and clutter_ _Worries in my worried corner_ _Maladjusted, just, untrusted, rusted_ _Sometimes brilliant busted thoughts_ _Think I’ll stay for a while_ _I’m intrigued and I’m_ _Red as a newborn white as a corpse_ Bad lyrics? The entirety of Billy Joel’s “ **Piano Man**.” I love Rush and would nominate them for many great lyrics, but this “rapped” verse in an otherwise great song, “ **Roll the Bones** ,” always makes me cringe: _Jack, relax_ _Get busy with the facts_ _No zodiacs or almanacs_ _No maniacs in polyester slacks_ _Just the facts_ _Gonna kick some gluteus max_ _It’s a parallax, you dig?_ _You move around_ _The small gets big, it’s a rig_ _It’s action, reaction_ _Random interaction_ _So who’s afraid_ _Of a little abstraction?_ _Can’t get no satisfaction_ _From the facts?_ _You better run, homeboy_ _A fact’s a fact_ _From Nome to Rome, boy_ _What’s the deal? Spin the wheel_ _If the dice are hot, take a shot_ _Play your cards, show us what you got_ I’ll certainly think of more later. I was listening to Shakira’s Spanish language album Dónde Están los Ladrones? on the way to work today and man, that album is pure poetry. I’ll try to translate some later. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/24 "2023-11-15T16:39:39Z")
Don’t you know about the bird? _A well a everybody’s heard about the bird B-b-b bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A well a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word A well a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word A well a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A well a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word A well a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A well a bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word A well a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word A well a bird, bird, b-bird’s the word_ Greatest lyrics ever. All hail The Trashmen. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/25 "2023-11-15T16:54:41Z")
**Good** From Reverend Black Grape by Black Grape (no fans of organized religion, I would hazard): _We are the tea-time tribe and we are over-friendly_ From Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan (I’ve been slightly obsessed with the song recently): _You are obsolete_ _Look at all the white men on the street_ Meaning, dear acid chemist, they’re all using (and selling?) coke these days. **Bad** Five Years and Suffragette City - every part of them. I used to think Ziggy Stardust was a bad album, but really it isn’t - it’s a good album but with those two songs included. As a taster: _Pushing through the market square_ _So many mothers sighing (sighing)_ _News had just come over_ _We had five years left to cry in (cry in)_ _News guy wept and told us_ _Earth was really dying (dying)_ _Cried so much his face was wet_ _Then I knew he was not lying (lying)_ Trite, maudlin crap. **Ugly** Dylan’s Tangled Up In Blue. Man, I love Dylan, and I love that song, but this is a shocker: _I must admit I felt a little uneasy_ _When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe_ _Tangled up in blue_ j ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/26 "2023-11-15T16:56:29Z")
> [@solost](#): > > But instead of just saying “ever since racial injustice” or something, he uses a metaphorically subtle but racially-charged word, that also happens to fit into the rhythm and meter of the song nicely. Simon does like his multisyllabic words. On _Graceland_ alone you’ve got “architecture,” “supernatural,” “cinematographer”…. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/27 "2023-11-15T17:17:34Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > ’ll certainly think of more later. I was listening to Shakira’s Spanish language album Dónde Están los Ladrones? on the way to work today and man, that album is pure poetry. I’ll try to translate some later. You forgot the bad. From Shakira’s English debut hit “Whenever, Wherever”: _Lucky that my lips not only mumble_ _They spill kisses like a fountain_ _Lucky that my breasts are small and humble_ _So you don’t confuse 'em with mountains_ ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/28 "2023-11-15T17:21:18Z")
Yeah, her English stuff can’t compare. I also think there is a Spanish/English translation issue. In trying to translate her brilliance, I get pretty stumped trying to figure out how to make it sound good in English. Here’s an example of a poetic line that badly translates: _Basura en el suelo_ _Moscas en la casa_ (My days without you are) Garbage on the floor Flies in the house) It just sounds clunky in English. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/29 "2023-11-15T17:21:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > You forgot the bad. From Shakira’s English debut hit “Whenever, Wherever”: > > _Lucky that my lips not only mumble_ > _They spill kisses like a fountain_ > _Lucky that my breasts are small and humble_ > _So you don’t confuse 'em with mountains_ Heh, reminds me of possibly the worst lyrics of all time, ‘My Humps’ by the Black Eyed Peas: _'Cause of my hump (hump), my hump, my hump, my hump (what?)_ _My hump, my hump, my hump (hump), my lovely lady lumps_ “Hump” or “lump” should _ **never, ever** _ be used to describe the naturally curvy parts of a woman. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/30 "2023-11-15T17:22:46Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > _I must admit I felt a little uneasy_ > _When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe_ I hate TUiB, mostly for the shifting perspective and confusing story line, but that line…doesn’t bother me as much. It follows “She was working in a topless place”, so I figure she’s still topless or nearly so, and she’s only tying the laces of his shoes so she can let him look down at her bod. She’s teasing him. The rest? Meh. “If I write stuff that sounds artsy but really makes no sense, they’ll be trying to decipher it for years.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/31 "2023-11-15T17:29:16Z")
Shows how tastes differs. IMHO, “Tangled Up In Blue” is one the best five songs Dylan ever wrote, and it’s exactly the uncertainty, changing pronouns und vagueness of the story that fascinates me (Dylan added to that by changing the lyrics live for decades after, again and again). And I’m not sure what @Treppenwitz meant when he wrote that that line was a “shocker”, if it was praise or condemnation, but yeah, it’s really a shocker and evokes multiple levels of interpretation, and for me it’s one of the greatest lines in the song. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/32 "2023-11-15T17:33:04Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > …it’s exactly the uncertainty, changing pronouns und vagueness of the story [Tangled Up In Blue] that fascinates me… Couldn’t agree more. But in the middle of a masterpiece, Lordy that rhyme is contrived and clunky. j ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/33 "2023-11-15T17:36:27Z")
**Good** _She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens,_ _Til her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes._ **Bad** _I’m serious as cancer_ _When I say rhythm is a dancer_ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/34 "2023-11-15T17:37:22Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Couldn’t agree more. But in the middle of a masterpiece, Lordy that rhyme is contrived and clunky. > > j I offer the two associations I’ve always had about this line. It could be a code for giving a blow-job (remember we’re in a topless place), or it’s an allusion to Jesus washing the feet of the prostitute. Or both. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/35 "2023-11-15T17:43:49Z")
Interesting - I was just taking it more or less literally, as is intended (I think) for parts (but obviously not all) of the lyric. To my ear, at least, it clunks. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Dylan added to that by changing the lyrics live for decades after, again and again Was that line ever changed, do you know? j ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/36 "2023-11-15T17:47:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I figure she’s still topless or nearly so, and she’s only tying the laces of his shoes so she can let him look down at her bod. She’s teasing him. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I offer the two associations I’ve always had about this line. It could be a code for giving a blow-job (remember we’re in a topless place), or it’s an allusion to Jesus washing the feet of the prostitute. Or both. Funny, I’ve wondered about the underlying meaning of those lines over the years as well. I’ve considered the sexy meaning, the biblical allusion, and also maybe it’s a bit of a mothering, nurturing thing: “you still can’t even tie your shoes properly? How’d you get along without me all this time?”. Maybe a little of all the above. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/37 "2023-11-15T17:54:23Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > Dylan added to that by changing the lyrics live for decades after, again and again > > Was that line ever changed, do you know? I had to look it up, and found the lyrics to two alternative versions. The first is from the 1984 live album “Real Live”, and in it he changes the line slightly. Here’s the whole verse: _she was working in the blinding light_ _and i stopped in for a drink_ _i just kept looking at her face so white_ _i didn’t know what to think_ _later on as the crowd thinned out_ _i was getting ready to leave_ _she was standing there, beside my chair_ _saying “what’s that you got up your sleeve?”_ _i said “nothing baby, and that’s for sure”_ _she leaned down into my face_ _i could feel the heat and the pulse of her_ _as she bent down to tie the laces_ _of my shoe_ _tangled up in blue_ Then there’s the earlier New York version (released on “More Blood, More Tracks, The Bootleg Series Vol. 14”) he recorded for “Blood On The Tracks” that later got re-recorded for the track that made the album, and this version omits the bar scene completely. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/38 "2023-11-15T17:56:50Z")
Looks like Bob was happy with it, then. j ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/39 "2023-11-15T18:18:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > _saying “what’s that you got up your sleeve?”_ > _i said “nothing baby, and that’s for sure”_ > _she leaned down into my face_ > _i could feel the heat and the pulse of her_ > _as she bent down to tie the laces_ > _of my shoe_ > _tangled up in blue_ > [@solost](#): > > Funny, I’ve wondered about the underlying meaning of those lines over the years as well. I’ve considered the sexy meaning, the biblical allusion, and also maybe it’s a bit of a mothering, nurturing thing: “you still can’t even tie your shoes properly? How’d you get along without me all this time?”. Maybe a little of all the above. My instinctive interpretation has been the take-charge mothering “let’s get you fixed up” one, and that the sudden switch from an erotic dancer was the source of the singer’s unease. However, the alternate lyric from EinsteinsHund shows that Bob wanted to include, and enhance, the erotic angle. There’s often sadness when you’ve got to change your understanding of a favorite lyric. 😐 ---
**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:** [November 15, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148/40 "2023-11-15T18:34:39Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > My instinctive interpretation has been the take-charge mothering “let’s get you fixed up” one, and that the sudden switch from an erotic dancer was the source of the singer’s unease. > > However, the alternate lyric from EinsteinsHund shows that Bob wanted to include, and enhance, the erotic angle. > > There’s often sadness when you’ve got to change your understanding of a favorite lyric. 😐 Both interpretations can be true. Bob could have been going for both an erotic and mothering angle at the same time (or like you say, a quick-cut juxtaposition from erotic to mothering), setting up an Oedipal vibe that could certainly make the main character in the song uneasy. That kind of layering of meanings seems like it would be very much in Dylan’s wheelhouse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/993148.md?page=3)