# Songs that just wouldn't fly today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283 "2003-02-11T04:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/21 "2003-02-11T14:23:16Z")
_In the Summertime_ by Mungo Jerry has two classic lyrics: “Have a drink, have a drive, Go out and see what you can find” and “If her Daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal, If her Daddy’s poor, just do what you feel” They don’t make 'em like they used to. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/22 "2003-02-11T14:32:48Z")
**RealityChuck** , Every Breath You Take just comes across as more, well, wistful and romantic, than the Run For Your Life song. Consider: “Oh can’t you see, You belong to me, My poor heart aches, with every breath you take” vs.: “Run for your life if you can, little girl, Hide your head in the sand, little girl If I catch you with another man That’s the end, little girl.” **Zorro** - I HOPE no one’s getting their knickers in a twist over stuff like this. It’s just interesting to see how times change. What was PC in 1963 is very different from what’s PC in 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/23 "2003-02-11T14:33:52Z")
The Grateful Dead wrote “Jack Straw” (We can share the women, we can share the wine) and “Sugar Magnolia” (Her head’s all empty and I don’t care…she waits backstage while I sing to you) at the beginning of the 1970s, and they were already dated by the middle of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/24 "2003-02-11T14:57:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > **Songs with blatant drug references don’t fly today…** Have you heard that “blue and yellow purple pills” song by that band that Eminem was working with? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/25 "2003-02-11T15:24:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*Grazing in the Grass is a Gas, Baby can you dig it? > > Modern version: Bitch, get your clothes off and do me, ya Ho’! \*\* Don’t knock it. “Bitch, Get your Clothes Off and Do Me, Ya Ho’!” sounds like a guaranteed hit among the Gangsta Rap crowd. ---
**Author:** ![dwmacg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwmacg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwmacg)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/26 "2003-02-11T15:34:19Z")
Under my Thumb (“is a Siamese cat of a girl, under my thumb she’s the sweetest pet in the world… it’s down to me, the way she talks when she’s spoken to down to me, the change has come she’s under my thumb”) Midnight Rambler actually, almost any song written by the Stones. And yeah, they’re great. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/27 "2003-02-11T15:42:18Z")
“The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” by Julie Brown, c. 1984. Lines like “Debbie’s really having a blast/ She’s wasting half of the class” just wouldn’t go over well after Columbine. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/28 "2003-02-11T16:05:51Z")
Loretta Lynn had a song called Your Squaw is On the War Path. “Well your pet name for me is Squaw When you come home drinking and can barely crawl.” ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/29 "2003-02-11T16:18:05Z")
Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh” would probably cause an outrage today. Are there any queers in the theater tonight? Get them up against the wall There’s one in the spotlight, he don’t look right to me Get him up against the wall And that one looks jewish! And that one’s a coon! Who let all this riff raff into the room?! There’s one smoking a joint, and another with spots, if I had my way I’d have all of you shot! ---
**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 11, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/30 "2003-02-11T16:18:54Z")
**Call Me** by, um, some R&B group. _Here’s my number and a dime. Call me anytime._ Them pay phone people have a lot to answer for. Soon they’ll be GQ threads on "Why does “drop a dime (on someone)” mean to squeal? Some old fogey will have to explain that way back in the ancient times, pay phone used to be a dime. Yeah, pay phones, remember those? We used to use them a lot before cells took over the world. ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/31 "2003-02-11T16:19:24Z")
Just so no one misinterprets my post, I’m not saying that the band actually held the opinions in the lyrics. Just that they’d be jumped on by a ton of soccer moms who wouldn’t bother reading it in contect. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/32 "2003-02-11T18:45:04Z")
How about Bobby Vee’s “Come Back When You Grow Up”? > [@](#): > > I want you girl but your wide-eyed innocence > Has really messed up my mind, yeah-eah-eah > I’d rather you get your very first heartbreak > Somewhere else along the line I’d like to take your virginity but if you’re gonna to make a big deal about it, let someone else pop your cherry and I’ll catch you on the rebound. Yccch. Leslie Gore went both ways. She sang “You Don’t Own Me” but in “Judy’s Turn to Cry” we get: > [@](#): > > Oh, one night I saw them kissin’ at a party, > So I kissed some other guy. > Johnny jumped up and he hit him, > 'Cause he still loved me, that’s why. and “Maybe I Know” > [@](#): > > maybe i know that he’s been a-cheating > maybe i know that he’s been untrue > but what can i do And what can I say about “Wives and Lovers”? Sexist as all get out, but one of the best melodies that Bacharach or anybody ever wrote. It’s up there with “The Look of Love” as my favorite among his songs. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/33 "2003-02-11T19:27:27Z")
When I perform this one, I always sing the last chorus: "You’re sixteen, you’re beautiful, _and I’m in jail"_ > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Osiris \* > \*\ ***You’re Sixteen** by Ringo Starr > > Nice song to sing but really, really creepy. “You walked out of my dreams, and into my car.” That’s the last thing I’d want my 16 year old daughter doing. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/34 "2003-02-11T20:25:40Z")
“Yes **my heart belongs to daddy** So I simply couldn’t be bad Yes I’m gonna marry daddy” Cole Porter And there’s always “Hot Hindoo” by Gershwin ---
**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 11, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/35 "2003-02-11T20:31:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeVena \* > \*\*“Yes **my heart belongs to daddy** > So I simply couldn’t be bad > Yes I’m gonna marry daddy” > > Cole Porter > \*\* Yes, but that refers to a sugar daddy, not a father. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/36 "2003-02-11T20:36:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh” would probably cause an outrage today Uh, the Pink Floyd song is meant to be a sarcastic stab at the neofascist skinheads of late-70’s England. I see no reason why that song wouldn’t work well today. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/37 "2003-02-11T20:39:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hometownboy \* > \*\ ***Johnnie Get Angry** by Joanie Summers. Sample lyrics: > Johnnie get an-ger-y, Johnnie get mad > Give me the biggest lecture I’ve ever had > I want a brave man; I want a cave man > Johnnie show me that you care, really care for me > \*\* I could swear that, years ago, that song used to go “Give me the biggest _lickin’_ I ever had”. Can anyone back me up? So it was even sicker. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/38 "2003-02-11T21:11:28Z")
How 'bout the ‘Too Fat Polka?’ “I don’t want her, you can have her, she’s too fat for me…” ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/39 "2003-02-11T21:16:36Z")
Have no idea who sang this, but in 1989 in Missouri I head this C&W song, by a woman, that went something like: “Daddy’s hands weren’t always gentle but I grew to understand there was always love in daddy’s hands.” At least 2 different kinds of child abuse insinuated here. And it was definitely on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283/40 "2003-02-11T21:31:08Z")
That’s Holly Dunn’s _Daddy’s Hands_\*: I remember Daddy’s hands folded silently in prayer [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-just-wouldnt-fly-today/154283.md?page=3)