# Songs that make you cringe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 1, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173 "2022-11-01T21:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/61 "2022-11-06T03:59:26Z")
_”He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)”_ by the Crystals has to be up there. Co-written by Carole King, of all people. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/62 "2022-11-06T05:03:11Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Not exactly what the op meant, buuttt, Anything by Rush. I hate them so much I want to rip my ears off every time I hear their echo sound and the lead’s chalk board raking voice. Ugh. Hehe, I actually like Rush, and I don’t know what you mean by “echo sound”, but: good god, the lyrics to “Closer to the Heart” make me cringe, and I must change the station. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/63 "2022-11-06T06:13:30Z")
supposedly that song was a parody/joke of little Eva because apparently, she believed that being smacked around by someone meant they cared …and despite them trying to change her mind she never really changed her mind …king says it wasn’t supposed to be made. It was after shed left the job … ---
**Author:** ![Yogeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yogeekgirl/32/4129_2.png) [@Yogeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yogeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/64 "2022-11-06T12:46:21Z")
Re: David Bowie and China Girl- not exactly David Bowie’s song, either- Iggy Pop did it first. I will say when I finally saw Iggy do this song in real time a couple of years ago, it WAS pretty cringe worthy sounding, as in it didn’t age well. ---
**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 6, 2022, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/65 "2022-11-06T12:51:28Z")
Yes, Iggy Pop first recorded “China Girl”, but it was written and produced by Bowie. It was inspired by the fact that Iggy had an Asian girlfriend at the time. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/66 "2022-11-06T15:00:30Z")
“Wrong Way” by Sublime is a cringefest almost all the way through. Some lyrics: _Annie’s twelve years old, in two more she’ll be a whore_ _Nobody ever told her it’s the wrong way_ _Don’t be afraid with the quickness you get laid_ _For your family get paid_ _It’s the wrong way_ _A cigarette rests between her lips_ _But I’m staring at her tits_ _It’s the wrong way_ _The only family that she’s ever had_ _Is her seven horny brothers and her drunk-ass dad_ _He needed money so he put her on the street_ _Everything was going fine till the day she met me_ She could be as young as fourteen when the events of the song took place. In any event, it’s clear she’s underage. ---
**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 6, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/67 "2022-11-06T16:06:38Z")
It’s not cringe-worthy (to me, anyway), but the lyrics to the Minus Five’s “With A Gun” are a bit…dark. _I like you with a gun_ _The way you shine_ _Silver barrel in the sun_ _It’s no wonder I sleep underground_ _'cause I just want to_ _I just want to be around_ _I’ll kick your sister’s ass_ _I’ll take your brother’s face and smash it in the grass_ _It’s no wonder I am spiral-bound_ _'cause I just want to_ _I just want to be around_ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/68 "2022-11-06T17:16:11Z")
Is there a difference between a song with lyrics that tell a dark story with no happy ending from the perspective of a bad actor, and cringey songs? That’s about a girl forced into child prostitution from the perspective of someone who putatively “rescues” her only to abuse her himself. If the character or the actions were celebrated or justified that would be cringey; this instead bemoans that the world and people often are horrible as its point. Dark yes but dark was the intent. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/69 "2022-11-06T18:17:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Is there a difference between a song with lyrics that tell a dark story with no happy ending from the perspective of a bad actor, and cringey songs? Yes. There is a difference between someone telling a ‘dark’ story, and someone who doesn’t realise their story is dark. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/70 "2022-11-06T22:35:07Z")
I like The Roots’ “The Seed,” but the lyrics are kind of pompous and sad. The narrator talks about how he needs to spread his wings, so he knocks up another girl (Mary) behind his lover’s back. In the end, he says if Mary drops her baby tonight, he would name it Rock N’ Roll. The narrator is kind of a sociopath. He treats women like garbage, doesn’t plan to attend the birth of his child, but is proud of having children to demonstrate how much of a playah he is. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/71 "2022-11-06T23:08:58Z")
Echo I guess I mean the garbage way they use synth. Lots of people like Rush, personally I don’t get it. Other songs that make me cringe: “Island Girl” Elton John. “Under My Thumb” by the Stones. That one pisses me off. 😠 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/72 "2022-11-07T00:06:55Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Under My Thumb I always feel like Mick’s a little too cocky there. Is she really down, or is she fooling him? ---
**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 7, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/73 "2022-11-07T00:23:41Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I always feel like Mick’s a little too cocky there. Is she really down, or is she fooling him? Mick sang so many songs at the time where he put women down (Yesterday’s Paper, Out Of Time, Stupid Girl) that I have no doubt it was one of their infamous misogynistic pieces. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/74 "2022-11-07T14:00:31Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@Sylvanz](#): > > > > Under My Thumb > > I always feel like Mick’s a little too cocky there. Is she really down, or is she fooling him? Mick _is_ the cockiest cock on the walk, but in UMT, I’ve always taken it as him knowing she most certainly is not under his thumb. I think it’s the main guitar riff that to me, gives it an almost comical / playful vibe. Like he’s bragging to his friends and they know and he knows that he’s really just whistling past the graveyard. Probably all in my head. 🙂 ---
**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 7, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/75 "2022-11-07T14:20:06Z")
Such songs are aimed at guys who fantasize about telling off women and having them worshipfully trail behind. I know, Mr. Obvious. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/76 "2022-11-07T15:46:00Z")
Heh, come to think of it, yes, there is a bit of “the gentleman doth protest too much” to it. Of course, it means the narrator character IS still being a dick… (then again their ad agency once came up with a promo featuring a woman in bondage and the tagline “I’m Black and Blue for the Rolling Stones and I love it” - probably seemed a brilliant idea before the drugs wore off. “Smell The Glove” was a succesful parody because bands WERE doing that) With the 60s-generation pop-rock songwriters one also accounts for their having listened to a lot of “mah woman done me wrong, gonna do somethin’ ‘bout that” lyrics in their Blues influences. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/77 "2022-11-07T19:43:55Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > “Wrong Way” by Sublime is a cringefest almost all the way through. “Date Rape” by Sublime is another cringey one. Woman is picked up and sexually assaunted, takes the guy to court, he goes to jail and is “butt-raped by a large inmate.” It’s a weird song to have been a radio hit (at least in L.A., where I heard it what seemed like once a day for several years on KROQ). Sublime made some absolutely wonderful music: “Bad Fish” and “What I Got” are two of the best songs of hte 90s, I’m convinced, but they had their unfortunate tracks as well. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/78 "2022-11-07T19:47:35Z")
“Love is the Ritual” by Styx. > C’mon, dance, little sister, little sister wants to dance! > All night looking for a true romance! > Then in a black leather jacket walks little brother > Rock her world to be her lover! ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/79 "2022-11-07T20:54:30Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > _”He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)”_ by the Crystals has to be up there. Co-written by Carole King, of all people. “Kiss With A Fist” by Florence + The Machine falls in the same category. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/80 "2022-11-08T15:54:06Z")
Lay Lady Lay Lay across my big brass bed His clothes are dirty, But his hands are clean 🤮 🤮 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173.md?page=5)