# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/141 "2022-11-16T20:38:53Z")
There were a lot of cringe lyrics in gangster rap songs, but the Dr. Dre song “Nuthin but a ‘G’ Thang” contains this bit of logic: > Never let me slip, ‘cause if I slip, then I’m slippin’ ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/142 "2022-11-16T22:16:49Z")
That one got _quickly_ changed to “Let’s Get It Started.” The only reason I knew the first version existed was it playing early on in _Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle_. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/143 "2022-12-02T02:29:24Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > _Lucky that my breasts are small and humble_ > _So you don’t confuse them with mountains_ I just want to say, for the record, that Shakira’s lyrics in Spanish are fucking brilliant. At least they were in her albums _Pies Descalzos_ and ¿_Dónde están los ladrones_ ? The English songs are… yeah. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/144 "2022-12-02T05:37:08Z")
I’ll never hear “Bennie And The Jets” the same way again. I think it’s “electric BOOTS”, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/145 "2022-12-09T21:41:48Z")
Paul Anka: > [@](#): > > You’re havin’ my baby > What a lovely way of sayin’ how much you love me > Havin’ my baby > What a lovely way of sayin’ what you’re thinkin’ of me Women generally don’t express opinions through their uterus. The rest of the song is just as bad. And if she’s pregnant and you’re not around, you probably don’t want to kmow what she’s thinking about you. Speaking of cringey pregnancies. there’s ‘Cinderella’ by Firefall: > [@](#): > > Then one mornin’ she came to me > With a tear in her eye > And a sigh on her breath and Lord > She said “Hon, I’m heavy with child” > > And I said “God damn, girl, can’t you see > That I’m breakin’ my back > Just tryin’ to keep my head above water > And it’s turnin’ me wild?” > > Cinderella can’t you see? > Don’t want your company > You better leave this mornin’, leave today > Take your love and your child away The song is supposedly about an old man thinking about the mistakes he made as a young man, but this is all he had to say about it: > [@](#): > > Rockin’ a chair on my front porch > Well I’m thinkin’ about all the things > That I did as a young man > Now that I’m old > > And I remember her and the boy > Did he have all the toys and the joys > That a young man should have > Before he gets too old? So, he gets a woman pregnant, then indignantly kicks her out when she tells him, and as an old man the best he can muster is, “Hey, I wonder what happened to that kid I abandoned?” ---
**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:** [December 9, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/146 "2022-12-09T22:05:24Z")
> [@solost](#): > > but ‘making love’ used to have a more innocent meaning-- making out, as in first base, or just courting / wooing a person in general. > [@markn\_1](#): > > The OED’s first citation for “making love” meaning “engaging in sexual intercourse” is from 1927. Hemingway used it in this sense in _Farewell to Arms_, published in 1929. Hmm, maybe Mrs Hatch was right to be upset with George Bailey: Mrs. Hatch: Who is down there with you, Mary? Mary It’s George Bailey, mother. Mrs. Hatch): George Bailey? What does he want? … Mary [pause] He’s making violent love to me, mother! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/147 "2023-01-21T19:38:23Z")
This morning, heard Jimmy Buffet from a concert in the 1990s singing _Livingston Saturday Night_. Hearing someone in their 40s singing “Hittin’ on the honeys right out of high school.” is cringe-worthy enough, but the next lines are “15 will get you 20, but that’s alright, ‘cause we’ll be rockin’ and a-rollin’ on a Livingston Saturday night.” ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/148 "2023-01-22T17:56:38Z")
“We Gotta’ Get You a Woman” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/149 "2023-02-19T21:09:47Z")
“Imagine”. A treacly song filled with trite ideas that, if implemented, would lead to widescale human misery. “Imagine no possessions” - Don’t have to. It was already tried. Misery. “Imagine no countries” - Yeah, imagine tyrants running everything. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/150 "2023-02-26T22:47:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > “Imagine”. A treacly song filled with trite ideas On the other hand, the music stank. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/151 "2023-05-23T16:22:45Z")
_Bitchin Camaro_ by The Dead Milkmen just popped up in the iPod. This makes me cringe: 🎶 _Love me two times, 'cause I’ve got AIDS_ 🎶 In 1984 when the song was released, the epidemic had only been recognised a couple/few years before, and people were still making Gay jokes. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/152 "2023-05-23T16:36:27Z")
Has the entire oeuvre of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap been mentioned? 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/153 "2023-05-23T16:42:59Z")
**Nevermind** ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/154 "2023-05-23T17:39:37Z")
That’s tasteless, but I never thought of it as being homophobic. Another tasteless Doors takeoff from the Dead Milkmen: _You know that it would be untrue_ _You know that I would be a liar_ _If I was to say to you_ _I didn’t set your cat on fire_ But again, we’re probably getting away from the OP here, as these are clearly _aiming_ for cringy. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/155 "2023-05-23T18:14:49Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > as these are clearly _aiming_ for cringy. You’re right. I haven’t been keeping up with my own thread, but early on it did seem that people were calling out songs that were _intentionally_ made to be cringy. (Sublime songs come to mind) as opposed to songs that _weren’t_ supposed to be cringy or (particularly) offensive like the two songs I mentioned in the OP. Looks like I fell into it too. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/156 "2023-05-23T18:53:38Z")
I guess my question is, at what point does being intentionally cringy make you legitimately cringy? I’m assuming you mean “intentionally causing discomfort in order to provoke thought.” I’ve always liked Sublime and my favorite song is _Wrong Way_ but what it reminds me of is good fiction where the characters are an accurate reflection of reality rather than sanitized for public approval. I don’t know if it’s based on actual events, but it seems honest to me in a way that pop songs often aren’t. But how do you know the difference between “trying to make a point” and the writer just being a bad person? Is it inherently misogynistic to write from the POV of a misogynist, uncritically? I don’t know the answer but it gets to the heart of something I’ve always wrestled with in my own art. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173/157 "2023-05-23T19:41:35Z")
If you’re intentionally being provocative, I think the point is that the listener (or watcher, or whatever) that you _want_ the consumer to say ‘Ew! That’s just _wrong!_’ if they don’t say, ‘You know? That’s an accurate, unsanitised reflection of reality!’ I listened to a lot of Punk back in the day, and Punk was purposely confrontational and provocative. I mean, how can something like Fear’s _Fuck Christmas_ not be? > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > But how do you know the difference between “trying to make a point” and the writer just being a bad person? It shouldn’t matter to the writer. In the case of confrontational or provocative lyrics, the writer is throwing out the lines (See what I did there? 😛 ) and seeing if anyone bites the hooks. A lot of songs are trolling. In the case of _Wrong Way_ or _Date Rape_, these are depictions of real life. Little girls _are_ forced into prostitution by their families, and men _are_ raped in prisons. Stories like that may (or should) make people cringe, but they’re different from songs that depict things that were once commonplace or No Big Deal and are now creepy. _Baby, It’s Cold Outside_ depicts actions that were common among men. Watch any _James Bond_ movie. Today we see it as a guy coercing and manipulating a woman into spending the night with him. Or take Mickey Rooney in yellowface in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ (or Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ ‘Chinese’ and ‘German’ vocalisations in _I Love Paris_). When the film and the song came out, people laughed because it was OK to laugh at such things. Today, making fun of how different languages sound is off-limits. And Rooney’s ‘I. Y. Yunioshi’ character? Aw, _hell_ no! That portrayal is like a poster child for Thinks You Should Never Do. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I guess my question is, at what point does being intentionally cringy make you legitimately cringy? If you’re being intentionally provocative, you have nothing to worry about. If you actually _are_ the same as the character you’re portraying, and that bothers you, then that’s the point of transition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-make-you-cringe/974173.md?page=7)