# Songs that reveal amazing dickitude from the singer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 25, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104 "2022-02-25T15:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/81 "2022-02-26T03:34:21Z")
Cat Stevens also had a most lovely song, The Boy with the Moon and Star on His Head that is wonderful to hear, but it has a deep undercurrent of misogyny. The protagonist pauses on his way to his own wedding to schtup this nice lass under the holy magnolia, goes and gets married, and then “… a year went by and everthing was just as it was the year before …”. I guess the woman he deigned to marry was but a cipher. Along the lines of beautiful songs that have a bit of darkness to them, there is one of my favorites, Velvet Green by Jethro Tull. The content involves more outdoor sex, couched in incredibly poetic and elegant vulgarity, but the woman is just used We’ll dream as lovers, under the stars Of civilizations raging afar And as the ragged dawn breaks on your battle scars You’ll walk home cold and alone upon velvet green ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/82 "2022-02-26T04:04:27Z")
Phoebe Snow’s “Poetry Man” is from the POV of The Other Woman. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QTd1iktPJZ8/hqdefault.jpg "Phoebe Snow - Poetry Man [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTd1iktPJZ8) > **[Phoebe Snow – Poetry Man](https://genius.com/Phoebe-snow-poetry-man-lyrics)** > > Poetry Man, written and performed by Phoebe Snow on her first and self-titled album in 1974 launched her career and earned her a grammy nomination for best new artist of 1975. Her Would a song by a woman be vaginatude? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/83 "2022-02-26T04:13:31Z")
Sublime - Right Back _Sleepin by yourself at night can make you feel alone_ _Your girl friend said so but I don’t really know_ _That don’t mean we fucked around that night last week when you left town_ Sublime - Santeria _I don’t practice Santeria, I ain’t got no crystal ball_ _Well, I had a million dollars, but I’d, I’d spend it all_ _If I could find that Jaina and that Sancho that she’s found_ _Well, I’d pop a cap in Sancho and I’d slap her down_ ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/84 "2022-02-26T04:13:59Z")
Before Gary Puckett, there was Lou Christie. Every boy wants a girl He can trust to the very end Baby, that’s you Won’t you wait but 'til then? When I see lips beggin’ to be kissed (stop) I can’t stop (stop) I can’t stop myself (stop, stop) Lightning is striking again [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p1UDCsfwWoE/hqdefault.jpg "Lou Christie Lightning Strikes Hollywood A Gogo 1966") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1UDCsfwWoE) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/85 "2022-02-26T04:27:20Z")
Are you sure? I always assumed it was just a fireplace, not an unusual thing in Britain. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/86 "2022-02-26T04:30:04Z")
The first song i thought of was Stay With Me, by The Faces: > [@](#): > > In the morning, please don’t say you love me, > 'Cause i’ll only kick you out of the door. > Yeah, i’ll pay your cab fare home, > You can even use my best calogne, > Just don’t be here in the morning when i get up. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/87 "2022-02-26T04:32:21Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > The same could hold true for all singers mentioned in this thread. I don’t believe Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno just to watch him die, but it seems a fair amount of posters in this thread think Sting and John Lennon are authentic and not portraying characters. For some reason, a lot of people have the expectation that a singer should be living the life they’re singing about. I know back in the 90s there was an expectation that rappers lived a certain lifestyle, to the point where people like MC Hammer thought they had to appear to be living the gangsta lifestyle, but I don’t think we expected Bobby Darin to be Mack the Knife. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/88 "2022-02-26T05:24:15Z")
John Lennon doesn’t strike me as someone who “creates characters” on a regular basis. That’s Paul. John’s someone who writes his experiences and beliefs and pain. A lot of his songs include asshole behavior, and he’s admitted to being an abusive asshole with women. Those lyrics about being cruel to women and beating them are John’s experiences coming through in his lyrics. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/89 "2022-02-26T08:24:33Z")
“I Hung My Head” by Sting. The singer, borrowing his brother’s rifle, sees a lone rider nearby, and draws a bead on him to practice his aim, with a loaded weapon. The rifle goes off by mistake, killing the rider. The singer runs away, gets caught, and while remorseful, is put to death. Perhaps not the best example, because he _was_ remorseful, but seriously, the accident shouldn’t have happened. Have a little respect for the fact that you’re holding a loaded gun. And then running away? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/90 "2022-02-26T08:44:41Z")
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” by Bob Dylan is a great breakup song, but the last verse does reveal the singer to be a self-obsessed jerk; _So long, honey babe_ _Where I’m bound, I can’t tell_ _Goodbye is too good a word, babe_ _So I’ll just say fare thee well_ _I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind_ _You could have done better but I don’t mind_ _You just kinda wasted my precious time_ _But don’t think twice, it’s all right_ ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/91 "2022-02-26T09:23:49Z")
“Little Sister” by Elvis Presley. The guy used to date the girl’s big sister, and he thinks of the big sister as a big of a slut now, so he figures he’ll try his luck with her. (By the way, he used to pull her pigtails and pinch her nose when she was a kid.) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/92 "2022-02-26T09:24:17Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > For some reason, a lot of people have the expectation that a singer should be living the life they’re singing about. That’s definitely the current zeitgeist - look at the careers of singers like Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande, not to mention Kanye West. For whatever reason, the prevailing theme in modern pop culture is that all art needs to be autobiographical. Personally, I miss the days when singers made shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/93 "2022-02-26T09:27:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > For whatever reason, the prevailing theme in modern pop culture is that all art needs to be autobiographical. Where’ve you been? Hip-hop has been autobiographical for at least 30 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/94 "2022-02-26T09:49:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Where’ve you been? Hip-hop has been autobiographical for at least 30 years now. I’ve never been much of a hip-hop fan, so I didn’t notice it until it started to leak into other genres. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/95 "2022-02-26T10:34:33Z")
I revere the great Dylan. But I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wonderin’, walkin’ way down the road I once loved a woman, a child, I am told I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul But don’t think twice, it’s all right has been worrying me for a while. Still, as you say, a song doesn’t have to be autobiographical… ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/96 "2022-02-26T12:09:57Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Along the lines of beautiful songs that have a bit of darkness to them, there is one of my favorites, Velvet Green by Jethro Tull. The content involves more outdoor sex, couched in incredibly poetic and elegant vulgarity, but the woman is just used Well Ian Anderson makes up for this with Hunting Girl, where the man is likewise. > [@Smapti](#): > > but the last verse does reveal the singer to be a self-obsessed jerk; I"m not seeing it. It’s clearly stated that she has treated him badly (he doesn’t exactly say how or why) but turns on the charm only when he starts to walk out. Against that background where is the self-obsession in saying “you wasted my time”? > [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wonderin’, walkin’ way down the road > I once loved a woman, a child, I am told > I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul > But don’t think twice, it’s all right > > has been worrying me for a while. What is worrying about that verse? He’s saying he loved her but she “wanted my soul” which would generally imply she wanted more than was reasonable, in some way (albeit unstated). ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/97 "2022-02-26T12:14:48Z")
Dylan’s _How Does It Feel_ is icky triumphing over a woman who has become so destitute that she has had to resort to prostituting herself to scary bums to survive. Just because she used to be better off doesn’t make this okay. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/98 "2022-02-26T12:15:15Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > It’s clearly stated that she has treated him badly (he doesn’t exactly say how or why) but turns on the charm only when he starts to walk out. Against that background where is the self-obsession in saying “you wasted my time”? He’s quite specifically saying that she didn’t treat him badly, though, but that the love she had wasn’t good enough for him and/or that he wasn’t willing to commit (I gave her my heart, but she wanted my soul). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/99 "2022-02-26T12:34:26Z")
You are taking the song as a whole very differently to how I always have. In context, along with the lines “ain’t no use in turnin on your light babe, the light I never knowed” and “ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, gal, like you never done before” I have always taken it that he loved her but she was distant. The whole point of the song is him expressing a diffidence that he probably doesn’t feel because he knows she hasn’t been unkind as such, but has been distant and cold. He’s saying in effect “don’t worry about it, you haven’t been positively bad, but it’s been a waste of time me loving you when you weren’t loving back”. Edited to add: I guess I’m surprised you and **its\_the\_daddy** pick on this song given that dozens of Dylan’s songs are about the protagonist being unkind or worse to women. This is IMHO one of the few about a man being hurt by a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/100 "2022-02-26T12:45:24Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Dylan’s _How Does It Feel_ is icky triumphing over a woman who has become so destitute that she has had to resort to prostituting herself to scary bums to survive. Just because she used to be better off doesn’t make this okay. It’s “Like a Rolling Stone” to which you refer. While laughing at anyone’s downfall is unkind, the key element you miss is that _she used to be contemptuous of the very people to whose level she has fallen_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104.md?page=6)