# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/101 "2022-02-26T13:17:54Z")
If there’s one Dylan song that might fit the bill, it could be “Is Your Love In Vain?” in which he asks: Can you cook or sew? Make flowers grow? However, it’s a great song, and I love it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/102 "2022-02-26T13:54:47Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > “I Hung My Head” by Sting. By who?! Sure, Sting gave it a go, but all credit should go to the man in black. > [@Odesio](#): > > For some reason, a lot of people have the expectation that a singer should be living the life they’re singing about. One of the things that draws me to Tom Waits’ work is that you know he’s lived the life he’s talking about. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/103 "2022-02-26T13:58:18Z")
Since tthe OP wants songs featuring characters with dickitude, here’s a doozy: a song in the point of view of a guy who, after his wife dies, kills off their several children so he can return to the life of a carefree bachelor. Crossing way over from dickish to monstrous, so too much maybe? Spoiler alert: Later on in the concept album that song is from, the ghosts of his children get their revenge [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qM1NuFhXhgA/hqdefault.jpg "The Decemberists - The Rake's Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1NuFhXhgA) ---
**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, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/104 "2022-02-26T14:21:17Z")
> [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > I once loved a woman, a child, I am told Sorry, I wasn’t specfic enough. If the song is really autobiographical, then this is indeed a worry. And there’s this: [https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/568165-music-icon-bob-dylan-accused-of-sexually-abusing-underage](https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/568165-music-icon-bob-dylan-accused-of-sexually-abusing-underage) Of course we know (or think we know) that many of the popstars and industry ‘hangers-on’ of the '60s, '70s and later were ‘at it’. And there was a whole industry of ‘groupies’, very many of whom were under-age. Many of us (males) would have been ‘at it’ too, given the chance. Quite rightly, Savile, Epstein and others have made us question our own dickitude of the past. I never had the chance, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/105 "2022-02-26T14:44:03Z")
Others have posted about “Stay with Me” by Rod Stewart/the Faces. It has some great lines; is it really a dickish song? Granted, it’s blunt but he’s not telling the woman she’s beautiful to get her in bed or making promises, then bailing the next morning. He’s upfront, tells her he isn’t into her. She can make an informed choice, walk away, tell him to get lost, find someone else, or maybe go along with it if she wants to meet her own needs. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/106 "2022-02-26T14:49:37Z")
Via [songfacts.com](http://songfacts.com), here’s what Stipe told Q magazine in 1992: > It’s probably better that they think it’s a love song at this point. That song just came up from somewhere and I recognized it as being really violent and awful. But it wasn’t directed at any one person. I would never write a song like that. Even if there was one person in the world thinking, This song is about me, I could never sing it or put it out… I didn’t want to record that, I thought it was too much. Too brutal. I think there’s enough of that ugliness around.Blockquote ---
**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, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/107 "2022-02-26T14:59:30Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Since tthe OP wants songs featuring characters with dickitude, here’s a doozy: a song in the point of view of a guy who, after his wife dies, kills off their several children so he can return to the life of a carefree bachelor. Crossing way over from dickish to monstrous, so too much maybe? My wife did not appreciate me singing this song around the house. But what do you expect? This is the same singer who obsessed over his mother’s lover and plotted revenge against him for years? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/108 "2022-02-26T15:37:11Z")
I’ve never heard Baez’s cover of _Please Come to Boston_. I’ve only heard the one by Dave Loggins. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NKAuhbAeztA/maxresdefault.jpg "Dave Loggins - Please Come to Boston") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKAuhbAeztA) Not sure if that makes it better or worse. ETA: And ninja’d by Exapno Mapcase. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/109 "2022-02-26T16:00:34Z")
> [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > Sorry, I wasn’t specfic enough. > If the song is really autobiographical, then this is indeed a worry. Are you taking “child” literally there? ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/110 "2022-02-26T16:01:52Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > 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. Right. He did more than once explicitly admit to these issues. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/111 "2022-02-26T16:34:13Z")
I like plenty of **REM** songs and **The One I Love** is actually a favourite. That said the quote you provided is pretty feeble: Seems to be saying: “Yeah. It’s a nasty song, horrible sentiments, I know but I would never write such a nasty song (even though I did) and I never wanted to record it (even though I did) and I never wanted to release it (although I included it on an album and then as a single) or to perform it even though it’s the song I have sung live more than any other. Plus I have included it on every subsequent live album and greatest hits compilation…” OK It would have been a group decision but… TCMF-2L ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/112 "2022-02-26T16:49:06Z")
Or, he might have just meant what he said. No interpretation gymnastics necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/113 "2022-02-26T16:56:31Z")
Per [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Wood_(This_Bird_Has_Flown)#Composition), McCartney himself confirms both the “covering” interpretation and the actual intent of the lyric: > McCartney commented on the final verse of the song: “In our world the guy had to have some sort of revenge. It could have meant I lit a fire to keep myself warm, and wasn’t the decor of her house wonderful? But it didn’t, it meant I burned the fucking place down as an act of revenge, and then we left it there and went into the instrumental.”[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Wood_(This_Bird_Has_Flown)#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMiles1997270%E2%80%9371-8) -DF ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/114 "2022-02-26T17:18:27Z")
The White Stripes covered “Your Southern Can Belongs to Me,” by Blind Willie McTell, includes this genuinely stomach turning example lyrical domestic violence: Now baby, ashes to ashes, sand to sand When I hit you, mama, then you feel my hand Give you a punch through that barbed wire fence When I hit you, baby, you know I make no sense Hard to top that. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/115 "2022-02-26T17:39:38Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/116 "2022-02-26T17:56:37Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > In his defense, Lennon later became open and repentant about his history of domestic violence. In his last interview, he said it was going to be a long time before he could come clean about some of the things he’d done, and speculated that his desire for peace was a subconscious reaction to his shame. I’d say it was a _conscious_ reaction. I’ve long maintained that “Peace & Love John” who first appeared around 1967 (?) was the person he _wished_ he was. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/117 "2022-02-26T17:58:44Z")
Political activism as a penance for private guilt. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/118 "2022-02-26T17:59:44Z")
I left the same town in Tennessee that Loggins came from, but I don’t think there were any women who noticed besides my Mom. She never tried to convince me to come back, though. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/119 "2022-02-26T18:38:59Z")
Gotta disagree here, at least to a point. Yes, having an affair is wrong. Is a song about having an affair dickitude, though? What about falling in love with someone who’s married but NOT acting on it, as in the Grass Root’s "Midnight Confession? Are we defining “dickitude” as any moral wrong? There’ve been dozens of songs about affairs “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “Third Rate Romance,” “Love the One You’re With” from the 70s, “Part-Time Lover” in the 80s. Actually, there were a bunch of Sixties songs about affairs, but they were subtle enough that the “sin” could be mistaken for simply having sex (“Angel of the Morning,” a song I loved, comes to mind). One function of music is to put audiences’ feelings and experiences into lyrics and melody. I don’t think I’d call that “dickitude.” ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104/120 "2022-02-26T18:42:25Z")
Under my Thumb by the Stones goes beyond dickitude to full blown emotionally abusive coercion. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aGRnokznTF0/maxresdefault.jpg "Under My Thumb") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGRnokznTF0) Plus of course pretty much any Morrissey song of course, being a dick is kinda Morrissey’s primary emotional theme. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reveal-amazing-dickitude-from-the-singer/960104.md?page=7)