# Songs that totally did not happen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 10, 2022, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417 "2022-08-10T06:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/201 "2022-08-16T04:39:34Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > The stories about him are greatly exaggerated! > > There once was a man from Nantucket > Who kept all his cash in a bucket > His young wife named Nan > Ran away with a man > And as for the bucket, Nantucket. > > Sounds believable. I was thinking more along the lines of the young man from Madras or the old whore from Azores. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/202 "2022-08-16T22:58:38Z")
Couldn’t have been all that long if he had to bend over. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/203 "2022-08-17T10:40:26Z")
I am reasonably sure that Davy Crockett didn’t kill a bear when he was 3y/o. Just for fun, here is a really weird version of that song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/az91u7ni1Q4/hqdefault.jpg "Tim Curry Sings the Ballad of Davy Crockett") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az91u7ni1Q4) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/204 "2022-08-17T18:35:48Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I am reasonably sure that Davy Crockett didn’t kill a bear when he was 3y/o. He didn’t, he killed a bar. But bars aren’t alive, so we’re back where we started. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/205 "2022-08-17T18:49:41Z")
I really doubt the events in this song. System of a Down: Bounce. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wz1ca1-_-MY/maxresdefault.jpg "System Of A Down - Bounce (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz1ca1-_-MY) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/206 "2022-08-17T18:54:27Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > The Rolling Stones’ ”Sympathy for the Devil” offers a clear case of non-factual songwriting, instead relying on the simplistic appeal of a metaphysical conceit who takes great (and big-lipped) relish in bafflement while insinuating pivotal involvement in a litany of historical evils over centuries. Such claims, of course, have no cred whatsoever. Though the continued survival of Keith Richards doesn’t rule out the possibility that actually this passage is a completely accurate first person account and was dictated word for word from Belzebub himself as part of the deal for immortality and rock stardom negotiated by Jagger/Richards. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/207 "2022-08-17T20:29:26Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > He didn’t, he killed a bar. But bars aren’t alive, so we’re back where we started. Well, Tim curry definitely says bear, so I went with that, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/208 "2022-08-17T21:01:51Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Why would anybody give a feather a name, much less “Macaroni”? That sounds more Italian than Yankee. Don’t know if this is a whoosh, but “Macaroni” was Brit slang for a stylish dandy. The feather wasn’t being called Macaroni, the dude was, because he was wearing a fancy hat with a feather in it. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/209 "2022-08-17T23:27:39Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > > > Why would anybody give a feather a name, much less “Macaroni”? That sounds more Italian than Yankee. > > Don’t know if this is a whoosh, but “Macaroni” was Brit slang for a stylish dandy. The feather wasn’t being called Macaroni, the dude was, because he was wearing a fancy hat with a feather in it.   Yep. The song originally mocked the dumb colonials. Americans then used it to tease the British when we beat them. > **[Yankee Doodle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Doodle)** > > "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 4501. > The tune of "Yankee Doodle" is thought to be much older than the lyrics, being well known across western Europe, including England, France, Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. The melody of the song may have originat... ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/210 "2022-08-18T01:44:47Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > The feather wasn’t being called Macaroni, the dude was, because he was wearing a fancy hat with a feather in it. The lyrics would have been “Stuck a feather in his cap and somebody called him Macaroni” if that were the case. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/211 "2022-08-18T05:01:31Z")
Maybe he’s saying that the hat is now macaroni ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/212 "2022-08-18T06:31:17Z")
“I stuck a feather in my cap, so now I’m Macaroni.” ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/213 "2022-08-18T13:07:48Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > He didn’t, he killed a bar. But bars aren’t alive, so we’re back where we started. The lyrics I remember from an old 76 RPM record I used to play the song on was “he kilt him a bar when he was only three”. So he seems to have adorned an entire drinking establishment in a kilt, Christo-style. Pretty avant-garde art statement for his age and the time period. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/214 "2022-08-18T19:12:18Z")
A characteristic in English usage is calling an object of event by the name of a superlative item as a comparison/compliment. See Guy Fieri’s “That’s so money.” So the feather made the outfit and that’s “macaroni.” My friends and I in high school used a semi-crude slang term for breasts as our comparison term. Same deal. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/215 "2022-08-18T19:27:56Z")
The Carpenters did not summit Everest. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/216 "2022-08-18T19:39:38Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > The Carpenters did not summit Everest. Maybe they were at Windows on the World. To most NYers, being on top of Manhattan _is_ being on top of creation, and _the_ only destination. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/217 "2022-08-18T21:26:49Z")
OK, fine. Macaroni is a perfectly acceptable name for a feather. Not that hat, not the Yankee Doodle. The FEATHER. I never suspected calling a feather “Macaroni” was entirely normal. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/218 "2022-08-18T23:08:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Nor could he have fallen into a burning ring of fire and lived to sing about it. Not that I’m buying it as something that actually happened (as opposed to a metaphor for being a around someone he really fancied but felt he couldn’t do anything about due to being married) but it seems totally plausible that you could fall into a ring of fire, ie a section of non-ignited ground surrounded by a ring of some flammable substance, especially if the ring wasn’t lit when he fell in. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/219 "2022-08-18T23:51:47Z")
Maybe he just sky-dived in Hawaii. > **[Ring of Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Fire)** > > The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt)\[note 1\] is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped belt about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long and up to about 500 km (310 mi) wide. > The Ring of Fire includes the Pacific coasts of South America, North America and Kamchatka, and some islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Altho... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417/220 "2022-08-19T00:06:52Z")
He went down, down, down as the flames grew higher, and it burned, burned, burned. Sounds pretty unpleasant to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-totally-did-not-happen/969417.md?page=12)