# Songs With Factual Inaccuracies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650 "2012-08-25T22:46:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/81 "2012-08-27T06:09:50Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Thank you, Professor Obvious. So what are you saying? You knew that but just didn’t understand (or didn’t care) what the thread was about? Metaphors are not at all the same thing as factual inaccuracies, and until you got involved, posters were respecting the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/82 "2012-08-27T06:21:03Z")
I think I’ve heard that in Jonathan Coulton’s Mandelbrot Set, when it comes down to the chorus, the mathematical definition of the set he provides is actually for a Julia Set. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/83 "2012-08-27T06:34:53Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I think I’ve heard that in Jonathan Coulton’s Mandelbrot Set, when it comes down to the chorus, the mathematical definition of the set he provides is actually for a Julia Set. More to the point… [QUOTE=Johnathon Coulton] Mandelbrot’s in heaven At least he will be when he’s dead Right now he’s still alive [/QUOTE] [Is not.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benoit_Mandelbrot) WHAT THE HELL, Johnny-C? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/84 "2012-08-27T09:02:19Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Reminds me of when the writer of “The Night Chicago Died” was criticized for penning the line “East Side of Chicago”. He responded “they claim there is no East Side of Chicago. There’s an east side of everything!” That’s only one of his sins. He seems to be describing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, even though the first sung lyrics are “In the heat of a Summer night…” Maybe Capone had another big gun battle we don’t hear about so much? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/85 "2012-08-27T11:35:12Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > But then, Wildfire sounds pretty stupid for a horse. Why would he bust out of a nice warm stall on a winter’s night? He, too, heard the lambs screaming… ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/86 "2012-08-27T12:15:03Z")
“Seven Nation Army”: _Everyone knows about it From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell_ There’s no queen of England. Mind you, I doubt there any hounds of hell either, so… ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/87 "2012-08-27T13:39:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > In _Piano Man_, by Christie Brinkley’s ex: > > It’s a Gin and Tonic, dude! But that wouldn’t have rhymed… ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/88 "2012-08-27T13:40:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Then there’s _Wildfire_: > > “Oh they say she died one winter > when there came a killing frost. > And the pony she named Wildfire > Busted down its stall > In a blizzard, he was lost…” > > I think it was Dave Barry who pointed out that a killing frost only happens on cold clear nights. The only thing that a killing frost kills is vegetables. > > But then, Wildfire sounds pretty stupid for a horse. Why would he bust out of a nice warm stall on a winter’s night? Earthquake… ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/89 "2012-08-27T16:05:10Z")
From _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance_: From the moment a girl gets to be full-grown The very first thing she learns When two men go out to face each other Only one returns I learned to keep my knees together and always take extra money for cab fare. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/90 "2012-08-27T16:40:42Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ll give my usual one in such threads: “Cotton Fields,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The lyrics say the fields are “down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana.” But the Louisiana state line is a good 30 miles from Texarkana. True, but let’s not blame CCR. The geographically challenged **Cotton Fields** has been a folk standard since the late '30s or early '40s and has been recorded numerous times before (and after) Credence. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/91 "2012-08-27T16:42:09Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Then there’s _Wildfire_: > > “Oh they say she died one winter > when there came a killing frost. > And the pony she named Wildfire > Busted down its stall > In a blizzard, he was lost…” > > I think it was Dave Barry who pointed out that a killing frost only happens on cold clear nights. The only thing that a killing frost kills is vegetables. Also, killing frosts are something that happens in late spring or early fall, not the dead of winter. That’s what makes it a “killing frost”; plants are growing when it occurs. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/92 "2012-08-27T17:20:18Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So what are you saying? You knew that but just didn’t understand (or didn’t care) what the thread was about? Metaphors are not at all the same thing as factual inaccuracies, and until you got involved, posters were respecting the difference. I shall commit seppuku at once. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/93 "2012-08-27T17:30:09Z")
R.E.M., “Laughing”: “Laocoön and her two sons” Though, to be fair, that was during the period when Stipe was writing more for sound than sense. I believe that period lasted roughly 1979-2012. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/94 "2012-08-27T17:38:01Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I shall commit seppuku at once. Always remember, [the internet is serious business](http://www.techi.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/The-Internet-is-Serious-Business.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/95 "2012-08-27T17:50:11Z")
> [@](#): > > We used to play Merle Haggard’s “Daddy Frank” fairly often. One night I wondered aloud about a lyric Ah, that song drives me nuts. The mother’s deaf and the father’s blind? How do they communicate? Both cloying and impossible. The **[Rock Island Line](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Island_Line_%28song%29)**, she does \*not \*run down into New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/96 "2012-08-27T17:51:46Z")
> [@Enuma\_Elish](#): > > But if you are in the southernmost part of the city of Detroit couldn’t you refer to it as south Detroit? Even if this is technically true, mistakes like this belie the fact that the songwriter doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Nobody who is familiar with Detroit would talk about “South Detroit.” Same thing with “East Philadelphia.” Even if you could pull out a map and find _an_ east side to Philadelphia, nobody who is familiar with Philly would do so. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/97 "2012-08-27T18:19:29Z")
> [@Sheryl Crow](#): > > And every time you hear the rolling thunder > You turn and run before the lightning strikes Uh, no, it doesn’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/98 "2012-08-27T18:23:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Ah, that song drives me nuts. The mother’s deaf and the father’s blind? How do they communicate? Same way someone does who is both deaf and blind, I’d imagine. Generally they’d use sign language in the palm of the hand. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/99 "2012-08-27T18:25:18Z")
The Kinks: The only time I feel alright is by your side… That’s not a _time_, dude. That’s a _place_. Always makes me grit my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650/100 "2012-08-27T18:45:12Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Even if this is technically true, mistakes like this belie the fact that the songwriter doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Nobody who is familiar with Detroit would talk about “South Detroit.” Same thing with “East Philadelphia.” Even if you could pull out a map and find _an_ east side to Philadelphia, nobody who is familiar with Philly would do so. Steve Perry finally weighs in on this troublesome [topic](http://www.vulture.com/2012/01/journey-dont-stop-believin-south-detroit.html). **Steve Perry** _I ran the phonetics of east, west, and north, but nothing sounded as good or emotionally true to me as South Detroit, he says. The syntax just sounded right. I fell in love with the line. It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve learned that there is no South Detroit. But it doesn’t matter._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-factual-inaccuracies/632650.md?page=6)