# Songs with lyrics that you would never, ever be able to figure out on your own **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468 "2006-04-20T14:55:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/1 "2006-04-20T14:55:20Z")
Every once in a while, I remember a song that I used to love, back when I used to listen to the latest cutting-edge music. Anyway, there was a song called _Step On_ by **Happy Mondays** , one of the bands that came out of the famous Manchester music scene. So, since Google makes it so easy now, I looked up the lyrics since I always wondered what he was saying. It struck me that if I was imprisoned on a desert island, and my only way of getting off the island was to figure out the lyrics to that song, I would be stuck on that island for at least a thousand years. I’d love to hear examples of songs like this. And just since it’s probably the most obvious, I’ll just throw in mostly every song by **The Pogues**. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/2 "2006-04-20T15:00:29Z")
Louie Louie. Evedently, they stumped the FBI for years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/3 "2006-04-20T15:10:38Z")
Most of _Long Cool Woman_ by The Hollies. I tried to figure it out on my own for a number of years, and when I finallly looked it up, it was…different. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/4 "2006-04-20T15:37:53Z")
The lyrics to an old 60s song by Jimmy Soul called Twisting Matilda. I never did figure out what he was singing about till 30-odd years later. ---
**Author:** ![cardsfan1975](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cardsfan1975](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cardsfan1975)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/5 "2006-04-20T15:42:33Z")
_Here & Now_ by **Letters To Cleo**. cf’75 ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/6 "2006-04-20T15:45:08Z")
Pretty much anything by The Cocteau Twins. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/7 "2006-04-20T15:50:53Z")
I wasn’t sure what “Smoke on the Water” was about until Pat Boone covered it. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/8 "2006-04-20T15:51:33Z")
“White Riot” on the first Clash album was pretty opaque to me until I saw the lyrics written down, in a sheet music book of all things. I don’t play piano very well, so I’ll never know what the sheet music company’s piano arrangements for the first Clash album sounded like. I don’t think REM has ever published the “official” lyrics to their early, mumbly records, so even Google won’t help you out with songs like “Sitting Still” because different websites say different things. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/9 "2006-04-20T16:04:38Z")
I could have the lyric sheet in front of me while listening to the song, and still not decipher the words to Fleetwood Mac’s [“Rhiannon”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/fleetwood-mac/54400.html). Which is kind of annoying, as it is my name. People are always asking me what the song’s saying, and I have no frickin’ clue. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/10 "2006-04-20T16:08:17Z")
_Brown Sugar_ ---
**Author:** ![JustAnotherGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@JustAnotherGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustAnotherGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/11 "2006-04-20T16:45:25Z")
_Immigrant Song_ by Led Zepplin. Thank Og for the Viking Kitties! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/12 "2006-04-20T17:30:08Z")
Damn near all of them. This is a perfect example of my lack of common sense: when I was a kid, I was listening to a Kate Bush album and reading along with the lyrics provided on the album sleeve, and I wondered how the record making people managed to figure out what singers were saying so they could print the lyrics. A few seconds later it occurred to me that _Kate_ probably knew what the lyrics were… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/13 "2006-04-20T17:56:27Z")
Despite how many times I have heard the Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones catalogues over the years, I couldn’t quote the entire correct lyrics to a lot of their songs. Here’s another vote for Kate Bush, and another for REM. As much as I like _Fables Of The Reconstruction_, I have no idea what most of the songs are about. ---
**Author:** ![AFAIKnow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@AFAIKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AFAIKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/14 "2006-04-20T18:23:04Z")
Anything from Van Morrison and to a lessar extent Bob Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/15 "2006-04-20T18:40:36Z")
Most of the songs by Fall Out Boy. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/16 "2006-04-20T18:43:39Z")
A lot of songs by **The Shins**. Their lyrics include a lot of strange metaphors, which seem to render the songs indecipherable. Surprisingly, however, the folks over at [songmeanings.net](http://songmeanings.net) actually put forth some good ideas, and I think they’re mostly right. They usually just pop in to comment, “OMG THIS SONG IS TEH ROXORZ!!!111 LOL” ---
**Author:** ![RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RancidYakButterTeaParty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/17 "2006-04-20T18:43:48Z")
Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/18 "2006-04-20T18:44:41Z")
\*[Blinded by the Light\*](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_148.html) by Bruce Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/19 "2006-04-20T18:51:40Z")
Definitely REM I’ll add The Pixies. For a specific example, I don’t know what most of the words to the second verse of Where Is My Mind are. Nirvana too, Weird Al Yancovich’s parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit even focused on that. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468/20 "2006-04-20T19:07:53Z")
\*\*Elton John’s \*\* \*Benny and the Jets \* usually comes up in this discussion. “She’s got electric WHAT?” \*Tumbling Dice \* by the \*\*Rolling Stones \*\* can barely be recognized as English. Also the first line of \*La Bamba \* is NOT “La, la, la, la Bamba” as most people like to sing it. For the record it is: “Para bailar La Bamba” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-would-never-ever-be-able-to-figure-out-on-your-own/353468.md?page=2)