# Songs with Unusual Topics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080 "2013-03-05T09:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/61 "2013-03-06T15:13:32Z")
Was (Not Was) had a song called “Zaz Turned Blue,” which they arranged for Mel Torme to sing. It was about a guy named Zaz who got into a mock fight in the park with his friend Steve Brown. Steve pretended to strangle Zaz, who turned blue and nearly died of asphyxiation. Zaz survived, but seems to have come out of the experience mentally handicapped (he goes around constantly with “a silly grin on his chin”). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/62 "2013-03-06T15:34:38Z")
“Birdhouse in your Soul” by They Might Be Giants. It’s about a nightlight. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/63 "2013-03-06T15:40:42Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > “Birdhouse in your Soul” by They Might Be Giants. It’s about a nightlight. TMBG should probably fall under the “Weird Al Rule” for purposes of this thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/64 "2013-03-06T16:19:03Z")
[\*Ms. Otis Regrets \*is a 1934 Cole Porter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-b1Ksetcc)song, in which Ms. Otis comes to a bad end after a love affair, kills her lover and is killed in turn by a mob. The refrain is her sending her regrets about missing her lunch date, as she’s a civil high-society type lady. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/65 "2013-03-06T21:21:33Z")
Absolutely tons of these from musical theatre: [Don’t Cry for Me Argentina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Cry_for_Me_Argentina) [One Night in Bangkok](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_in_Bangkok) [Memory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_(Cats_song)) [Hair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(song)) I could go on, but we’d be here all night. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/66 "2013-03-06T21:31:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Absolutely tons of these from musical theatre: > > [Don’t Cry for Me Argentina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Cry_for_Me_Argentina) > > [One Night in Bangkok](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_in_Bangkok) > > [Memory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_(Cats_song)) > > [Hair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(song)) > > I could go on, but we’d be here all night. “[Hasa Diga Eebowai](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IjBi1eEaAA)” from Book of Mormon 😃 (YouTube link–song lyrics are very NSFW) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/67 "2013-03-06T22:23:46Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > Warren Zevon’s “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” is about, well - a Danish mercenary who fights for the Congolese in Africa, gets his head blown off, and wreaks vengeance as a headless ghost. He also has an influence on Patty Hearst. > > I’d say THAT qualifies! 😃 Beat me to it.🙂 I would also add “Play It All Night Long.” Dysfunctional country family, incest, PTSD, etc. I’m pretty sure Warren Zevon is the only person to use the word “Brucellosis” in a song. Also, “Exciteable Boy.” _After ten long years they let him out of the home Exciteable boy they all said Then he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones Exciteable boy they all said_ ---
**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:** [March 6, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/68 "2013-03-06T22:32:56Z")
_Raspberry Swirl_ by Tori Amos is about women forming emotional bonds with each other, but the title references oral sex _If you want inside the well, boy You’d better make her raspberry swirl_ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/69 "2013-03-06T22:33:19Z")
Many Rush songs probably fit the bill but my favorite one is [Manhattan Project](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project_%28song%29) which is about… the Manhattan Project. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/70 "2013-03-06T22:47:56Z")
Let me just say, anything by Ray Stevens. “Ahab the Arab,” “The Streak,” etc. If it’s by Ray Stevens, it’s an unusual topic (if you think about it, “All the World Is Beautiful” is even unusual [in its own way, of course]) “Does Your Bubblegum Lose Its Flavor On the Bedpost Over Night?” about bubblegum losing it flavor on the bedpost. “Mares Eat Oats” about quadripeds eating oats and ivy. “Please Mr. Custer,” about a soldier going out with General Custer on his last foray in the field and the soldier not wanting to be there. If you think about it, the Beach Boys’ “In My Room” is an ode to being alone in a room…Kind of weird. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/71 "2013-03-06T23:27:02Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > “[Hasa Diga Eebowai](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IjBi1eEaAA)” from Book of Mormon 😃 (YouTube link–song lyrics are very NSFW) OMG, I don’t even know what to say. Wow ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/72 "2013-03-06T23:35:59Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > OMG, I don’t even know what to say. Wow You kinda have to take it in the context of the rest of the musical, if you’re not familiar with it. It’s not _quite_ as bad as it seems (though I read in a book about the musical that the actors who had to sing it had a lot of issues at first, but once they got into the show and saw the audience reaction, they got more comfortable with it.) ---
**Author:** ![Doubting\_Robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Doubting\_Robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubting_Robert)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/73 "2013-03-07T00:44:50Z")
After reading the other entries in this thread, this one seems kind of tame, but I’m still surprised no one has mentioned Michael Jackson’s “Ben,” which is a love song sung by a young man to his favorite killer rat. ---
**Author:** ![Doubting\_Robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Doubting\_Robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubting_Robert)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/74 "2013-03-07T00:47:29Z")
Also, there’s “The Vatican Rag,” from the movie, “The Ruling Class.” I’m afraid I can’t remember the details. I’ve got to see that movie again someday. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/75 "2013-03-07T00:56:45Z")
[“The Crablouse”](http://lyrics.wikia.com/Lords_Of_Acid:Crablouse) by Lords of Acid is about…crab louse and specifically how the singer enjoys having them. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/76 "2013-03-07T01:15:18Z")
Many of mine were already taken about, but how about [_Being Boiled_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0z6adZaRXo)by (early) **The Human League**? Any song that starts: Listen to the voice of Buddha Saying stop your sericulture is not your average everyday pop song. Others from that album include “A Crow and a Baby” (had an affair …), and “The Black Hit of Space” (it went to number one, then into minus figures…). > [@Doubting\_Robert](#): > > Also, there’s “The Vatican Rag,” from the movie, “The Ruling Class.” I’m afraid I can’t remember the details. I’ve got to see that movie again someday. Presumably this is the **Tom Lehrer** song by the same name? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/77 "2013-03-07T02:47:27Z")
[“Stay on the Ride” by Patty Griffin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivEu9WExqYA) is about Little Old Man, who rides the bus every day, but without going to any destination or even knowing where the bus goes. This puzzles the bus driver, who asks him about his aimless riding. Little Old Man’s advice is: “Stay on the ride, it’s gonna take you somewhere.” [“Spider Web” by Joan Osborne](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XozHOwMx3eM) is my favorite song ever. She sings how she has a dream that Ray Charles got his eyesight back, but Ray don’t sing no more. Then he takes his glasses off and she can look inside his head, and she sees a shining spider web. He takes her flying in the air and shows her own spider web, and tells her the world is made of spider webs: “the threads are stuck to me and you.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/78 "2013-03-07T04:10:09Z")
NaCl (The Salt Song) by the McGarrigle Sisters. About a “little atom of chlorine … swimming through the sea just having fun”. “But somewhere in that sea lurks handsome sodium…” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/79 "2013-03-08T20:48:29Z")
Loudon Wainwright III (ex-hudband of Kate McGarrigle) had a chart success with Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080/80 "2013-03-08T21:34:38Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > TMBG should probably fall under the “Weird Al Rule” for purposes of this thread. 🙂 Tom Waits might need a similar category… [Step Right Up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URp-Dbhr7EU&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DURp-Dbhr7EU&has_verified=1) is an extended sales pitch; [The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me Today](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdLXhgxXguk) is about someone NOT committing suicide… today; [Pasties and a G-String](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84WRcEt8S5o&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D84WRcEt8S5o&has_verified=1) is about strippers; [Frank’s Wild Years](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsBj65IODk) is about a little Chihuahua named Carlos with some kind of skin disease… and arson (never could stand that dog). Yeah, I’m thinking separate category. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-unusual-topics/652080.md?page=5)