# Songs you didn't "get" as a kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775 "2010-04-20T18:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/81 "2010-04-21T19:49:41Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Years later I made out the words “powder keg” and thought “powder keg?” WTF? Then I deduced that “spazz” was “sparks” and then I was all: > > “Oooooooh, _that’s_ what she was saying… That’s not much better actually.” Does it help to know that the full lyric is: "We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks " So, they’re in a volatile situation? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Alan\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Bird)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/82 "2010-04-21T19:57:23Z")
> [@bink](#): > > I thought it was “Be quiet, don’t cry”…and I thought the song was “I’m Not Alone.” Okay, I have to add my interpretation: “Be quiet, sit down, quiet” And another vote for “Four hundred children.” I’ll add “Groovin’” by the Young Rascals. Always thought it was “You and me and Leslie” (“endlessly” is correct, for those who haven’t heard it.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/83 "2010-04-21T19:58:25Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > ZZ Top song “Tush” > > Even into adulthood, I thought the line > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some tush. > > was > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some touch. This one is more excusable because “tush” is a word known only in a narrow dialect group. Unless you are a part of that social group you’d have to have it explained to you by someone in the know. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/84 "2010-04-21T20:10:41Z")
Heck, pretty much any ZZ Top sailed right over my head as a kid. Pearl Necklace: _She was gettin’ bombed, And I was gettin’ blown away, And she held it in her hand And this is what she had to say: A pearl necklace. She wanna pearl necklace. She wanna pearl necklace._ Tube Snake Boogie: _I got a girl, she lives on the hill. She won’t do it but her sister will, When she boogie, She do the tube snake boogie. Well now boogie little baby, Boogie woogie all night long_. La Grange: _Rumor spreadin’ a-'round in that Texas town ‘bout that shack outside La Grange and you know what I’m talkin’ about. Just let me know if you wanna go to that home out on the range. They gotta lotta nice girls ah._ And so on. ZZ Top are some dirty MFers. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/85 "2010-04-21T20:13:09Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > ZZ Top song “Tush” > > Even into adulthood, I thought the line > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some tush. > > was > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some touch. Wait, it’s not? I mean, I took it to mean essentially the same thing, but really? That’s tush? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/86 "2010-04-21T20:29:30Z")
> [@Alan\_Bird](#): > > I’ll add “Groovin’” by the Young Rascals. Always thought it was “You and me and Leslie” (“endlessly” is correct, for those who haven’t heard it.) :eek: I could have sworn it was “You and me and Leslie” Ignorance fought. > [@acsenray](#): > > This one is more excusable because “tush” is a word known only in a narrow dialect group. Unless you are a part of that social group you’d have to have it explained to you by someone in the know. Well, I was just thinking about it and tush is probably short for tushy, what parents call their little kids bottoms, backsides, behinds, derrieres, ect… So I’m interpreting it as Billy wanting a piece of ass. > [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Wait, it’s not? > > I mean, I took it to mean essentially the same thing, but really? That’s tush? I think the confusion is that he’s singing it so that tush rhymes with much and so he’s kind of pronouncing tush as touch. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/87 "2010-04-21T20:33:59Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Does it help to know that the full lyric is: Uh… yeah. I figured it out once I finally heard “powder keg” clearly. I just didn’t think the lyric was much better than having her be a spazz. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/88 "2010-04-21T20:37:17Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > :eek: I could have sworn it was “You and me and Leslie” Ignorance fought. > > Well, I was just thinking about it and tush is probably short for tushy, what parents call their little kids bottoms, backsides, behinds, derrieres, ect… > So I’m interpreting it as Billy wanting a piece of ass. > > I think the confusion is that he’s singing it so that tush rhymes with much and so he’s kind of pronouncing tush as touch. “Tush” is not “tushy” or ass. “Tush” is a dialect word meaning “adequate.” I believe I’ve heard interviews with Billy Gibbons in which he said that among themselves they would rate women on the scale of _tush_, _plush_, and _primo_. So when they’re “just looking for some tush,” that means they’re horny enough so that any adequate-looking woman will do, rather than holding out for a plush or a primo chick. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/89 "2010-04-21T21:31:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > “Tush” is not “tushy” or ass. “Tush” is a dialect word meaning “adequate.” I believe I’ve heard interviews with Billy Gibbons in which he said that among themselves they would rate women on the scale of _tush_, _plush_, and _primo_. So when they’re “just looking for some tush,” that means they’re horny enough so that any adequate-looking woman will do, rather than holding out for a plush or a primo chick. I didn’t realize that. Thank you for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/90 "2010-04-21T21:52:10Z")
NVM…someone beat me to it ---
**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:** [April 21, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/91 "2010-04-21T22:24:10Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > ZZ Top song “Tush” > > Even into adulthood, I thought the line > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some tush. > > was > > I said lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some touch. :o ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/92 "2010-04-21T23:18:30Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I had it as “Take the next right turn.” And I still think Lennon intended “a penis is a warm gun.” for several years i thought he meant a warm gun was a syringe. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/93 "2010-04-21T23:27:14Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I always thought that it was basically about a creepy, _Twilight Zone_-esque hotel as well, but apparently it’s about substance addiction. I thought I heard that it was rumored to be about the Church of Satan. Supposedly you can even see Anton Lavey staring down from the second floor of the hotel on the inside of the album. Probably just an urban legend, though. I prefer the idea that it’s about a creepy hotel to the notion that it’s about substance abuse. Creepy hotels are cool. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/94 "2010-04-21T23:29:28Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > I thought I heard that it was rumored to be about the Church of Satan. Supposedly you can even see Anton Lavey staring down from the second floor of the hotel on the inside of the album. Probably just an urban legend, though. I prefer the idea that it’s about a creepy hotel to the notion that it’s about substance abuse. Creepy hotels are cool. Christian fundamentalists say it’s about the Church of Satan. Apparently on the back or inside cover there’s a woman who they say is witch. In an interview Glenn Frey said it was just some woman they got off the street to be in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/95 "2010-04-22T00:03:05Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The Beatles classic song: **Take the back right turn**. > > I didn’t understand why an aspiring author was exhorting potential publishers to “take the back right turn”. > > It took a while to understand the title was **Paperback Writer**. > > Yes, really. Speaking of misheard lyrics, In the Jimi Hendrix song “Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire”, going into the break, does he or does he not say, > [@](#): > > Aww, move over Rover > And let Jimi take over > Yeah that’s what I’m talkin’ about > Get on with it baby But whenever I’ve seen the lyrics it’s always “Get it on baby”. But the rhythm of the words really sounds like it’s the other way. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/96 "2010-04-22T02:44:56Z")
Paul Simons Kodachrome. I thought the lyrics were, “Mama’s gonna take my combs and throw 'em all away.” I thought, why would his mom wanna throw his combs out? Doesn’t she want him to have neatly combed hair? Especially in the hippy 70’s when most boys had long hair. In Elton Johns Saturday Nights Alright For Fighting, I could understand why he’d be angry and want to fight on a Saturday night. He was sad because his best friend somehow shrunk down and drowned in the bottom of a glass of water. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/97 "2010-04-22T03:19:57Z")
I thought Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” was just about exercising. After all, the video showed people exercising. ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/98 "2010-04-22T03:54:48Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > I thought that line was: > > _Well I know what I am, and > IN BED I’M A MAN and so is Lola…_ This is the way I always heard the line. I never thought there was any ambiguity about the fact that Lola was a tranny. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/99 "2010-04-22T05:33:12Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > That is hilarious, and reminds me of my Beatles confusion. > > In “Yesterday”, I understood the lyric to read:This always bugged me: Why did he say “Something wrong” when he should’ve said “Something’s wrong”? The grammatical error would drive me nuts! 😛 That’s one of mine too, but I thought it should have been: I asked, “Something wrong?” Now I long for yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775/100 "2010-04-22T12:31:37Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Christian fundamentalists say it’s about the Church of Satan. Apparently on the back or inside cover there’s a woman who they say is witch. In an interview Glenn Frey said it was just some woman they got off the street to be in the picture. The song is about California itself, and the trappings associated with living the Hollywood lifestyle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-didnt-get-as-a-kid/536775.md?page=6)