# Songs you used to like until you really listened to the lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470 "2011-06-06T02:52:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [June 6, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/1 "2011-06-06T02:52:44Z")
I used to enjoy listening to the song “Temperature” by Sean Paul until I took a closer listen to the lyrics. The last couple lines of the chorus are “Oh lord, and gal I got the right tactics to turn you on, and girl I wanna be the Papa, you can be the Mom, oh oh!” I enjoy suggestive lyrics as much as anyone, but the talk about actually conceiving a baby just nauseates me. I don’t know why; perhaps it has something to do with my dislike of babies. The complete lyrics (or an approximation thereof) are at [TEMPERATURE Lyrics - SEAN PAUL | eLyrics.net](http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/sean-paul-lyrics/temperature-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/2 "2011-06-06T04:41:29Z")
I’m not sure Sean Paul is literally talking about conceiving a baby! It seems more like he’s just being cheeky, like ‘let’s play mommy and daddy’ as a euphemism for sex. For me that song is [Los Angeles](http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/x/losangeles.html) by X. I think the racial slurs and offensive language is supposed to reflect the way living in Los Angeles damaged the mindset of the character in the song, but it still kind of bothers me to listen to it. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/3 "2011-06-06T04:55:08Z")
I always kind of liked “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” not realizing that it was solely about a gay man seducing a straight man. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/4 "2011-06-06T05:00:31Z")
I don’t dislike the song, but I stopped wanting to sing it for church when I looked up the lyrics for _Hallelujah_ by Cohen. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/5 "2011-06-06T05:01:03Z")
I was going to say “outside” by StainD but after looking at the meaning of the song it doesn’t mean what I thought it meant. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/6 "2011-06-06T05:01:20Z")
More of a personal interpretation, but I used to get very teary-eyed at Elton John’s “Your Song” as it made me think of my daughter: you know, “how wonderful life is now you’re in the world.” But it only says “now” in the first instance of the chorus. Later I realized that the later instances of the chorus said “how wonderful life is _while_ you’re in the world,” as if anticipating a time that the person won’t be in the world. So I don’t like to think about that in conjunction with my daughter any more. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/7 "2011-06-06T05:15:56Z")
There’s this ballad by the Japanese group Southern All Stars entitled “Just a Little Bit” that I thought was so lovely I wanted it played at my wedding. Then I studied up some Japanese, and realized that “some nights you’re not even wet for me” might not be a sentiment I’d want expressed at the wedding. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/8 "2011-06-06T08:15:53Z")
Summertime or In the Summertime, by MungoJerry. “If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal, if her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel”. ---
**Author:** ![DivineComedienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c67d28/32.png) [@DivineComedienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DivineComedienne)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/9 "2011-06-06T13:40:16Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I always kind of liked “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” not realizing that it was solely about a gay man seducing a straight man. Huh? I completely missed this one, although I admit I can’t make out most of the words anyway. What part makes it about a seduction? ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/10 "2011-06-06T13:49:54Z")
[Birthday](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noXYiNo5TOo&feature=related) by the Sugarcubes, the band Bjork was in before she went solo. It sounds great and I never listened to lyrics much. It turns out it’s either about a five-year-old girl having a sexual relationship with an older man, or possibly just dreaming of doing so. > [@](#): > > Today Is A Birthday > They’re Smoking Cigars > He’s Got A Chain Of Flowers > And Sows A Bird In Her Knickers > Ohhh… > > They’re Smoking Cigars > They Lie In The Bathtub > A Chain Of … Flowers Here Bjork tries to explain: [http://unit.bjork.com/specials/gh/FT/cubes/sykur.html](http://unit.bjork.com/specials/gh/FT/cubes/sykur.html) > [@](#): > > “It’s a story about a love affair between a five year old girl, a secret and a man who lives next door. The song’s called Birthday because it’s his fiftieth birthday, but not many people can figure that out of the lyrics 'cos it’s more about the atmosphere around it and how they touch. It’s a tasteless pop song - not even that. A pop song - very unusual” > > “I was always changing my mind about what the lyrics should be about. I had the atmosphere right from the start but not the facts. It finally ended up concentrating on this experience I remembered having as a little girl, among many other little girls’ experirnces. It’s like huge men, about fifty or so, affect little girls very erotically but nothing happens… nothing is done, just this very strong feeling. I picked on this subject to show that anything can affect you erotically; material, a tree, anything.” – Björk, about Birthday ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/11 "2011-06-06T16:46:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Summertime or In the Summertime, by MungoJerry. “If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal, if her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel”. Funny, I always thought the line was “just do what she feels”, but the lyrics sites don’t seem to agree. (By the way, [metrolyrics.com](http://www.metrolyrics.com/in-the-summertime-lyrics-mungo-jerry.html) has a laughably inaccurate version of the lyrics. [This version](http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/inthesum.htm) seems a lot closer.) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/12 "2011-06-06T16:49:33Z")
Sometimes when I go to learn a song so I can play it, I discover that the lyrics weren’t quite as wonderful as I’d thought. One example is the Rolling Stones’ “Child of the Moon”. I still really like the song, but somehow it seemed that it was about more than just driving a highway at dawn in the rain. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/13 "2011-06-06T16:59:35Z")
The Cure’s “Killing an Arab.” It’s an adaptation of the first chapter of Camus’ “The Stranger”, and it’s really well-done. I’m a sucker for a dark story set to a happy beat, and this thing evokes the tone of the novel quite well. We listened to it in high school English, for Ford’s sake. But even though I know it’s not a racist song, it’s really hard not to feel like an asshole whilst rocking out to it. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/14 "2011-06-06T17:08:47Z")
The classic example for me will always be “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan, where a man laments his crappy life before jumping to his death, all to a snappy beat. ETA: Although I admit I still liked the song even after learning the lyrics. I’m sick. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/15 "2011-06-06T17:40:14Z")
I’m On Fire - Bruce Springsteen. At first it seems like a ballad about being in love with a married woman (as the video suggests) but I think the lyrics border on pedophilia: “Hey little girl is your Daddy home? Did he go away and leave you all alone? I got a bad desire. Ohh, I’m on fire.” ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/16 "2011-06-06T17:46:09Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > I’m On Fire - Bruce Springsteen. At first it seems like a ballad about being in love with a married woman (as the video suggests) but I think the lyrics border on pedophilia: > > “Hey little girl is your Daddy home? Did he go away and leave you all alone? I got a bad desire. Ohh, I’m on fire.” Not only that, he’s a bedwetter. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/17 "2011-06-06T17:57:07Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Summertime or In the Summertime, by MungoJerry. “If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal, if her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel”. Eh? If the girl has money, do something that costs some money. If the girl has no money find something you can do that doesn’t cost money. To put an objectionable spin on it would require some odd mental contortions. IMO, or course. > [@PoorYorick](#): > > The classic example for me will always be “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan, where a man laments his crappy life before jumping to his death, all to a snappy beat. > > ETA: Although I admit I still liked the song even after learning the lyrics. I’m sick. Nothing sick about it, unless any song about suicide is inherently sick. (Which I don’t think is the case.) The lyrics are the best part of the song. [Robert Christgau](http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=3456&name=Gilbert+O%27Sullivan) says, “…its tossed-off structure matches its casual, crucial equation of filial and romantic affection.” He lists the reasons for his sadness, but doesn’t get bathetic. The bridge focuses on the world’s problems rather than his own. I love the casually devastating lines, _Left standing in the lurch, at a church Where people 're saying, “My God that’s tough, she stood him up. No point in us remaining.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/18 "2011-06-06T18:11:43Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Eh? If the girl has money, do something that costs some money. If the girl has no money find something you can do that doesn’t cost money. > > To put an objectionable spin on it would require some odd mental contortions. IMO, or course. MO varies, of course. To me it’s pretty clear that that line refers to the idea that there are two types of girls, the type you want to court or marry (with rich daddies), and the type you just want to fool around with. You _could_ read it another way, but like you, I feel it would require mental contortions to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/19 "2011-06-06T18:38:11Z")
Yeah, if the girl’s father is rich, she’s worthy of being taken out and shown respect. If her daddy’s poor, you can do whatever you want with her, she doesn’t deserve to be taken to dinner or anything, she’s just a cheap fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470/20 "2011-06-06T19:20:53Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I always kind of liked “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” not realizing that it was solely about a gay man seducing a straight man. I’m not getting that from the lyrics at all, and I went and [looked them up](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elton+john/dont+let+the+sun+go+down+on+me_20046440.html). The one I really grew to dislike after really listening to the words is the Stones’ [Under My Thumb](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rolling+stones/under+my+thumb_20117884.html). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-you-used-to-like-until-you-really-listened-to-the-lyrics/584470.md?page=2)