# Strange Lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2000, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894 "2000-08-27T03:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/41 "2000-09-03T03:05:52Z")
C’mon! We’re talking about Cobain and nobody mentions “I wanna eat your cancer…”? Jeez. You people. –Tim ---
**Author:** ![JoeyHemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@JoeyHemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeyHemlock)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/42 "2000-09-03T03:28:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homer \* > **C’mon! We’re talking about Cobain and nobody mentions “I wanna eat your cancer…”?** [Homer] Mmmmmmmmmm, Caaaancer… [/Homer] ---
**Author:** ![iksova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/59ef9b/32.png) [@iksova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iksova)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/43 "2000-09-03T03:33:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FarrisGoldstein \* > \*\*I think Kurt Cobain was an idiot though, and did not cry one bit when he killed himself. I never tale pity on rock stars who kill themselves, it’s selfish and ridiculous. \*\* I cried, and I wasn’t even into Nirvana at the time. I only had thier unplugged album. I think it was his eyes. They still haunt me. How can anyone be that sad? ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/44 "2000-09-03T03:39:43Z")
my best friend at the time cried her eyes out. it didn’t even register with me… ---
**Author:** ![Angie\_Gailbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@Angie\_Gailbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angie_Gailbird)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/45 "2000-09-03T05:07:01Z")
What about Tori Amos? I love her songs, but some of the lyrics make no sense. **From Space Dog:** Deck the halls, I’m young again I’m you again Racing turtles, the grapefruit is winning **From Bliss:** Father, I killed my monkey ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/46 "2000-09-03T05:23:16Z")
I have a theory about “Call me Al”. Simon was good friends with Chevy Chase. In fact, Chase was in the video with him. And one of Chevy’s common shticks was to mispronounce people’s names. Just before the song was made, Chevy starred in “Caddyshack”, in which he spent the entire movie calling the kid in the movie ‘Betty’ instead of ‘Danny’. I always thought the song was a reference to this. I’ve never heard that analysis anywhere else, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw the video. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/47 "2000-09-03T07:49:24Z")
> [@](#): > > What about Peter Gabriels ‘Games without Frontiers’? Does anyone know what that song’s about? I think it’s about world politics in the nuclear age. I don’t pretend to understand all the references in the song, but “Adolph builds a bonfire; Enrico plays with it” sounds to me like a reference to Hitler and Fermi. “Games without frontiers, war without tears” could refer to the detached attitude that many world leaders seem to have towards war. Or it’s an indictment of the childish attitudes that lead to war (“Dressing up in costumes/Playing silly games/Hiding out in treetops/Shouting out rude names”). Or something. Maybe Peter just had some of the brown acid. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/48 "2000-09-03T13:52:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homer \* > \*\*Gravity, the line breaks in that song are where he pauses to breathe, and they do make sense if you’ve heard the song (I’m assuming you haven’t…?). > \*\* Of course I have, silly! 🙂 One of my current favorites, actually. I just meant that it’s a darn funny way of breaking the lines donwn. It would have looked better on paper like this: If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman If I’m alive and well, will you be there holding my hand I’ll keep you by my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite That’s all. It struck me as some very strange places to put the line breaks. It looked awkward. Just the visual poet in me, I guess. It also would better reflect where they actually pause. Oh, well. Such a tiny nit to pick. K. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894/49 "2000-09-03T13:59:27Z")
MacArthur’s Park (by Jimmy Webb, sung originally by Richard Harris). Rumor was that Richard Harris won a bet by making that record, he, a non singer, singing a song that had no meaning, and yet went on to be a hit. example: “MacArthurs Park is melting in the rain… I don’t think that I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it and we’ll never have that recipe again… oh, no!!!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-lyrics/30894.md?page=2)