The song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke taught me how to pronounce “Decatur.”
I always pronounced it “Dekka-TER.” Apparently it’s pronounce “Dih-KAY-ter.”
There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.
Arguably the song with most potential as a teaching tool is Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. I was out of school when it came out, but we’ve all read stories about teachers that used it in class. Even though I had some (in some instances very little) knowledge of most everything that is mentioned, it prompted me to seek out more info on each of the subjects. It also helps as a general history timeline, if you remember all the verses in order.
If you knock three times on the ceiling you love me.
Bird is the word.
There are 50 ways to leave a lover.
The song Orinoco Flow made me google the Orinoco river and read about it.
But Paul Simon will only tell you about half a dozen or so - the discovery of rest is an exercise for the listener.
Maybe Paul only knew six of them. Anyway, “There must be at least six ways to leave your lover” doesn’t work lyrically. IMHO.
The Christmas Shoes led me to hear Patton Oswalt’s stand up. His deconstruction of the song is fantastic.
I’m so vain; I probably think this song’s about me.
Shit. I was thinking I’d go through a holiday season without being reminded of that song.
Uriah Heep’s Circle of Hands taught me “Today is only yesterday’s tomorrow”.
Fake your own death, Seth
Catch the next train, Shane
Move to Detroit, Hoyt
Just run away, Jay
I shook AC/DC all night long.
Muskrats can fall in love.
Here’s your earworm, move along… here’s your earworm, move along…
I actually don’t think ‘‘Boys of Summer’’ is a stupid song, but it did teach me what Wayfarers are.
For the longest time it sounded to me like ‘‘weight-bearers’’ but I knew that made no sense. Eventually it annoyed me enough to look it up.
There’s some kind of little tinkling (?) sound in that song that plays periodically. Every time it did, one of my friends would say “They’re doing it.”
Poe, Edgar Allen. American poet. Born in eighteen hundred and nine. He wrote “Cock Robin” and “My Darling Clementine”.
James Ensor was a Belgian painter.