# Things you learned from lyrics, pretentious or otherwise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 1, 2024, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535 "2024-11-01T05:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/21 "2024-11-01T19:30:05Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > Elvis Costello’s [“Less than Zero”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZe7b7LMQ4) was where I first heard of British fascist Oswald Mosley. It was The Men They Couldn’t Hang’s _[Ghosts of Cable Street](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv9iZ6Aj8oM)_, for me. And I learned who Marinus van der Lubbe was from Einstürzende Neubauten’s _Feurio!_ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/22 "2024-11-03T20:53:09Z")
The song “High School Confidential” encouraged me to look up Anita Ekberg, Mamie Van Doren and Dagmar. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/23 "2024-11-03T23:03:04Z")
I learned that when gambling, I have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/24 "2024-11-03T23:05:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > And I learned who Marinus van der Lubbe was from Einstürzende Neubauten’s _Feurio!_ Nice! Also, thanks to Boney M: Ra-ra Rasputin Lover of the Russian queen They put some poison into his wine Ra-ra Rasputin Russia’s greatest love machine He drank it all and said, “I feel fine” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/25 "2024-11-03T23:17:56Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Also, thanks to Boney M: Boney M were historians. Just listen also to “Ma Baker”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f3XcNskAxp0/maxresdefault.jpg "Ma Baker") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3XcNskAxp0&t=3s) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/26 "2024-11-03T23:57:35Z")
I learned that King Tut was born in Arizona and moved to Babylonia. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/27 "2024-11-04T00:48:09Z")
But was he buried with a donkey? ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/28 "2024-11-04T11:29:44Z")
Some of the accomplishments of non-white people in Black Man by Stevie Wonder. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535/29 "2024-11-04T14:37:51Z")
“Timothy Leary’s dead. Oh No no no he’s outside looking in,” sang the Moody Blues in 1968. He wasn’t dead (at that time) but I was inspired to find out who he was. Beats me how I did that without Wikipedia [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-learned-from-lyrics-pretentious-or-otherwise/1009535.md?page=1)