# “Throwaway” Lines in Songs That Make You Say WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 5, 2020, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823 "2020-11-05T10:13:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/41 "2020-11-06T00:30:26Z")
> [@Acierocolotl](#): > > Is a whole song that’s just a throwaway going to count? In that vein, I present to you “T-Bone” by Neil Young: "Got mashed potatoes Got mashed potatoes Got mashed potatoes Ain’t got no T-bone Ain’t got no T-bone Got mashed potatoes Got mashed potatoes Got mashed potatoes Got mashed potatoes Ain’t got no T-bone…" Repeat… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/42 "2020-11-06T00:33:35Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > It’s as if some of you have never been _really, really high_ before This. I could list numerous Tom Waits lyrics that many would agree fits the idea of this thread, yet the lyrics have meaning to me, and intense, though completely different meaning to someone else. I wish old Tom posted here. He doesn’t, does he •eyeballs _that_ poster•? ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/43 "2020-11-06T00:36:01Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Oh I hate it too. Everyone hates it. Steve Miller is not what you would call a “major talent.” Correct. But he’s an incredible business man. The guy had a few hits over a few years time close to 40 years ago, and has parlayed that into a net worth of tens of millions of dollars. And he is _still_ a touring concern now at the age of 77. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/44 "2020-11-06T00:44:26Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping I get this line. He’s depressed/sad because he’s having trouble with his girlfriend, and all he has the energy for is staring at the floor, and even that’s reminding him of his failure - he doesn’t have the energy to do the bare minimum of cleaning because he is so depressed ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/45 "2020-11-06T02:52:04Z")
How about lyrics that get faded out to the point of silence, just as the very last words are uttered, in Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/46 "2020-11-06T02:55:32Z")
I went to the doctor to see what he could give me He said son, son you’ve gone too far 'Cause smoking and tripping is all that you do Yeeeaaaahhh Black Sabbath, of course ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/47 "2020-11-06T03:03:41Z")
…which reminds me, speaking of doctors. Back in the mists of time, my mom mentioned one of her fave Beatles lyrics, in “Rocky Racoon”: _Well the doctor came in,_ _Stinking of gin,_ _ **And proceeded to lie on the table.** _ yeah, that always got my funny bone. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/48 "2020-11-06T03:38:59Z")
And his guitar gently weeps through the whole situation. Sung by a drug using hippy that would rather just strum out a song on a guiter than doing domestic chores. Love and miss this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/49 "2020-11-06T04:27:48Z")
MacArthur Park is a great vocal showcase. Steve Miller may not be the greatest talent, but I would love to be as talentless as him. Everyone hated that song so much it hit #1, and nearly 50 years later, people still talk about the, “pompatus of love.” SOMEBODY GIMME A CHEESEBURGER! The Turtles were great, and while their lyrics were at times silly, they were silly on purpose, so consider that. **My contributions:** _Cisco Kid by War:_ We met down on the Fort of Rio Grande We met down on the Fort of Rio Grande _ **Eat the salted peanuts out of can** _ _ **Eat the salted peanuts out the can** _ Nothing else of note was happening? _Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones:_ Hey ho, let’s go _ **Shoot 'em in the back now** _ What they want, I don’t know They’re all revved up and ready to go Shoot them? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/50 "2020-11-06T05:39:36Z")
It’s not a throwaway line, because it’s repeated over and over again in the chorus, but in the song “Human”, The Killers ask > Are we human or are we dancer? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RIZdjT1472Y/maxresdefault.jpg "The Killers - Human (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZdjT1472Y) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/51 "2020-11-06T06:45:57Z")
Ever since this thread came up, I’ve been trying to remember which old song had earwormed me recently and had a line that bugs me. It just now came to me: _Big Girls Don’t Cry_–“that’s just an alibi.” Uh, that’s not what the word alibi means… ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/52 "2020-11-06T07:27:00Z")
I know I can’t be the only person in the world who doesn’t require the lyrics of others to perfectly fit conventional sense or understanding. Well, I know for a fact others hate particular genres of music for being “too literal” and using such simple language. I like when writers write things that have meaning to them and they have no need to interpret them for anyone else. Most of these are fairly mundane to me, and I don’t even get high. That said, while I enjoy bands/singers with very quirky and obscure references there are a few that get me mostly for the “cringe” factor. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/53 "2020-11-06T10:21:01Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > It’s not a throwaway line, because it’s repeated over and over again in the chorus, but in the song “Human”, The Killers ask > > > Are we human or are we dancer? If I remember correctly this is a quote (or neat quote) of Hunter S Thompson. OK: I’ll contribute the Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Marc Bolan **[Debora](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1rbcy2kDo0)** O Debora always look like a zebra Your sunken face is like a galleon Clawed with mysteries of the Spanish main O Debora. **[Bang A Gong (Get It On)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVEhDrJzM8E)** Well you’re built like a car You’ve got a hubcap Diamond star halo You’re built like a car Oh yeah And most of all, **[Hot Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGx7nrjn0ic)** Well, she ain’t no witch And I love the way she twitch, ah, ah, ah… Well, she’s faster than most And she lives on the coast, ah, ah, ah… …I’ll stop there because I don’t want to breach fair use rules. But I could go on with that song and many more. j ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/54 "2020-11-06T13:12:55Z")
“…And all the colored girls sing…” Which is exactly what the backup singers do. How is it a throwaway line? ---
**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 6, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/55 "2020-11-06T13:18:20Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > all he has the energy for is staring at the floor, and even that’s reminding him of his failure - he doesn’t have the energy to do the bare minimum of cleaning because he is so depressed Good thing the room didn’t have carpet or he would’ve had to find a rhyme for “hoovering”. (See the see the love there that’s maneuvering?) ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/56 "2020-11-06T13:34:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It just now came to me: _Big Girls Don’t Cry_ –“that’s just an alibi.” Uh, that’s not what the word alibi means… > And shall my name until I die > Be nothing but an alibi I wonder how many other songs misuse that word. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/57 "2020-11-06T16:26:53Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Oh I hate it too. Everyone hates it. Steve Miller is not what you would call a “major talent.” I love The Steve Miller Band - I just bought 11 of their songs to fill a hole in my iTunes catalogue. In fact, I’m listening to “Swing Town” right now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/58 "2020-11-06T16:31:15Z")
My own contribution, from “Into The Night” by Benny Mardones. “She’s just 16 years old, Leave her alone, They said.” It looks like he has explained it to make it sound less creepy, but I don’t think the explanation actually helps any. ☹ > **[Into The Night by Benny Mardones - Songfacts](https://www.songfacts.com/facts/benny-mardones/into-the-night)** > > Into The Night by Benny Mardones song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/59 "2020-11-06T17:58:44Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I know I can’t be the only person in the world who doesn’t require the lyrics of others to perfectly fit conventional sense or understanding. Well, I know for a fact others hate particular genres of music for being “too literal” and using such simple language. I like when writers write things that have meaning to them and they have no need to interpret them for anyone else. Most of these are fairly mundane to me, and I don’t even get high. That said, while I enjoy bands/singers with very quirky and obscure references there are a few that get me mostly for the “cringe” factor. No, you’re not the only one. It’s called “poetic license.” Many people don’t have the imagination to accept anything but the most literal of interpretations for anything. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823/60 "2020-11-06T19:07:04Z")
Well, then there is the lyrical noodling, I’m the black ace dog handler, I’m the waiter on skates So don’t jump to your foreskin conclusion 'Cause I’m up to my deaf ears In cold breakfast trays To be cleared before I can dine on Your sweet Sunday lunch confusion This from one of the most refined lyricists in popular music, Ian Anderson. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/throwaway-lines-in-songs-that-make-you-say-wtf/924823.md?page=4)