# Titles that don’t seem to belong to the work **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058 "2011-03-01T13:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/21 "2011-03-02T01:47:09Z")
How about Zeppelin’s **D’yer Mak’er**? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/22 "2011-03-02T02:08:52Z")
The Long Kiss Goodnight. I think most of the reason this movie bombed is because its intended audience didn’t know it was an action film. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/23 "2011-03-02T02:21:01Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > It’s explained right in the first paragraph of the link. I know that, but many of these other examples are the same way. They have explanations that aren’t apparent without additional research or by having the authors explain. Without Pete Townsend saying so, would anyone make that connection? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/24 "2011-03-02T03:53:54Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > How about Zeppelin’s **D’yer Mak’er**? “My wife went to the West Indies” “Jamaica?” “No, she went of her own accord.” Very old joke. When Led Zep did a reggae-influenced song, they referenced the joke by calling it D’yer Mak’er (Jamaica). Yes, kind of silly, but not inexplicable. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/25 "2011-03-02T03:59:59Z")
If you stretch the meaning of “title” to include band names, 99.9% have nothing to do with the band or their music. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/26 "2011-03-02T04:43:17Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Good one. In the book version, one of the kids (or was it the dog) does actually eat some daisies! > > I’m sure there are some Led Zeppelin songs that would fit this thread. _Thank You._ 😃 And re: D’yer Maker: A Brooklyn couple gets married and boards the train for Long Island. At one of the stops, the conductor announces the stop: _D’yer Maker_ The groom gets up and punches the conductor. He thought the conductor had asked, “Did ya make her?” The joke was from a more modest time. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/27 "2011-03-02T06:09:13Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Worse: It’s a reference to trainspotting at a station where no trains have run in decades. [From the Wikipedia entry for the novel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trainspotting_%28novel%29):(Emphasis mine.) Definitely plays up the theme of pointlessness. I don’t know if the scene is in the movie. It was in the Play (performed in Aberdeen) Including the actor urinating on stage facing the audience! Jees! I get stage fright if another dude is standing next to me at the urinal! I was well impressed! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/28 "2011-03-02T06:37:35Z")
> [@manila](#): > > It was in the Play (performed in Aberdeen) Including the actor urinating on stage facing the audience! Jees! I get stage fright if another dude is standing next to me at the urinal! I was well impressed! “The front row will get wet. Second row, no promises.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/29 "2011-03-03T01:19:41Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > “My wife went to the West Indies” > > “Jamaica?” > > “No, she went of her own accord.” > > Very old joke. > > When Led Zep did a reggae-influenced song, they referenced the joke by calling it D’yer Mak’er (Jamaica). > > Yes, kind of silly, but not inexplicable. I know what it means, and where they got it. I also know that - in keeping with the OP - the title does not work. mmm ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/30 "2011-03-03T02:03:56Z")
**The Squid and the Whale** sounds like some b-grade monster movie. It’s actually about divorce. Then there’s **Naked Lunch.** ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/31 "2011-03-03T02:06:48Z")
I can think of at least two things wrong with that title. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/32 "2011-03-03T20:05:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eco’s _The Name of the Rose_ is a strong contender here. The copy I read had an afterword by the author suggesting a few possible explanations, but I don’t think even he was clear on why he chose that title. Was the one used for the movie one of those, or was that invented for the film? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/33 "2011-03-03T20:14:32Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The title is a reference to an episode where Begbie and Renton meet “an auld drunkard” in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are visiting to use as a toilet. He asks them if they are “trainspottin”, as Renton is urinating onto the stonework. Trains have not run to Leith since 1952. In the book, was it not also mentioned that the ‘auld drunkard’ was Begbie’s father? This scene did not make the movie. ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/34 "2011-03-04T00:16:53Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Grateful Dead have several songs that fit, including Wharf Rat, The Other One and Greatest Story Ever Told… Wharf Rat 1. Someone who lives near wharves and lives by pilfering from ships or warehouses. _Wharf Rat_: “Old man down, way down down, down by the docks of the city. Blind and dirty, asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee.” _Greatest Story Ever Told_ was a movie about Jesus and the song name checks a few biblical dudes, so it’s not a huge stretch. For _The Other One_, I always envisioned a conversation like, “Play that song.” “What, this one.” (Plays) “No, the other one.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/35 "2011-03-04T01:05:55Z")
I have never understood the title “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” I wouldn’t call Blondie particularly Good, nor Tuco particularly Ugly. I would agree, though, that Angel Eyes is pretty Bad. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/36 "2011-03-04T05:03:04Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > For _The Other One_, I always envisioned a conversation like, “Play that song.” “What, this one.” (Plays) “No, the other one.” IIRC, in their early concerts they had a couple of standard jams, “Alligator” and another which didn’t really have a name. The other one became known as “The Other One.” ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/37 "2011-03-04T05:10:04Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > Wharf Rat > > 1. Someone who lives near wharves and lives by pilfering from ships or warehouses. > > _Wharf Rat_: > “Old man down, way down down, down by the docks of the city. > Blind and dirty, asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee.” Yeah, I fully understand the symbolism of a homeless alcoholic being compared to a wharf rat, I still think the example it fits the spirit of the thread. Your wisdom on the subject is certainly appreciated… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/38 "2011-03-04T05:16:17Z")
About half the stuff by Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, and a lot of the stuff by My Chemical Romance too. Occasionally the words _do_ describe the song in a roundabout way (such as _Camisado_ by Panic! is about a stay in a mental institution, so via its relation to _Camisole_ the title could refer to straitjackets,) but just as often the titles have absolutely nothing to do with the song. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/39 "2011-03-04T06:40:47Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I have never understood the title “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” > > I wouldn’t call Blondie particularly Good, nor Tuco particularly Ugly. I would agree, though, that Angel Eyes is pretty Bad. The original title in Italian: **Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo**. Which translates literally to _The good, the ugly, the bad_. I’m guessing the order was changed to sound better in English. As to what it means, my take is that there is a little of each in all of us. Or, quite possibly, it doesn’t mean anything much, it just _sounds_ cool. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058/40 "2011-03-04T07:09:06Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > “Vision Quest”, the Matthew Modine wrestling movie. One of my favorite movies. I thought that the concept of the Native American “vision quest” was explained by the character “Kuch” at some point in the movie, but it may have only been discussed in the novel. Darryl Ponicsan (of _Taps_ and _The Last Detail_) wrote the screenplay; Terry Davis wrote the original novel, which was _drastically_ different from the film. The Louden Swain of the novel is much more of a “hick” and the atmosphere and tone of the novel are far more working-class; there is also a lot of sex talk, including some sexual undertones, and the whole story feels a little sordid, but is also much more naturalistic and “sensual” in the Charles Gaines mold. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-that-don-t-seem-to-belong-to-the-work/573058.md?page=3)