# What is truly the worst song you have ever heard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160 "2005-10-20T23:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/301 "2005-10-26T00:40:59Z")
> [@melondeca](#): > > I can’t believe this thread is five pages and no one has mentioned the monstrosity that is _Pushing up the Daisies_ by **Ween**. > > Everytime someone says they like this song, a little kitten is killed. That makes what…two dead kittens. :eek: I just heard this song in its entirety today…Good lawdy! I don’t see how anyone could possibly “sing” like that unless there was a botched throat surgery involved. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/302 "2005-10-26T03:55:04Z")
Wow - I must be one of the most tolerant people in the world. I’ve heard most of the songs listed here and I can’t say I dislike any of the ones I know - including the Country. However, there is at least one song which is worse than Vogon Poetry put to music by Bryan Adams. I give you… (warning, the song will start playing if you click the link) [Gwen Stefani](http://www.gwen-stefani-lyrics.com/gwen-stefani-hollaback-girl.html) ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/303 "2005-10-26T04:39:38Z")
My fiancee has requested that I submit one for him. The only recording I can find is from [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) - look for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. “A Fifth of Beethoven” True to my bad taste - I happen to like this one. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/304 "2005-10-26T04:48:00Z")
I admit I’m biased, because I hate hate hate songs about drinking, but “All Jacked Up” (as in Jack Daniels) by Gretchen Wilson has all my hate at the moment. Of course, I’m not such a fan of hers, after “Redneck Woman” (more like white trash woman–thanks ever so much, honey, for perpetuating stereotypes) and that song about how the only reason she won’t cheat on her husband is because if he finds out, he’ll leave her. :rolleyes: Maybe I should stop listening to country music, or just give in and only listen to stuff made before I was born. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/305 "2005-10-27T13:58:51Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > _We built this city_ – Jefferson Starship. It’s not by Jefferson Starship. It’s by Starship. They are two different lineups. Jefferson Starship was still a halfway decent reincarnation of Jefferson Airplane, that grew out of a one-time collaboration of former Airplane members and other such notables as Jerry Garcia and David Crosby, which took the name “Jefferson Starship” informally. (During this collaboration, founding member of Airplane Paul Kantner and the most famous Airplane member Grace Slick had a daughter together). Later, Slick and Katner would start a new “Jefferson Starship” as the founding members and record a series of commercially successful albums and the hit single “Miracles.” Slick’s alcoholism ended up causing major problems and she left the band. Marty Balin (lead singer and founding member of Jefferson Airplane who had signed up with Jefferson Starship after Katner and Slick as the lead singer once again) left the band later, forcing Balin and company to find a new lead singer. Thus gving the world the utter horror that was (is?) Mickey Thomas. And Grace Slick came back. In 1984, Katner left the band and sued his former bandmates to force them to lose the “Jefferson” name. Thus was born Starship under the (complete lack of) musical prowess that was Mickey Thomas, giving us such glurgey 1980’s cheese as “We Built This City,” “Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now,” “It’s Not Over 'Til It’s Over,” and “Sarah,” a song that makes “We Built This City” look like Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” by comparison. The only thing redeeming that can be said about “Sarah” is that you never have to hear it anymore, since even Starship fans seemed to find it awful. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Grace should have stuck with the drugs. Nope. The drugs were the problem. I believe Grace Slick even went on record once, when asked as to why Starship was so awful, and said that she had little to do with the management of the band. She had enough problems just being in the lineup to sing because she was still struggling with her alcohol and drug problems. This is proof, kids, that excessive alcohol and drug use is bad for you. It causes you to let someone like Mickey Thomas take over your band and destroy any semblance of musical ability it once had in its bygone days. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > “Your Kiss Is On My List” by that duo in the '80’s–I used to turn off my Walkman when that came on. That would be Hall and Oates. Creators of such pop-creations as “Out of Touch” and “Method of Modern Love.” > [@cosmosdan](#): > > Good Morning Starshine by Donovan > > I mean with lyrics like these > > If we’re talking songs that made the charts it’s gotta be a real contender right? > [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Donovan did not do this song. You’re thinking of Oliver. It was originally part of the musical Hair, lyrics written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. > [@bluecanary](#): > > Seriously, has no-one else heard the Taco song? Yes. And I had blissfully forgotten it until now. I’ll add another few to the running. Just about any song written by Dennis DeYoung for Styx. You can always tell which songs DeYoung wrote compared to which ones Tommy Shaw wrote. Tommy Shaw’s as a general rule don’t suck. DeYoung’s as a general rule do. (Greanted, there were exceptions on both parts.) I believe Homer J. Simpson put it best, when he was playing the part of Odysseus, and had to cross the river Styx. As a bunch of skeletons are rocking out to DeYoung’s “Lady,” Homer exclaims “Oh my God! It really is Hell!” > [@Mona Lott](#): > > I get really frustrated when I remember that such musical powerhouses as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bruce Springsteen have never had a Number One Hit, but such awful hacks like Paper Lace and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods have topped the charts. The '70s was a time of some truly horrific “music”. And Jimmy Hendrix. He was a one hit wonder, and the only song he recorded that cracked the top 20 list (which is what allows a single to be considered a “hit”) he didn’t even write. “All Along the Watchtower” was a cover of a Dylan song. A cover that was so good that Dylan in retrospect wished he would have done it the way Jimmy did. So popularity does not guarantee talent, and lack of popularity doesn’t indicate a lack of talent. If anything, the songs that are appreciated most tend to be the ones that weren’t chart toppers, mainly because even if the chart toppers are genuinely good songs (e.g. Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven) they suffer form such overexposure that people get sick of them. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/306 "2005-10-27T15:03:54Z")
> [@Hoopy Frood](#): > > And Jimmy Hendrix. He was a one hit wonder, and the only song he recorded that cracked the top 20 list (which is what allows a single to be considered a “hit”) he didn’t even write. “All Along the Watchtower” was a cover of a Dylan song. Goodness…you certainly have strength in your convictions. All the hatin’ on Mickey Thomas (“Jane” is one of my minor faves, along with “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”, which he did with Elvin Bishop). You do realize that he spelled it “Jimi”, right? I recall Purple Haze making the Top 20 at least in my local area, summer of '67; I’ll have to check the Billboard charts when I get home. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/307 "2005-10-27T16:13:22Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > Let’s make that [Rocky](http://www.twin-music.com/azlyrics/r_file/austinroberts.html) Oh, thanks for putting THAT one back in my head! :eek: It seems that, IMHO, during the '70s, there was an absolute plethora of horrible songs like this, mostly in the middle of the decade. Pop music was at its nadir; most of the established rock bands had gotten stale and I think record companies were desperate to sign people as they scrambled to find “the next big thing”. This led to “Rocky”, the aforementioned “Run Joey Run”, “Chevy Van” by Sammy Johns and other assorted dreck. But hearing one after so many years is kinda fun, like watching an Ed Wood movie–better, actually, because bad songs last only 3 minutes! For anyone in that Ed Wood mindset regarding bad songs, I recommend XM radio’s “70s” channel–it’s just chock full of stuff like that! Regarding the previous posts about Starship and Styx–I’ll see those and raise you **Journey**! Is there a worse song in the pop universe than “Open Arms”? ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/308 "2005-10-27T17:09:57Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > You do realize that he spelled it “Jimi”, right? Yeah, it was a typo, nothing more. > [@](#): > > I recall Purple Haze making the Top 20 at least in my local area, summer of '67; I’ll have to check the Billboard charts when I get home. Maybe locally, but it peaked at 65 in the U.S. It did make it to #3 in the U.K., though. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/309 "2005-10-27T18:29:26Z")
> [@Mona Lott](#): > > I get really frustrated when I remember that such musical powerhouses as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bruce Springsteen have never had a Number One Hit, but such awful hacks like Paper Lace and Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods have topped the charts. The '70s was a time of some truly horrific “music”. > [@Hoopy Frood](#): > > And [Jimi] Hendrix. He was a one hit wonder, and the only song he recorded that cracked the top 20 list (which is what allows a single to be considered a “hit”) he didn’t even write. “All Along the Watchtower” was a cover of a Dylan song. A cover that was so good that Dylan in retrospect wished he would have done it the way [Jimi] did. So popularity does not guarantee talent, and lack of popularity doesn’t indicate a lack of talent. If anything, the songs that are appreciated most tend to be the ones that weren’t chart toppers, mainly because even if the chart toppers are genuinely good songs (e.g. Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven) they suffer form such overexposure that people get sick of them. While we’re on the subject, Dylan’s never had a Number One Hit either. One thing to remember, however, is the reason why many great songs seemingly didn’t make much of an impact on the Top 40 was that the songs weren’t released as singles. Starting in the 60’s, many artists chose to concentrate on whole albums rather than individual singles and, thus, only released that latter on an infrequent basis. Radio stations (especially those on the then-new FM band) still played their songs, but as “album cuts” rather than singles. As a result, artists like Dylan, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, and Pink Floyd still became icons despite their lack of Top 40 singles. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/310 "2005-10-27T18:41:20Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > Regarding the previous posts about Starship and Styx–I’ll see those and raise you **Journey**! Is there a worse song in the pop universe than “Open Arms”? Open Arms is bad, definitely their worst. But I’ve always been fond of songs such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Wheel in the Sky,” “Lights,” “Lovin’, Touchin’ Squeezin’” (mainly because the lyrics are amusing, especially when he taunts his ex-lover with “Na na na na na”), and “Only the Young.” ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/311 "2005-10-27T19:57:22Z")
Another piece of dreck from the 70s was the song \*Build Me Up, Buttercup \* by the Foundatons. This song makes almost no sense lyrically and is sung in an insanely cheerful manner by a man who is supposedly broken up by how his girlfriend has been giving him the run-around. It’s songs like this that remind why I gave up on AM radio. Somebody must’ve liked song because it was popular but it makes me cringe with it’s incessant inanity. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/312 "2005-10-27T20:04:54Z")
Okay, I got a new one this week: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blackeyedpeas/myhumps.html by The Black-eyed Peas (which I constantly confuse with Red Hot Chilli Peppers don’t ask me why. This is just plain awful, even for them. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/313 "2005-10-27T20:22:30Z")
Alan O’Day’s 1977 #1 smash **Undercover Angel** , an obvious cash-in on the popularity of the TV show _Charlie’s Angels_. It’s so bad, even the producers of the new movie remakes didn’t commission a cover. [Allmusic.com](http://Allmusic.com) claims the song has never been covered, and let’s hope it stays that way. And now, as an act of pure evil, I will plant the bridge in the brains of those unfortunate to have ever heard the song. I say “whaAATT??” Ooh hoo hoo-eee I say “All right!!” Love me Love me Love me ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/314 "2005-10-27T22:36:22Z")
> [@ddgryphon](#): > > Okay, I got a new one this week: > > http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blackeyedpeas/myhumps.html by The Black-eyed Peas (which I constantly confuse with Red Hot Chilli Peppers don’t ask me why. > This is just plain awful, even for them. Red Hot Chilli Peppers=good Black-Eyed Peas=suck (God, Fergie is fucking gross) ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/315 "2005-10-28T00:23:30Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > One thing to remember, however, is the reason why many great songs seemingly didn’t make much of an impact on the Top 40 was that the songs weren’t released as singles. True. The other reason is that Top 40 is pretty much driven by 12-year-old females, which is one reason why Hillary Duff can outsell Frank Zappa. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![instar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@instar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/instar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/316 "2005-10-28T00:54:53Z")
I have an incredible tolerance for music. I’ll listen to just about anything, really; but even I have a limit. Songs like _Kashmir_ and _Black Dog_ by Led Zeppelin make my ears bleed. But my vote for worst song (in recent history, at least) goes to _Headstrong_ , by Trapt. Lyrics such as Headstrong, I’ll take you on Headstrong, to take on anyone I know that you are wrong And this is not where you belong make me lose my faith in the American music industry, and humanity in general. Oh the pain… ---
**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:** [October 28, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/317 "2005-10-28T00:59:27Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > I say “whaAATT??” > Ooh hoo hoo-eee > I say “All right!!” > Love me Love me Love me How can I not like a song that makes me giggle so much? The only one that makes me laugh harder is “It Must Be Him” by Vicki Carr. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/318 "2005-10-28T00:59:42Z")
**instar** , that reminds me of the hellacious Papa Roach song “Scars,” which I personally read as an ode to self-mutilation: > [@](#): > > Our scars remind us that the past is real > I tear my heart open just to feel! Um. Literally? Ew. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/319 "2005-10-28T01:14:39Z")
> [@La Llorona](#): > > Um. Literally? Ew. 😉 [Tom Lehrer]At your command before you here I stand My heart is in my hand…yecch [/Tom Lehrer] ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/320 "2005-10-28T02:04:36Z")
Objectively, the worst released song I’ve ever heard is “If it’s in you”, by Syd Barrett. It starts off with a miscue, in which Syd sings in a “adolescent voice-breaking” falsetto by mistake, then he starts over. He then sings _terribly_ off key in a horrible voice for the rest of the song, with horrible lyrics (seriously, you have to hear it.) But it’s all tongue in cheek, so subjectively, it doesn’t really count. Worst, subjectively? Any hit by a hair metal band. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160.md?page=17)