# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/41 "2005-10-21T02:09:27Z")
The other day I was in the grocery store and they played that “If you like pina coladas” song. Damn! In this day and age, does anyone still believe that people want to listen to that piece of crap? I’m surprised no one ran screaming out of th store! ---
**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 21, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/42 "2005-10-21T02:15:44Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > What’s amazing is that nearly all of these songs seem to appear on every 70s compilation you see. That means the writers and performers continue to profit from them. … or only their record company is. A lot of these were one-hit wonders by performers who probably sold their souls for their recording contract. I’ve been reading Robert Fripp’s online diary WAY too long to believe that the performers are seeing much money out of these. ---
**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 21, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/43 "2005-10-21T02:18:22Z")
I came here to mention both **Honey** and Seasons In The Sun, so i can only second those monstrosities. I’d like to mention also\*\* Yummy Yummy Yummy (I’ve Got Love In My Tummy)\*\* by the 1910 Fruit Gum Co. I have nightmares where this song is the soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/44 "2005-10-21T02:22:18Z")
> [@marque elf](#): > > I came here to mention both **Honey** and Seasons In The Sun, so i can only second those monstrosities. I’d like to mention also\*\* Yummy Yummy Yummy (I’ve Got Love In My Tummy)\*\* by the 1910 Fruit Gum Co. I have nightmares where this song is the soundtrack. Just to make you sicker, how about “Honey, Honey” by the Archies? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/45 "2005-10-21T02:29:07Z")
> [@Kilvert's Pagan](#): > > Wow - where to start? Most of the really shitty music in my experience was in the 70’s… the bleak counterpoint to a period of time that also created some really great music. > > Some of the obvious nominees, just from that period (some already mentioned above): > Kung Fu Fighting > Copacabana Her name was lola…she was a show girl… Everybody was kungfu fightin’ Awesome toe tappin’ tunes! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/46 "2005-10-21T02:32:43Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Just to make you sicker, how about “Honey, Honey” by the Archies? > 😃 Are you sure you don’t mean “Sugar, Sugar”? I was partial to “Jingle, Jangle”. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/47 "2005-10-21T02:34:33Z")
> [@Kilvert's Pagan](#): > > … or only their record company is. A lot of these were one-hit wonders by performers who probably sold their souls for their recording contract. > > I’ve been reading Robert Fripp’s online diary WAY too long to believe that the performers are seeing much money out of these. I know Norman Greenbaum has made a decent living for the last 35 years just his one hit wonder, “Spirit in the Sky”. What else does Fripp talk about? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/48 "2005-10-21T02:37:50Z")
From the first time I heard it, I hated Whitney Houston’s cover of _I Will Always Love You_. A string of repeated flat notes, belted out loudly. How she got so popular absolutely escapes me (ymmv, of course). ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/49 "2005-10-21T02:39:47Z")
And the winner is: _We Are The World_ by Not-the-Bandaid (forgotten if they ever gave themselves a name - wouldn’t imagine they’d want to) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/50 "2005-10-21T02:41:21Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > From the first time I heard it, I hated Whitney Houston’s cover of _I Will Always Love You_. > > A string of repeated flat notes, belted out loudly. How she got so popular absolutely escapes me (ymmv, of course). Tell me about it. I saw an interview with Dolly Parton and she was asked what she thought about Whitney’s slaughtering, uh, version of her classic song. Dolly kinda fumbled around the subject saying something about how she was glad it sold over 6 million copies. Ka-ching! ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/51 "2005-10-21T03:14:14Z")
I don’t know if I can pinpoint the absolute worst song I’ve ever heard, but off the top of my head, the first thing that comes to my mind is Jan Hammer’s **“Oh Yeah.”** (Which is a shame, because he also did the soundtrack to Beyond the Mind’s Eye, which I love.) ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/52 "2005-10-21T03:25:38Z")
There was this song, I think it was big in '98 or '99, and it was called Blue. I **loathed** this song, even more because it was repetitive enough that it got stuck in your head. I worked at a popular nightclub in my area at the time and every night the DJ would send out “This special song to our special lady Poysyn, because she loves it so much.” UGH! I can’t remember the group, but it was a horrible, horrible song. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/53 "2005-10-21T03:28:21Z")
> [@KJ](#): > > I don’t know if I can pinpoint the absolute worst song I’ve ever heard, but off the top of my head, the first thing that comes to my mind is Jan Hammer’s **“Oh Yeah.”** (Which is a shame, because he also did the soundtrack to Beyond the Mind’s Eye, which I love.) Did it have a guy singing “Oh yeah” over and over again in a deep voice? That may have been Yello. That song was used in Ferris Bueller (amongst others). ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/54 "2005-10-21T03:31:20Z")
> [@Kilvert's Pagan](#): > > Wow - where to start? Most of the really shitty music in my experience was in the 70’s… the bleak counterpoint to a period of time that also created some really great music. > > Some of the obvious nominees, just from that period (some already mentioned above): > Kung Fu Fighting But… but… those kicks were _fast as lightning_! It fact it was a little bit frightening. This one qualifies > [@Jeep's Phoenix](#): > > [Lil’ Markie, live in concert!](http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/0510/lilmarkie.mov) (Quicktime format) ---
**Author:** ![Lime\_Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f0a364/32.png) [@Lime\_Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lime_Jello)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/55 "2005-10-21T03:39:51Z")
Dear God, the earplugs do NOTHING! ! ! Some PAINFUL, PAINFUL songs listed here. Honorable mention out to Lil’ Markie, and EVERYTHING in the list of Kilvert’s Pagan. However, the absolute WORST song is “Break my stride” by Matthew Wilder [http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/artists/matthewwilder.htm](http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/artists/matthewwilder.htm) (shudder) The horror. . . The HORROR! ! ! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/56 "2005-10-21T03:45:57Z")
A co-worker was involved in a student film project back in college for which he wrote and perfromed one of the songs. It was inspired by a scene from the film _Northwest Passage_, in which a starving cavalry soldier kills an Abenaki indian, cuts off his head, then cooks and eats it. The song (which he sang for me yesterday) went something like this: _One night in bed I told my wife I wanted head “What kind should it be?” “Roasted Abenaki.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/57 "2005-10-21T04:29:39Z")
Some very worthy candidates so far (whoever first mentioned _Honey_, damn you to hell). But what of the song that spawned a group that formed the basis of the whole karaoke thing? _ **And won the Eurovision song contest with it!** _ I refer of course to _Waterloo_ by **Abba**. I’m so confident of victory here that I won’t even mention the dreck that followed Ring Ring, Mama Mia, Fernando, Money Money Money from the prolific pens of Bjorn and Benny. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/58 "2005-10-21T04:41:08Z")
I stand by my nomination in many similar conversations of Guns ‘n’ Roses covering “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” It’s one thing to write a terrible song and play it badly; it’s quite another to take a great one and butcher it to bloody shreds. And this goes on for much too long, too. This is the only song I’ve ever heard that I think should be legally considered a crime again humanity. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/59 "2005-10-21T04:46:03Z")
The last time we had Ralph Stanley doing a show for the music series I used to volunteer for, his band featured his son, Ralph II. Ralph II looked and sounded like the alcoholic frontman for the sort of third-tier country bar band that isn’t even worth chucking a beer bottle at, but he led more than half the show. At one point, Ralph Sr. rambled on for what seemed like five minutes about how beautiful Ralph II’s upcoming song was, how it was the most beautiful song he’d ever heard, he cried when he first heard it, etc. Then Ralph II proceeded to give us “Daddy Took His Dinner Bucket Through the Gates of Heaven”. The audience sat politely. The volunteers, all music nerds, just looked at each other like there was some huge joke we weren’t getting. We were unanimous that it was, by a longshot, the _worst_ song any of us had ever heard. I have still not heard its equal, and that was five years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160/60 "2005-10-21T04:50:03Z")
> [@Kilvert's Pagan](#): > > But I think the winner is a little more obscure: **DOA** by **Bloodrock**. AHHHHHHHhhhhhhh :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-truly-the-worst-song-you-have-ever-heard/327160.md?page=4)