# What is your most hated song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 2, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621 "2023-03-02T22:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/61 "2023-03-03T15:53:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > _The Name Game_; it’s like a tax form set to music. > > > [@Akaj](#): > > > > “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. Bad enough that it’s full of trite characters, but then one of those characters tells the piano man (Joel) that he’s too talented to be playing there. Ego much? > > Someone shared a theory that the song takes place in a gay bar, and the singer is the only one who doesn’t know it. Next time you hear it, see if that takes some of the sting out of it. I’m usually changing the station as soon as I hear that harmonica intro, but maybe I’ll give that a shot next time I’m in an environment where I don’t control the tunes. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/62 "2023-03-03T16:46:43Z")
Cohen’s Hallelujah. The original is merely a sappy glurgy reject from the Cats sessions, deemed too trite and treacly for even a jazz-handing furry to croon. That every vocalist feels obliged to ‘make it their own’ with an ever evolving playbook of melismatic waterboarding is fuel to the fire. Maybe Dick Van Dyke could breathe some new life into it with some cockney swing stylings? Because I’ve had it with everything else. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/63 "2023-03-03T16:59:07Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > the most annoying song in my opinion would be _Achy Breaky Hear_t by Billy Ray Cyrus That was my first thought, but fortunately I haven’t been exposed to it in years. Don’t think I’ve even heard it once since the turn of the century. So I’m going to say Bing Crosby’s “Mele Kalikimaka”, which was part of the store’s piped-in music every Xmas for years – I heard it every day at work, sometimes twice during my eight-hour shift. I happen to like “God Bless the USA”. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/64 "2023-03-03T17:36:41Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > an ever evolving playbook of melismatic waterboarding Best critique ever. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/65 "2023-03-03T18:20:06Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Ok, that’s bad, but “Do They Know It’s Christmas” is even more cringeworthy. Oh God, yes! I’m still going to stick with my first choice based on ubiquitousness, but this may be second on the list for the patronizing colonialist tone. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/66 "2023-03-03T18:47:21Z")
Well, if we are going to nominate entire catalogs, I submit the pinnacle of schlockmeisters, Journey. Nothing from them is tolerable. I mean, I used to like the first couple of lines of _Wheel in the Sky_, but it so rapidly descends into bleaurgh that even the opening has become a dire warning of looming disappointment. Also, Boston. Talk about overproduced meh, over and over and over and over and over … ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/67 "2023-03-03T19:03:41Z")
I really like Cohen, but this Hallelujah is hell. Came here to write exactly this, you beat me with better expressions of dislike I could have come up with. And then in the last Cohen concert I went to the middle aged lady sitting next to me started singing along when this song came. Oh, that was painful. ---
**Author:** ![fordgt100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fordgt100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fordgt100)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/68 "2023-03-03T19:09:02Z")
Just remembered a song I hated more than that one from Merle Haggard. Winoweh! If that song gets in your head, you are doomed for the rest of the day. It will keep on running no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/69 "2023-03-03T19:19:41Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Well, if we are going to nominate entire catalogs, I submit the pinnacle of schlockmeisters, Journey. Nothing from them is tolerable. I mean, I used to like the first couple of lines of _Wheel in the Sky_, but it so rapidly descends into bleaurgh that even the opening has become a dire warning of looming disappointment. Oh my, yes. They were my sister’s favorite band, she played them all the time. So, I know _every word_ to just about all of their songs. > [@eschereal](#): > > Also, Boston. Talk about overproduced meh, over and over and over and over and over … The fact that Boston wasn’t her second favorite band proves there is some mercy in the universe. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/70 "2023-03-03T19:22:37Z")
I listen to the classic rock radio station almost exclusively in the car. I hear a lot of Elton John. I like Elton John. Hell, I’ve even got a couple of Elton John CDs. But whenever **Benny and the Jets** comes on, I can’t hit the radio knob fast enough. It grates on me like no other. And anything by Peter Frampton. From all I hear, he’s a really great guy and super friendly, but…no…I just can’t. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/71 "2023-03-03T19:35:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I submit the pinnacle of schlockmeisters, Journey. I sympathize. The 80s were a huge musical disappoint for me. Of course, there was plenty of good music that I discovered later on, but I was coming from Zeppelin, Floyd, Hendrix and other stuff I’d started listening to around 1977, and I didn’t care at all for Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, etc. Even Zeppelin’s “In Through the Out Door” was a disappointment. And then Molly Hatchet came along, and that was fine, until it very quickly wasn’t. I turned to jazz fusion and eventually other stuff. Anyway, I usually don’t participate in these kinds of threads because of the negativity (I’d rather talk about things I like, music and otherwise), but it’s interesting how irritating music can be. I’ve found that some people, maybe most, are much more adventurous about what they’ll put in their mouths than their ears (food vs. music). My contribution to the thread is “ **Lucky Number** ” by Lena Lovitch. Also, I’ll go out of my way to avoid listening to angry rap that has shouting instead of actual singing. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/72 "2023-03-03T19:45:25Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > **Benny and the Jets** 😲 That’s one of the few of his i like !! in play… Mickey by Toni Basil ---
**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, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/73 "2023-03-03T20:01:18Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > it’s interesting how irritating music can be. > **[Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs by Dave Barry - Ebook | Everand](https://www.everand.com/book/575510012/Dave-Barry-s-Book-of-Bad-Songs)** > > The humorist asked his readers to share their least favorite tunes and chronicles the hilarious responses. > > When funnyman Dave Barry asked readers about their least favorite tunes, he thought he was penning just another installment of his weekly... When funnyman Dave Barry asked readers about their least favorite tunes, he thought he was penning just another installment of his weekly syndicated humor column. But the witty writer was flabbergasted by the response when over 10,000 readers voted. “ **I have never written a column that got a bigger response than the one announcing the Bad Song Survey** ,” Barry wrote. If you are of the right age to recognize the songs (1960 – 1990 tunes), I highly recommend this book. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/74 "2023-03-03T20:21:35Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > To the OP, I now hate you for the next 72 hours till I get that song out of my head. My sincerest apologies. As penance I looked up the song and listened to the whole thing. (ok, actually I just listed to the first half. There is only so much a man can endure). But I am now feeling your pain. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/75 "2023-03-03T20:40:24Z")
> [@fordgt100](#): > > Charlie Daniels … Now, of course, he’s apparently gone full on right wing. He’s gone full on angel wing (or bat wing, if you prefer). ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/76 "2023-03-03T20:42:19Z")
In the late 1990s, there was an extremely saccharine ballad called “Butterfly Kisses” by singer named Bob Carlisle. I think it was supposed to be a father’s tribute to his daughter who was getting married or something like that. It was a Christian song that had several gratuitous mentions of Jesus, but somehow it ended up on Top 40 radio also. I realize that this response is on the borderline of violating the OP’s requirement that the song be ubiquitous, but it was played enough at the time that I think it qualifies. It was such an overwhelmingly awful song, even its current complete lack of airplay does not disqualify it. No, I will not provide a YouTube or Wikipedia link. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/77 "2023-03-03T21:19:33Z")
Oh, that reminds me of [this](https://youtu.be/MW5Ps1KxWG4) nightmare. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/78 "2023-03-03T21:23:10Z")
“On the Road Again.” I hate Willie Nelson’s voice and always have. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/79 "2023-03-03T22:50:07Z")
“Red Red Wine” by UB40. The group has other songs that are pretty good, but that one, which is by far their most popular, I can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621/80 "2023-03-03T23:04:42Z")
Hands down, it’s “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro. I won’t link to it, but jeez louise, does it suck!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-most-hated-song/980621.md?page=5)