# Worst rock&roll lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918 "2004-04-19T23:21:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/21 "2004-04-20T09:49:54Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Whoa. Got to disagree. Imho, that is one of the greatest lines in R&R history. > > I think a person who’s done some heavy drinking in his/her life would understand it. I second that emotion! I wish I didn’t, but I do. Not a single lyric mentioned so far is bad, IMHO. I think, there are too many pedantic English majors, who do not understand the concept of poetic license! (The liberty taken by an artist or a writer in deviating from conventional form or fact to achieve a desired effect.) I bet most posters here would criticize Horse Latitudes by Morrison. It baffles me that people can presume to take a phrase OUT OF CONTEXT and criticize it. Voice is just another aspect of music, words may not make literal sense but they fit in the overall scheme. You may not like a song, and I dislike many. But the words are secondary; music should be judged holistically, not according to some arbitrary lexicon of proper grammar. I am particularly offended by the post critical of “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. [not really offended J, it is just one of my favorite songs] She was a fast machine She kept her motor clean She was the best damn woman I had ever seen She had the sightless eyes Telling me no lies Knockin’ me out with those American thighs Taking more than her share Had me fighting for air She told me to come but I was already there… Classic. AndrewT: Try the whole [verse](https://http://www.veddma.com/veddma/sabbath.htm#black36) , Rocket engines burning fuel so fast, Up into the night sky they blast, Through the universe the engines whine, Could it be the end of man and time? Back on earth the flame of life burns low, Ev’rywhere is misery and woe, Pollution kills the air, the land and sea, Man prepares to meet his destiny. Yeah " As to your other comment RE: ABBA: Are you actually suggesting that ABBA is a Rock Band? I better stop before I get into trouble, if I have not already… Can’t resist, Buns3000, how well do you sing in Japanese? ---
**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:** [April 20, 2004, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/22 "2004-04-20T12:30:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Umm, that line is not by Led Zep, it is by Robert Johnson, the master himself. Shame on you! > 🙂 Much as I love Robert Johnson, it’s still an extremely stupid lyric. The lyrics to **The Gambler** are also pretty stupid. I’m amazed that people think of a song that says “The best you can do is die in your sleep” and think it’s inspiring. 😕 I’ll also defend America’s “for to give you no pain” and poetic license to fill out a rhyme. It actually works in context. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/23 "2004-04-20T12:47:22Z")
Yeah, it’s the ‘plants and birds and rocks and things’ line that irritates me. C’mon, at least TRY a little, will you? Me? It’s always been that ‘Venus/Seen Us’ rhyme from ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe. That should have earned them jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/24 "2004-04-20T12:49:21Z")
Wow. Much more variety of opinion than I expected. I do like much of what other people have cited. But I can’t agree with askeptic – some of it’s really dumb. I mean, I’m all for poetic license. I even like nonsense lyrics. “Stuck inside of Mobile…” is a great song, and if you can figure out what “China Cat Sunflower” is about, I’d like to talk to the people you talk to, if you know what I mean. 😉 And what about “Ba b’ba ba ba , ba b’ba ba ba, I wanna be sedated”. I love it, Ramones kick ass. “I came back as a bag of groceries…” Classic. But there ain’t no license that’ll make Huey Lewis a great lyricist. “Don’t take money, don’t take fame, don’t need no credit card to ride this train”. Ugh! It’s like he sat down and thought, let’s see, how many cliches can I get into a couplet with a weak rhyme? PS: If I wrote lyrics in Japanese, they’d be bad. Bad, bad, bad. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/25 "2004-04-20T13:18:00Z")
For all of their musical genius, you have to admit that “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” is not the most insightful lyric. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/26 "2004-04-20T15:48:54Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Much as I love Robert Johnson, it’s still an extremely stupid lyric. You do realize he’s talking about a handjob, right? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/27 "2004-04-20T15:57:26Z")
After seeing post #6 and post #7 I believe in synchronicity man. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/28 "2004-04-20T16:05:49Z")
_You’re so vain, you probably think this song_ (that is about you) \*is about you Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won Then you flew your lear jet up to Nova Scotia To see the total eclipse of the sun?\* Aaaaargh! _Don’t you? Don’t You? Don’t you?_ _repeatedly jams knitting needles in ears_ Mommy, make her stfu. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/29 "2004-04-20T16:19:36Z")
And I’ll probably get killed because I don’t like this song (or any song by Duran Duran for that matter) Hungry Like The Wolf when he says “I smell like I sound.” Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/30 "2004-04-20T16:30:47Z")
AndrewT, you are right about Napoleon not surrendering. But what I hear from the ABBA song is The history book on the shelf Is **always** repeating itself I usually wince at any shelf/self couplet, but that’s a cute variation of it. My vote for worst lyric is a single line from Van Halen: Only time will tell if we stand the test of time (from “Why Can’t This Be Love”) ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/31 "2004-04-20T16:34:18Z")
[slight nitpic, and yes, I am smiling as I type. It may not matter to you but if I know someone is smiling as opposed to sneering or worse, foaming at the mouth in anger or disgust, it makes a difference to me] Sample\_The\_Dog: > [@](#): > > But there ain’t no license that’ll make Huey Lewis a great lyricist. “Don’t take money, don’t take fame, don’t need no credit card to ride this train”. Ugh! It’s like he sat down and thought, let’s see, how many cliches can I get into a \*\*couplet \*\* with a weak rhyme? Ugh! That is not a couplet. Nor are there any cliches involved. Unless you count all THREE assertions as one cliche. If that is the case, please cite sufficient prior usage to qualify the phrase as a cliche. > [@](#): > > I even like \*\*nonsense \*\* lyrics. "Stuck inside of Mobile… Blasphemer! All Bobby D. songs make sense to somebody. 😉 > [@](#): > > China Cat Sunflower In the immortal words of the greatest band ever, Spinal Tap, “Listen, to what the flower people say” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/32 "2004-04-20T16:45:00Z")
The dumb line that has always made me cringe comes from Bon Jovi’s “I’ll be there for you” (which is actually full of dumb lyrics, imo, but this is the worst): _I guess this time you’re really leaving I heard your suitcase say goodbye_ Ugh 😛 ---
**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:** [April 20, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/33 "2004-04-20T16:47:10Z")
> [@plnnr](#): > > For all of their musical genius, you have to admit that > > “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” > > is not the most insightful lyric. I do? Actually, if you listen to the whole song, it’s not a bad bit of songwriting. And not all that cliched, either: it’s not every love song that’s written in the third person. And **askeptic** , even though I know better, I can never hear that AC/DC song without thinking he’s singing “She was a fax machine.” ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/34 "2004-04-20T17:16:06Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas > You know he knows just exactly what the facts is > He ain’t gonna let those two escape justice > He makes his livin’ off of the people’s taxes Steve Miller has done worse. For example: _Abra Abra Cadabra - I want to reach out and grab ya._ _shudder_ - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/35 "2004-04-20T17:43:42Z")
I gotta go with the all time “classic”, **MacArthur Park** - Someone left the cake out in the rain I don’t think that I can take it 'Cause it took so long to bake it And I’ll never have that recipe again\* Bletch. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/36 "2004-04-20T18:08:18Z")
“One, two, three lock box…threeeeeee lockkkkkkkk boxxxxxxxx” I think it’s by Sammy Hagar. Whatever, maybe I wouldn’t think it was stupid if I had a clue as to what it means. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/37 "2004-04-20T18:25:31Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > “One, two, three lock box…threeeeeee lockkkkkkkk boxxxxxxxx” > > I think it’s by Sammy Hagar. Whatever, maybe I wouldn’t think it was stupid if I had a clue as to what it means. 😃 😃😃 Yea, it is Sammy. Oh nostalgia. I saw the Three Lock Box tour in 1983 at the Cow Palace in 1983. (stupid trivia-Night Ranger opened for Sammy, now more than twenty years later my next door neighbor turns out to be the original lead guitarist for Night Ranger, go figure…) I gotta admit I liked the song back in the day, but after googling the lyrics they do seem pretty stupid and nonsensical. I guess I have to chalk it up to the fact that sometimes the words are unimportant and the vocals are simply meant to serve as another instrument. I still start to “Bang my head” when I hear the song (though my hair is not nearly as long as it was in 1983) it just does not seem to matter that the words don’t actually make sense. 🆒 Thanks for the memories, I haven’t heard that song in years… ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/38 "2004-04-20T19:20:41Z")
I don’t know who actually writes the lyrics, but I’m pleased to be the first to nominate any Def Leppard song as an excellent example of some of the worst rock & roll lyrics I’ve ever encountered. “Television lover, baby, go all night Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet Little miss ah innocent sugar me, yeah… [snip] Pour some sugar on me In the name of love…” I kind of get the message here, which is something like, “have a lot of sex with me.” The same message is expressed in a slightly more feeble manner in this one: "Ya better come inside when you’re ready to But no chance if ya don’t wanna dance You like four letter words when you’re ready to But then you won’t 'cos you know that you can You got it, but are you gettin’ it? You say that love is won when you get some But then your finger won’t trigger the gun… …Yeah, but are you gettin’ it? - Armageddon it! Ooh, really gettin’ it? - Yes, Armaggedon it! " WTF does that mean? ::Jams forks into my ears:: ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/39 "2004-04-20T19:40:21Z")
When they give out the award, they oughta call it the “Billy”, in honor of the Lifetime Achievement Grand-Champion of the Crappy Rhyme Scheme, Billy Joel. To whit: _He’s talking to Davey, Who’s still in the Navey, and probably will be for life_ (Although the line preceding, “Paul is a real-estate novelist” has a certain poetic spareness to it). ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918/40 "2004-04-20T19:58:29Z")
> [@rimshotgdansk](#): > > When they give out the award, they oughta call it the “Billy”, in honor of the Lifetime Achievement Grand-Champion of the Crappy Rhyme Scheme, Billy Joel. > > To whit: > > _He’s talking to Davey, > Who’s still in the Navey, > and probably will be for life_ And yet that line is entirely capable of bringing me to tears. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-rock-roll-lyrics/240918.md?page=3)