JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback Lyric Feedback Forum 3 AOL's 20 Worst Lyrics Ever!

After all the comments and criticisms we share on here about our own lyrics and those of the other posters...thought you folks would get a kick out of what other people think are some of THE WORST lyrics ever written. Even Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney get picked on! Some of the songs they picked on are ones I actually really like. Go figure! The first 20 are apparently from AOL staffers...the second 20 are from those submitted by bloggers. Some of the commentary is hilarious.

Enjoy!
Bobbie

The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 20
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

Where have all the poets gone? To country music, of course. However, judging from our list, some of these esteemed pop, rock and rap wordsmiths could use a new thesaurus. We'll take your complaints at the end.

"If I was a sculptor

But then again, no"

--Elton John's 'Your Song'
(lyrics by Bernie Taupin)


Well, then stop bringing it up already! This line has been wasting our time for three decades.




The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 19
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Lucky that my breasts

Are small and humble

So you don't confuse

Them with mountains"

--Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever'


The woman makes a lot of sense. And lucky that Sacagawea wasn't more buxom or Lewis and Clark might not have found the Pacific


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 18
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I love you like

A fat kid loves cake"

--50 Cent's '21 Questions'


Gangsta, schmangsta -- brotha should write Hallmark cards.




The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 17
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"There's an insect

In your ear

If you scratch

It won't disappear"

--U2's 'Staring at the Sun'


It's sure hard to tell that U2 scrambled to finish their 'Pop' album. At least Bono didn't mention "driving rain."


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 16
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Relentless lust

Of rotting flesh

To thrash the tomb she lies

Heathen whore

Of Satan's wrath

I spit at your demise"

--Slayer's 'Necrophiliac'

Never mind 50 Cent, these guys should write Hallmark cards.


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 15
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Leaving was never

my proud"

--R.E.M.'s 'Leaving New York'

Sorry, Michael, but we scoured all of our reference books, and "proud" just doesn't wash as a noun. Lions do live in prides, but we don't see the relevance.



The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 14
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I ain't never seen

An ass like that

The way you move it

You make my pee-pee go

'Doing-doing-doing'"

--Eminem's 'Ass Like That'


Undoubtedly poetic stuff, but do pee-pees really go "doing-doing-doing"?


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 13
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"There were plants

And birds

And rocks

And things"

--America's 'Horse With No Name'

Like in New York, nouns are scarce in the desert, and apparently our poor soft rockers simply ran out of them. Too bad they didn't consult Michael Stipe: "There were plants and birds and rocks and prouds."

The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 12
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List


"Time is like a clock

in my heart"

--Culture Club's 'Time (Clock of the Heart)'


Awesome analogy. Time is soooo like a clock, because, well, it's freakin' time!


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 11
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I wish it was Sunday

That's my fun day

My I-don't-have-to-run day"

--The Bangles' 'Manic Monday'
(lyrics by Prince)


We're cool with the easy rhymes of Monday to Sunday, and even Sunday to fun day, but "I-don't-have-to-run day"? No, now Prince is just messing with us.


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 10
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I'm all out of faith

This is how I feel"

--Natalie Imbruglia's 'Torn'
(lyrics by Anne Preven)

Can you say filler line? Like, oh, we get it, this is how you feel -- because it's been so darn long since you told us how you were all out of faith.



The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 9
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Now you're amazed

By the VIP posse

Steppin' so hard

Like a German Nazi"

--Vanilla Ice's 'Play That Funky Music'

Dude took the original song's "white boy" lyrics a little too literally. Good thing he specified German though, because those Austrian Nazis were way too light on their feet.


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 8
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"My panty line shows

Got a run in my hose

My hair went flat

Man, I hate that"

--Shania Twain's 'Honey I'm Home'


Horribly trite stuff ... but we do always enjoy the word "panty."

The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 7
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I don't think that I've

got the stomach

To stomach calling

you today"

--Saves the Day's 'See You'


And we're betting that this clever emo fella doesn't have the eyes to eye you, the hands to handle you ... or even the mouth to mouth your name. Oh, the humanity!


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 6
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Your butt is mine"

--Michael Jackson's 'Bad'

The worst opening line in pop history. However, we hear it's huge in Dubai.


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 5
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"But if this ever-changing

world in which we live in ..."

--Paul McCartney and Wings' 'Live and Let Die'


Dangerous combination: Sir Paul having so much money and prepositional phrases being so cheap. Any junior-high English teacher would take points off for everything after "world."



The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 4
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Young, black and famous

With money hangin'

Out the anus"

--Puff Daddy and Mase's 'Can't Nobody Hold Me Down'

Sometimes the only things more crude than slang terms are their anatomically correct counterparts.



The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 3
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"I don't like cities

But I like New York

Other places

Make me feel like a dork"

--Madonna's 'I Love New York'

So, so true. Which is of course why Paris is so famously known as the City of Dorks.



The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 2
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"War is stupid

And people are stupid"

--Culture Club's 'War Song'

Boy George again, and this time he's illin' like Bob Dylan. We wrote a song just like this in seventh grade, but the next line was, "And your mom is stupid."


The 20 Worst Lyrics Ever: No. 1
Posted Mar 27th 2007 1:00PM by Spinner Staff
Filed under: The Hit List

"Coast to coast

L.A. to Chicago"

--Sade's 'Smooth Operator'

Sade was born in Nigeria and grew up in London, but her biggest hit reveals that she's clearly not a smooth navigator.



The following songs were contributed by bloggers.

"I shot the sheriff

But I didn't shoot no deputy"

--Bob Marley's 'I Shot the Sheriff'

Who gives a crap, you're still going to jail!!! --Lisa, Long Island, N.Y.


"You're beautiful

You're beautiful

You're beautiful

It's true"

--James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful'

Can you say I am WAY out of ideas for this song? --Phil


"I could have another you

In a minute

Matter fact

He'll be here in a minute"

--Beyonce's 'Irreplaceable'

Good rhyme and also good dating strategy -- dumping someone and then choosing a guy just like the guy you dumped. --John Schleef, Cedar Falls, Iowa



"Like a rock

Chargin' from the gate"

--Bob Seger and Silver Bullet Band's 'Like a Rock'

How many rocks have you seen charging from gates? Oh well, it made him a ton of money on truck ads. I guess he's wealthy now ... like a rock. --Brad Crabb, Brazil, Ind.


"Your best friend Harry

Has a brother Larry

In five days from now

He's gonna marry

He's hopin' you can make it

There if you can

'Cause in the ceremony

You'll be the best man"

--Young MC's 'Bust A Move'
Simplistic lyrics aside, why are you your best friend's brother's best man? Why didn't Harry ask Larry . . . or why doesn't Harry have his own best friend?
--Maggie, Fayetteville, Ga.



"And there's music playing

But I can't hear a sound

Just the sound of the rain

Falling silently down"

--Cheap Trick's 'Ghost Town'

Ah yes, the sound of something falling silently. Brilliant. --Joe Chizmas, Pinecliffe, Colo





"I'm respected

from Californ-i-a

Way down to Japan"

--Timbaland's 'Give It to Me'

I've got news for you, Japan is not way down from Californ-i-a. Proof: http://maps.google.com/ --Jordon, San Marcos, Texas



"I'm never gonna

Dance again

Guilty feet have

Got no rhythm"

--Wham's 'Careless Whisper'


It wasn't your feet that made you guilty, Sparky! --Diane, Yonkers, N.Y.





"You so crazy

I think I wanna

Have your baby"

--Salt-N-Pepa's 'Whatta Man'
(lyrics by Hurby Azor and Dave Crawford)

Why on earth would you want to have a crazy person's baby?! --CheeseGimp





"I'm hot 'cause I'm fly

You ain't 'cause you're not

This is why

This is why I'm hot"

--Mims' 'This Is Why I'm Hot'

Way to bring us down, Mims. I'm waiting for the video where you stick your tongue out and run outside to the playground.
--Joe Dawg Brother, Columbus, Ohio




"Having my baby

What a lovely way of saying

That you're thinking of me"

--Paul Anka's '(You're) Having My Baby'

No, what a stupid way to say you forgot to use your birth control. --Alice King, Attleboro, Mass



"I would do anything for love

But I won't do that"

--Meatloaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love'
(lyrics by Jim Steinman)

Then please, don't SAY you would "do anything," since you obviously won't!!! --Audrey Miller, Huntington Beach, Calif.




"I drew a line

I drew a line for you

Oh what a thing to do

And it was all yellow"

--Coldplay's 'Yellow'

Oh, what a thing to do, indeed. How charming, Chris Martin. No wonder you wooed Gwyneth Paltrow; how could anyone resist a yellow line?
--Caitlin, Washington, D.C.





"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 -- oh no!"

--Richard Harris' 'MacArthur Park'
(lyrics by Jimmy Webb)

Who in the hell leaves the cake out in the rain? --Sharon Clower, Normal, Ill



"He was a boy

She was a girl

Can I make it

Any more obvious?"

--Avril Lavigne's 'Sk8er Boi'

Avril, I am having a hard time getting it. Can you be more descriptive? I almost thought he was a girl, she was a boy. --Bob





"Suckin' on a chili dog

Outside the Tasty Freeze"

--John Cougar's 'Jack and Diane'

Who the hell sucks a chili dog? --Sam Lerrod





"My hump

My hump

My hump

My hump

My lovely lady lumps"

--Black Eyed Peas' 'My Humps'

Good God! Is this what 2000 years of civilization has brought us to??? --Fig





"I am ... I said

To no one there

And no one heard at all

Not even the chair"

--Neil Diamond's 'I Am ... I Said'

Don't feel bad, Neil, my Lazy Boy recliner never listens to a thing I say. --James, Chesapeake Beach, Md.





"Have you ever been

To Saint-Tropez

Or seen a brother

Play a mandalay?"

--Diddy's 'I Need a Girl (Part Two)'

Nope, and neither has anyone else, Sean, because a "mandalay" isn't an instrument!!! You meant "mandolin." --Meghan, Orlando, Fla.



"Only time will tell

If we stand the test of time."

--Van Halen's 'Why Can't This Be Love?'

Uh ... duh!!! --Jasbo

Hi Bobbie...this was interesting.... and some of them took me back. Yeah.....some of those are oldies and good ones...that I recognize...... hmmmm...there's no accounting for some folks tastes... ...

Hope you are having a nice start to your week... Thanks for sharing..hon.

hugs,
kk

Bobbie,

Some of these I like as well "Your song" is a treasure. This is an interesting post because I am pretty sure I have never seen worse lyrics here than the ones listed on your post. So what is the lesson here? Wish I knew maybe someone will post an answer.

Kevin Pearson

Thank you Bobbie!! I REALLY, REALLY needed THAT!!!
Ohmagod ... I laughed out loud too many times!!!! Imagine... and the money they make... and we sing along!!! :o
Did I say I needed that!!!
Thanks... too funny
Joanne

Great FUN, NashvilLady!

Maybe add this'n', alas by onea My Favorite Writers:

"Mamma don't take my Kodachrome
Mamma don't take my Kodachrone
Mamma don't take my Kodachrome..A-wayy...
(& Repeat)...

SOMEBODY Take that Worn-to-Death HOOK Away from Paul, eh?

& why "Yummie, Yummie, Yummie, I got Love in my Tummy" by the Archies (?) didn't meke the Top 5, I dunno!

I didn't think the Manic Monday Line from Prince was all THAT Bad, either...WAS a Campy-Little-Number, remember? ;-)>

Best Wishes, & Thanks for Sharin',
BPH
Ol' Stan

"and no one heard at all, not even a chair"- one of the all-time lame Neil Diamond lines. That and "It fits me as well as a hand in a glove, yes it does". But mostly, I love Neil Diamond.
Hey Stan, I like that bit from Kodachrome, ha. But what the hell does "are you going to Scarboro Fair, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" mean?

I am so glad you are enjoying these as much as I did. Some truly ARE atrocious...but some...taken in context with the rest of the song are actually pretty meaningful. Guess it just goes to show we really all do see things differently...and probably that is a good thing!! What a boring place this would be if we all liked the same things!!

LOL reminds me of my own interpretation of one of my all time favorite songs...by CCR. For years I thought the line was..."There's a bathroom on the right". When I actually SAW the lyric, I could not believe what it really was...but misinterpreted lyrics are a whole nuther topic!! LOL Just underscored to me that despite thinking that line was stupid..I nevertheless LOVED that song!!

Bet we could all add to this list!!

Hugs,
Bobbie

Actually

I think most of those in context of their songs were ok . Coast to Coast LA to Chicago , ok geographically incorrect , but it fits the song . I've seen a US TV series filmed in Sydney where the chase sceen started on one side of the harbour bridge , crossed the harbour bridge and some how managed to end up on the same side ... It's called artistic lisence ,( or maybe it's just jealosy on the part of the people who wrote the list ). People do it every day . Never let the truth get in the way of good song

I'll happily listen to Smooth Operator , Your song and Careless whispers all day . Three of my favourite songs and I think from the number of times they still get played they still stack up nicely .

You have to wonder about the petty minded crap that some people feel they have to inflict on other people on the net .

Cliff

Howdy Ms. Bobbie!

Ya know, I just saw something like this about 2 weeks ago in a newspaper in London. I can't say I agree with every pick on either list, but there are definitely a few real stinkers here.

Still my personal #1:

Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball -Oasis' "Champagne Supernova"

Whatever. These lyrics still paid the rent right?

Unca Chuck

Hi Bobbie

Thanks, this post made my day.
However, for me, this is not a worse lyrics. Some people criticize the small flaw in a song and magnify it into a big thing to entertain us. Honestly, I enjoyed reading it and the comment by the writer makes me fall from my seat laughing. The writer of this list with no basis how he choose it is very imaginative to tickle my funny bone. In respect to the writer of the 20 nominated lyrics I will still listen to their song unbiased and unaffected by this AOL spinner staff point of view.

Lynman

Hi guys,

Yeah..it IS all in our personal taste...but after reading lyrics on here for the past 10 years, it was kind of fun to see what other folks think is really bad stuff. LOL Of course, no list like this is anything BUT someone's opinion...I just posted it for the fun of it...and hoped you all would also get a kick out of it. It's kind of like Letterman's Top Ten Lists...not meant to be taken seriously. As Lynman sez...it's all just entertainment.

Hugs,
Bobbie

If I could read your mind love, what a tale your thoughts would tell
Just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstore sells
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Wow, sounds like an amazing mind, huh?

BINGO, Brother Billy!!!

Uh, let's add one MORE to Neil's Pile: "She got the way to Movement (Cherry, Cherry) She Got the Way to Grovement (Cherry Baby!)..."

You are SO Right on Parsley Sage et al...Ol' Paul LOVES "Word Magic", tho he obviously hung around Mad Ave maybe a bit too-often.

Guess the Hit-Making Secret is SING these Turkeys SERIOUSLY and Most-Everyone'll overlook the Obvious! (Good LOUD Background Singers..& a Great Video'll Sure Help, too!)

(WHY the Hell MAMA WANTS Paul's KODACHROMES is Never Revealled in the Song, thus My Inclusion.) BUT..That Baby has one of my FAVORITE of ALL TIME Opening Lines: "When I think back on all the Crap I learned in High School"... Sheer GENIUUS~

& yep, I just LOVE Neil's "I AM"...Warts & All!

Yours for MORE Fatally-Flawed Great-Ones (We WISH We'd Written...heh!)
Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

"No one heard at all, not even the chair". Now why didn't that line bother me at the time? I guess all of the songs transend the lyrics. "I am I said" is a good hook and these are good lines:

LA's fine, but it ain't home
New York's home but it ain't mine no more

"I am lost, and I can't even say why" sums up the angst in this song, which expresses existential torment. And somehow the chair that doesn't hear fits. This song doesn't belong on the top 20 worst lyrics.

"Kodachrome" makes perfect sense to me start to finish. He could be singing about Techicolor too because films shot in that media had a hyper reality about them. So do are memories. This song does not deserve to be on the list.

Next they'll be atacking "Witcha Lineman" because he can really "hear her singing in the wires"

Bobbie,
thanks for the laughs. Makes me think of "Werewolf in London" - every single line is obtuse abstraction and I still like the song.

But then again I Am The Walrus,

John

Hey Tampa,

LOL I may not have been hearing it right..but I always assumed those lines of Neil's were:
She's got the way to MOVE ME, Cherry
She's got the way to GROOVE ME...(which actually made sense at the time due to the use of the word 'groove' that was so common back then)

However, I am with everyone else who wonders what in the world Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme had to do with anything in that song...despite the fact that I absolutely LOVED it at the time...and still do! Perhaps some of these folks had been partaking of the happy grass during those years.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Hey Herbie,

I love that song! LOL Always thought those lines were brilliant. Go figure!!

Hugs,
Bobbie

Not trying to put a damper on it but what have these geniuses at AOL written lately? I guess they have nothing better to do than make fun of success. The next time I see Paul Mcartney I'll be sure to tell him how stupid "Live and let die" is because AOL told me so. Ben

"Kodachrome" makes perfect sense to me start to finish.

Gee, even Paul Simon said he didn't mean anything by it.
it just flowed well.

Fix.

Ahhhh...Ben,

Try not to take life so seriously. LOL I am sure the folks at AOL as well as the bloggers who contributed their ideas all know this was just a bit of non-serious entertainment. Song lyrics...and music as a whole are some of the most subjective blessings we get in life. Fortunately, we all enjoy different things...and see life differently. It would be so boring and monotonous if we all agreed on everything now, wouldn't it?

It's sorta like the stuff they put up after the Academy Awards...those lists of best dressed, worst hair, etc. They wouldn't do it if folks didn't read it. It's all just somebody's opinion...and some folks get a kick out of comparing their views with the person who compiled the list.

I am sure Sir Paul is not worried in the least whether some AOL peon thinks his song is bad. He is probably smiling all the way to the bank on that one...well, part way to the bank at least after he pays off his divorce settlement.

Gotta admit there were some lyrics I thought woulda been ripped to shreds on here...and deservedly so..,..but SOMEBODY liked those songs enough to make hits out of them. At least it gives me hope for the writing I see from folks on here.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Bobbie,
I'm just turning in, but wanted to point out 2 things.
1) I'm fairly certain you don't mean the last comment to Ben the way it sounded!

and (more importantly) 2) I JUST happened to notice (and believe me, I don't usually think to look at anything to the sides....didn't even know I had an address book until a couple of months ago )
but you are about to hit a major milestone..... POST # 10,000!!!
Congratulations. (Hope it was time well spent! )
Ben

Bobbie sometimes writing the lyrics of worst can be the blessing of many in sales that is evident but it is also great exercise for the wayward mind to get back on the track of congruous thought and so I think we really need a worst lyric type of contest here at JPF so as keep the creative winds a blowin,
I am all up to submitting a lyric to this contest, it just
may be one of the few awards i win this year. Humble Bumble Ken

Bobbie, I know that this is just some silly attempt at humor and yes it appeared that I was taking it too serously. Maybe I read this thread at a bad time, but it seems that todays culture is so obsessed with bringing down people who are successful that I read it as another "gotcha" moment. I make fun of other peoples songs all of the time and am open to the same for ideas that I have come up with, but I try to keep it on a level playing field. What bothers me is this media driven attempt to bring success down to a lower level instead of rewarding it.Ok I said my piece now let's get back to the fun. Ben

Hi Bobbie

Hope you are well

Thanks for posting this. I always enjoy reading these but almost instantaneously want to leap to the defence of many of them

The Elton John line for example is how people talk, the song is conversational that is part of the charm of the lyric. Also I think that George Michael's 'guilty feet' couplet is lyrical genius, but what do I know?

All it shows is that one man's great line is another man's howler.

The Shakira line does make me laugh but it is interesting because the original lyrics are Spanish so maybe it has lost something in translation. If you have not heard the Spanish version check it out, it's fantastic!. I actually think it's incredible that someone got any translated lyrics to fit so perfectly and top marks for Shakira's vocal.

Thanks again for the chuckle

Nige

PS. One day I would love to be featured in one of these top 20 'worst lyric' or most 'annoying song' charts because it would mean that I had written a big hit!!

Howdy Fix,

I had never heard the comment from Paul Simon about Kodachrome...which I also "thought" I understood. LOL But I will admit that back before I started writing myself, I was one of those music consumers who:
* Didn't listen to lyrics with all that much discrimination
* Never paid attention to who actually WROTE a song
* Generally, didn't remember who actually SANG a song, even those I probably really enjoyed except for some artists that I particularly followed
I feel that my musical heritage has lost a lot of ground because of this.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Howdy Benjy,

ROFL...I had to re-read my comments to Ben to see what in the world you were talking about. LOL You are right..I did NOT mean that last comment as it may have appeared! I just meant that if some of these lyrics made it to top hits...then we folks who write stuff so much BETTER than that may actually have a chance! LOL Honest!

Got about 100 more posts to go before that 10,000 mark...but I do not regret one moment I have spent with the good people here at JPF!!! I have some of THE BEST friends in the world (and from all around the world) because of this place!! I have learned more here than from reading any and all the songwriting books in my library. Even when life forces me to go through some dry spells of writing my own lyrics...just dropping in here daily for a few minutes keeps my creativity flowing!! You folks are a great daily dose of cure for whatever ails my creativity. Sometimes ya'all make me laugh, sometimes I cry, sometimes you just make me think...but it's ALL good!!

Thanks for the early congrats. I hadn't been paying attention myself!!

Hugs,
Bobbie

Bobbie, I thank Benjy for bringing that up but actually I did not take offence. I think that I understood what you meant. We hold ourselves to a higher standard and that is good. Ben

Well, FUDGESTICKS!!!

I thought 9898 + 2 = 10,000!!!

(Told you I was headed for bed. )
BB

Leaving shortly for Tuscaloosa to watch the girls, who are hosting a region in the Collegiate Softball Tournament.

Howdy Ken,

I don't think it was an actual contest, but I do remember that awhile back someone posted a thread where we could all contribute what we consider to be our worst lyrical lines. I recall that because it was hard for me to choose which lines to post...LOL I had so many to choose from!! Might be time to post another thread like that. Got a lotta new posters these days who might enjoy the fun.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Howdy Ben,

I am glad you took no offense to my comments, because I actually agree with you wholeheartedly. There are way too many folks who seem to derive their only pleasure in life from trying to bring someone else down. Drives me nuts. Seems to me that folks who indulge in that kind of behavior are really the ones who are most in need of help...people who feel they need to put someone else down in order to elevate themselves have some real "issues".

It's not just the media that does this. I've noticed there are even a few posters who can never bring themselves to find anything good to say about someone else's lyrics, while at the same time feeling compelled to defend their own writing as though it is so great that it can never be improved upon. 'Tis a sad situation indeed to be that afraid to admit one is not perfect. Gotta be a tough way to live sitting up on that pedestal all alone. LOL

Thanks for coming back to explain. I do understand.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Hey Nigieeeee....how the heck ARE you??? When are you coming back for Pineyfest??? Been way too long, my friend!!

Glad you got a kick out of this. I admit I had the same reaction to some of the lyrics they posted. I wanted to defend some of my favorites...ie the America song has always been one I LOVED!! LOL But..as you said...this merely shows us that everyone does have different perceptions of the same things. Probably a pretty good cross section of an audience listening to our songs I guess. Some of 'em will LOVE it...some won't GET it...some will HATE it...some will think...hey I could have written something a whole lot better than THAT crap! LOL Oh well!!

I wasn't familiar with the Shakira song so I will have to find and listen to the Spanish version. Been a long time since HS Spanish classes but I may understand a few words. LOL

That Elton song has always been one of my favorites...but what do I know? I was at an NSAI pitch to publishers session a couple months back when someone submitted a song that he had cowritten with Bernie Taupin!! Everyone turned to see WHO had written that song. The funny thing was...the publisher didn't like it and did not ask to keep the song...so simple big name recognition doesn't ALWAYS make a difference. I admit that I thought the lyrics were rather trite and the theme was one you hear all too often. It really DID make me feel pretty good, however, when that same publisher kept my song. He only kept 3 out of the 80 or so he listened to that night.

Thanks for stopping in. Hope all is well on the other side of the pond.

Hugs,
Bobbie

PS...I agree with you. I'd LOVE to make it to one of these lists someday. LOL Some songs get irritating just because they get played so darn much you get SICK of them.

Okay, I was a huge Donovan fan but......

Look upon my garden gate, a snail that's what it is
First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is


Okay. Whatever. Loved the song, though.

Damn, why do I struggle so to make sense with my lyrics? It's all Bob Dylan's fault. Before him, were were all just happy as clams with "pop" music. She wore an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow polkadot bikini.....I wanna hold your hand, I wanna hold your haaaaaaand, I wanna hold your hand.

I heard an interview with Paul McCartney once, and I swear he said none of the Beatles ever spent more than 30 minutes total on the lyrics of any of their songs. He said they would work with the song, filling in gobbledy gook and later tweak the words in an intuitive way. Sometimes the original stuff just got left in, like GooGoo Ga Joob. Whatever.

You Tell 'Em, Biskit!

(& "Yesterday" started out as "Scrambled Eggs", best I can Recollect-Hearin'!)

Sorry, Fix, but "I got a Nikon Camera/I love to take pho--tographs/Oh Mama, Don't take..my Kodachrome away" doesn't REALLY make a LOT of sense..or Does it? WHY Does It?

(Who Cares?) It's NOW a Part of Our Culture. We Danced to it/Loved to it/STILL enjoy it on the Oldies Shows. Pitch one like KODACHROME to a Publisher TODAY & see how far ya get with it, tho...

Welcome to The Digital Age..where Perfection IS a wee bit Dry & Dull already. (& Hey, American Idol's losing Viewership in Droves, lately~!) So Long "Simon Says!"...(& I DON'T Mean Paul!)

"That's Right Slick!"...

Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Howdy Biskit,

I agree with you about the timing of the change in musical tastes. Back in the 50's folks were living what, looking back, seems to have been a pretty naive and idealized existence and the music reflected that until about the time of the Viet Nam war. Then folks went one of several ways..some went really "deep" with the songs they wrote and listened to...ie protest music, or else they wanted to drop out, get high and avoid dealing with the nasty realities. I also think that music has always been an evolving thing, generally tending to follow or reflect whatever is going on in the world at that particular time. Look at how many songs were written right after 9-11 and how many songs right now are about war. Those things are a reflection of what our concerns are and our need, as creative people, to express the thoughts and emotions we feel.

I had heard that about the Beatles. When I think about the hours and sometimes weeks or months I may labor over one particular lyric...it does make one wonder if it is worth it, although some of my own best material has come quickly too. Some of the ones I struggle over...show it. Yikes!

Hugs,
Bobbie

Howdy Tampa,

You may be right about that comment about if WE pitched a song like Kodachrome today. However...bear in mind that even today, an ARTIST can get by with cutting just about ANYTHING if they are a big enough hitmaker. Actually had to go look up the whole lyric to Kodachrome. Taken together, the verses and that chorus really don't make a whole lot of sense. But..as I said...he was Paul Simon. He wrote it...he sang it. By 1973 Simon & Garfunkel were already huge so everyone loved the song. It has a really catchy tune. What can I say?

Hugs,
Bobbie

(& "Yesterday" started out as "Scrambled Eggs", best I can Recollect-Hearin'!)

Sorry, Fix, but "I got a Nikon Camera/I love to take pho--tographs/Oh Mama, Don't take..my Kodachrome away" doesn't REALLY make a LOT of sense..or Does it? WHY Does It?


"Yesterday" started out as "Ham & Eggs" But, he could have had them "scrambled"

"Kodachrome" makes perfect sense, just not in the context of the song. unless of course, Mama did in deed take his film away.
If that be the case, he's had plenty of time to get over it.

Better to say, it was simply written for "prosody's sake"

But only he knows for sure.

Fix.

In defense of Kodachrome. I always thought Kodachrome was pretty clear, but maybe I'm just imposing ideas on it.

I see it as being about a young guy who's about to get his heart broken (Mama ain't his mother)for the first time or maybe he's become disillusioned with love for the first time. Anyway, he can "see the writing on the wall" of what's going to happen.

Kodachrome is just a metaphor for, I don't know, youthful romantic optimism. "Gives you nice bright colors, gives you the greens of summer. Makes you think all the world's a sunny day." The Nikon camera is his mind or his heart, and he loves to take photographs with Kodachrome -- it's like rose colored glasses.

He realizes that all the girls he really knew before he met "Mama" together for one night couldn't be as good as his imagination -- those Kodachrome shots.
And now Mama's about to send him to the real world of black and white for good by taking away his "Kodachrome" because he's seeing that she can't match his imagination either.

The Donovan lyric about the mountain is an old saying from Zen Buddhism about the path to enlightenment.

This is a good thread. It shows that songs are more than just lyrics or just music.

So in that spirit here's what I think is one of the dopiest lyrics ever, in a song I always liked: Rubber Band Man by the Spinners.

"Got that rubberband
Up on his toes
And then he wriggled it up
All around his nose"

And I wish it really was "She's got a way to groovement, Cherry."

Howdy Joy,

You know...you could well be right on Kodachrome. Makes more sense than most of the other ideas I have heard for what it meant. I always liked Rubberband Man also. Great music.

Glad you enjoyed reading this thread. I admit I was a bit surprised at some of the lyrics they chose, but it was definitely good for discussion. The actual post on AOL had a lot of comments from readers following each lyric...but the comments would have taken way too long for me to post since I already had to cut and paste the whole list. Just hoped folks would enjoy the read.

Hugs,
Bobbie

Hey, Joyboy...You're ABSOLUTELY Right!!! (I confess to forgetting the PLOTLINE on that KODACHROME Song...mainly focused on the CHORUS I'd Remembered..& Yep, DOES make Perfect Sense.) (Even with Hook Overkill on da way out...) So, Paul, Please Forgive Me! (Like MY Opinion ever cost him a Cent, eh?) ;-)>

&..yep..I flubbed that Cherry-BABY Couplet as-well...but Heck, I allus liked "Louie-Louie" & never REALLY Understood Exactly WHAT all the Lyrics Were/Folks bought it by The TON. Guess THAT passed Muster..Wasn't ON this List, now Was It? ;-)>

This List (& The Replies) WAS/(Were) Great Fun...& Yeah, I liked Rubber Band Man, too. (Anyone remember "Leader of The Laundromat?"..a Parody of "Leader of the Pack"..by The Detergents? I LOVED the Humor of that Silly Thing as well... DUMB Lyrics were often GREAT to Dance To...still Are, IMO.)

Big Hugs, & A-Paul-ogies, Too!
Stan

Hi, Bobbie (et al.).

I guess I pay a lot more attention to lyrics since I decided I was gonna be a writer. About half the pans on the AOL list, though, struck me as unnecessarily picky. (Don't trust my opinion, however. I routinely hate nearly everything Neil Diamond ever wrote, and I actually *like* "My Hump." Like the old proverb (one of mine) says, T.A.N.A.F.T.--There Ain't No Accounting For Taste.) I expect most of those writers, if they saw a dneed to defend what they'd written, would say something like, "Hey, when you sing it, it *has* to come out that way!" I'd defend a few of my lines the same way.

The refrain in "Parsely, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme" wasn't *supposed* to make sense--it's a folksong. One should consider one's self fortunate the refrain was real words, instead of the nonsense syllables that punctuated most bona fide folksongs. Maybe if you played it backwards...

And--just as an aside--there is a whole book of mis-heard lines from songs, entitled "There's a Bathroom on the Right." Close to my favorite, though, is the line from "Lucille" about "four hundred children and a cop in the field..."

Joe

Howdy Tampa,

If I had a penny for every line in a song that I had misinterpreted...I'd be wealthy indeed! I do remember the Leader of the Laundromat. There were some pretty funny songs back in the day. One of my very favorites was the Mississippi Squirrel Revival. I could identify with that one!! I never understood Louie Louie but then nobody else did so it didn't matter. All we knew was that it was probably naughty! The Stones coulda cared less...all the way to the bank!!

BPH,
Bobbie

True some of those lyrics are bad but the comments are even funnier. A comedian (forgot his name) had a whole bit on just how dumb the lryics are to the theme song for the friends show. It's truly funny. My favorite misheard lyric - Hold me closer Tony Danza. Who knows, that may be what he really was singing.

Lucille??!! I always thought that was 'loose heel'

Hi Bobbie,

I never could understand if Rod Stewart's line in "Tonight's the Night"

"...just let your INHIBITIONS run wild"

was intentional--making him a truly creepy, sadistic guy;

a Freudian slip, making his "true" intentions creepy and sadistic;

or a guy who was confusing an "inhibition" with some kind of "fun fantasy" ...

...or was he trying to say "just let go, my dear sweet jailbait!"

Anyway, the creepiest line in a creepy song (imo) that was very popular at the time.

*****************************************

I always thought "Macarthur Park" to be a wonderfully impressionistic piece of writing. Certainly the music is what made it a hit, being the pinnacle of what Phil Spector called "little symphonies for kids". This was a level of sophistication hitherto unknown in pop music at the time.

Certainly the cake/rain/recipe lines are kitch and bombastic. But I forgive Webb, god bless 'em, he had the guts to "experiment" and NOT write the same song over and over. Still think he's one of the best we've ever had--his book is fantastic as well!

All the best,
Mike

In defense of Kodachrome. I always thought Kodachrome was pretty clear, but maybe I'm just imposing ideas on it.

I see it as being about a young guy who's about to get his heart broken (Mama ain't his mother)for the first time or maybe he's become disillusioned with love for the first time. Anyway, he can "see the writing on the wall" of what's going to happen.

Impose at will. Your take is as good as any, except, "Mama" that always means Mom, within terms of endearment, unless you can show otherwise, I would guess, "mama" means "mom" I've never looked at a girl friend as mama, you?

I will say, still, it flows well.

Here are a few more on the topic.

Kodachrome by Paul Simon Songfacts.

Fix.

He was also sued by Kodak and decided to put Kodak's name on the credits. Nowadays, I doubt that would happen... Thanks for the great list!