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Thread started 12/29/13 2:21pm

delirious

Clunker lyrics that ruin otherwise good songs

Would like some input from the forum on this - here are the parameters. Submit your choices for all-time horrible lyrics that ruin what otherwise would be a good song. The song has to be good however - please don't submit bad lyrics from songs that most of us have already agreed are bad songs (jughead, etc) - that's just too easy smile

I have four examples that come to my mind but am looking for more. Here are my examples:

  • I love u in me - the infamous "When she makin love it's like surgery" - makes the song almost unlistenable for me
  • Wherever you go, Whatever you do - "Keep on smiling, every girl and boy - Remember when you were children you had toys" - groan
  • Dinner with Delores - "Like a Brontosaurus , She was packin' it in" - pretty strange and just sounds terrible
  • Shhh - "I'd rather do you after school like some homework" - just weird biggrin

What others can you think of?

Cheers...



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Reply #1 posted 12/29/13 3:37pm

KoolEaze

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The Morning Papers.....I like the song but not the lyrics about a 35 year old man singing about falling in love with someone who is half his age.

I Wanna Melt With U. The song is ok but the lyrics "Don´t look now there´s a river of blood, you must´ve been a virgin, what am I guilty of?" absolutely ruin it for me.

Extraloveable (original version) . Nice song, but the rape line whofarted disbelief disbelief

Muse 2 the Pharao. The lyrics are just plain terrible for so many reasons. This could have been a nice little love song with different lyrics. It also sounds too derivative of D´Angelo´s music at the time.

Everywhere. Great, great uplifting and cheerful song. The line "before the truth I did not care, now I feel it everywhere" makes it less accessible to me though. Still love this song and the rest of its lyrics but the JW reference or the idea that he knows "the truth" make it too propagandistic for my taste.

Lion of Judah. This could have been such a great pop/ love song if it wasn´t ruined by the chorus and the Lion of Judah metaphor or symbol. If the lyrics were a bit more accessible or easier to relate to, this could´ve saved that awful Planet Earth album.

Mr.Goodnight. A mouthful of Raisinettes, a Spanish butler, and a whole lot of materialistic shit that I am not into. I like the beat and the music though. But the lyrics stop me from going back to this little oddity.

There are so many more examples but the ones above are the first that come to my mind.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #2 posted 12/29/13 4:57pm

NoVideo

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"She don't eat no meat" in "She Loves Me 4 Me"

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #3 posted 12/30/13 1:04pm

peterkearns

'Wet circles 'round the toy while you bring yourself to joy' always makes me flinch. Ha. And I thought I was unshockable.
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Reply #4 posted 12/30/13 2:38pm

midnightmover

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.

I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.

“The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
- Thomas Jefferson
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Reply #5 posted 12/30/13 3:20pm

delirious

midnightmover said:

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.

I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.

Interesting take on the surgery line - never thought of it that way. It is still a little hard to listen to for some reason though...

[Edited 12/30/13 15:21pm]

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Reply #6 posted 12/30/13 5:38pm

XNY

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delirious said:

midnightmover said:

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.

I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.

Interesting take on the surgery line - never thought of it that way. It is still a little hard to listen to for some reason though...

[Edited 12/30/13 15:21pm]

I always loved the song so much that the line had little or no bearing on my enjoying "I Love u in me".

Same thing with "I Like it There": "Like an Embryo Baby, Don't abort this dire need 4 u"

Corny and a little raw? ...yeah

But he saves it with "All my emotional ejaculate on the floor (on the floor)
And what's more, what's more
Your heavenly body, baby
I swear (I swear), I swear
I like it there!!" - just love that song!!

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham
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Reply #7 posted 12/30/13 7:57pm

PicassoFace

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I love "Pearls B4 the Swine", but I always cringe at the line, "Can I offer you baklava or a bagel with cream cheese?" That line almost single-handedly ruins the song for me.

"I Was FINE Back in the Day!"
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Reply #8 posted 12/30/13 7:58pm

NoVideo

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PicassoFace said:

I love "Pearls B4 the Swine", but I always cringe at the line, "Can I offer you baklava or a bagel with cream cheese?" That line almost single-handedly ruins the song for me.

yes! Totally agree

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #9 posted 12/31/13 7:29am

XNY

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^^Why? It may be simplistic in it's approach, but also a gesture of goodwill, an offering of what he finds is culturally accepted food.

Must be a Midwest thing. We connect over food wink

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham
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Reply #10 posted 12/31/13 8:03am

SuperSoulFight
er

eye Hate U
"I hope U have some baby if not boohoo"
Come on man! U've GOT to be able to come up with something better that rhymes with "U".
Otherwise it's a fantastic song that won the "best 90s song" poll that we had some time ago.
[Edited 12/31/13 8:04am]
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Reply #11 posted 12/31/13 8:46am

SchlomoThaHomo

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midnightmover said:

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.

I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.

I always thought this was a reference to his lover being very precise in the bedroom, paying attention to every detail.


The "don't want no beef" line from She Loves Me 4 Me really hits with a thud. Not in a good way. She doesn't eat meat AND she doesn't like to fight. GET IT?!


The "nevermind the birdfeed" line from Beginning Endlessly rubs me the wrong way for some reason, though I do like the song. And yes I know bird is slang for woman in the UK.


"That was the coolest movie ever..." from Sticky Like Glue. A man in his 50s talking like a 16 yr old girl. I don't know.


The chorus of Another Like Me. Maybe because it sounds so forced and banal.


When he starts talking about the moon in Call My Name. I really like it up until that point. "So many speak of the moon as though it has no flaws..." Not really. That whole verse is supposed to be the climax of the song but the forced lyrics kind of ruin it for me.


Animal Kingdom - such a shame because I really love this one, musically speaking. Especially the change into the chorus and the short bridge section. The one that really sticks out for me is, "if God wanted milk in me, the breast I suck would have a line around the hood." But there are so many more. "Nurses past maturity." "Funky, funky bleu cheese." Yikes.


Chocolate Box - the whole thing.

"That's when stars collide. When there's space for what u want, and ur heart is open wide."
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Reply #12 posted 12/31/13 9:24am

Poplife88

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MUCH of Rainbow Children...I love the music on that album but cringe at so many of the lyrics...comparing slavery to the holocost?? We don't give a DUCK what u got on?? dont eat no beef. ugh...just awful.

the river of blood line in Melt With U...ew

I never liked the lyrics to Eye no. They seemed forced and didn't fit the music. When I first hear the Ball (same song, different lyrics) I could never figure out why he changed the lyrics. SO much better with the original lyrics. Same goes for Old Friends 4 Sale.

There are more...

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Reply #13 posted 12/31/13 9:25am

Poplife88

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PicassoFace said:

I love "Pearls B4 the Swine", but I always cringe at the line, "Can I offer you baklava or a bagel with cream cheese?" That line almost single-handedly ruins the song for me.

yep...this one too. I so love that song...but that line totally ruins it for me. sad

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Reply #14 posted 12/31/13 10:32am

KoolEaze

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XNY said:

^^Why? It may be simplistic in it's approach, but also a gesture of goodwill, an offering of what he finds is culturally accepted food.

Must be a Midwest thing. We connect over food wink

eek

I always interpreted that line as reaching out to both Palestinians and Israelis and asking them to be more peaceful and tolerant to each other. A bagel with cream cheese is a typical Jewish American food ( though, as far as I know, not necessarily typical for Israeli Jews), and baklava is actually not Palestinian in origin but it is still a widely known and popular Middle Eastern dessert. With that in mind, the line doesn´t sound bad at all and makes more sense.

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #15 posted 01/01/14 6:43am

midnightmover

SchlomoThaHomo said:

midnightmover said:

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.

I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.

I always thought this was a reference to his lover being very precise in the bedroom, paying attention to every detail.

It can also be interpreted as healing. Surgery is designed to fix what is broken. Therefore making love to her could be like what Marvin Gaye described as "sexual healing".


These different nuances of meaning show just what a good line it is. It's quite obviously a compliment to the lady's bedroom skills. I wish I knew who she was so I could find her and try it out for myself. She sounds brilliant.

“The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.”
- Thomas Jefferson
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Reply #16 posted 01/01/14 8:45am

SoulAlive

"If I'm workin' at my jobba....I'm the victim,you're the robba"---Lemon Crush

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Reply #17 posted 01/01/14 10:49am

raddahone

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midnightmover said:

The last verse of future soul song and the second half of the second verse. His ad-libs at the end are way too mundane lyrically too. They undercut the ethereal quality of the rest of the song.



I don't know why people are so confused by the surgery line in i love u in me. To me it was always clear. Surgery transforms. Making love with this woman is a transformative experience too. Pretty clear and quite a compliment to the lady too. That's actually a very good Princely line.



Dear Midnightmover, Very interesting insight and ur insight is helpful right now 2 me. Eye was in shoulder surgery 28 days ago...surgery for everyone is transformation. Ur insight feels so radiant.
~honey is b-ing 1 with the 1~
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Reply #18 posted 01/01/14 12:53pm

NoVideo

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SoulAlive said:

"If I'm workin' at my jobba....I'm the victim,you're the robba"---Lemon Crush

Good one!

Or should I say... bad one!! lol. Yeah, one of the worst couplets of his career.

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #19 posted 01/01/14 3:00pm

delirious

Wow - great response - this is what I was looking for! You are reminding me of other all time clunkers from Lemon Crush and a ton of Rainbow Children stuff.

Now I will throw another one out that I am sure will cause some discussion. Does anyone else feel like the chorus (and of course the title) of AnotherLoverHoleinYoHead potentially kills a BRILLIANT song?

"You need another lover - like you need a hole in yo head" - C'mon man...

I know of a lot of people back in the day who said they loved the grove and style of the song but hated the title/chorus. If I remember even Robin Williams did a small bit in his comedy routine about that chorus for a while....

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Reply #20 posted 01/01/14 9:16pm

smokeverbs

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I like "4 Ever".

But the ending lyric.. "I don't wanna kiss your lips, until I get to UH! your hips" completely ruins it for me.

Keep your headphones on.
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Reply #21 posted 01/02/14 5:00pm

musicman

delirious said:

Wow - great response - this is what I was looking for! You are reminding me of other all time clunkers from Lemon Crush and a ton of Rainbow Children stuff.

Now I will throw another one out that I am sure will cause some discussion. Does anyone else feel like the chorus (and of course the title) of AnotherLoverHoleinYoHead potentially kills a BRILLIANT song?

"You need another lover - like you need a hole in yo head" - C'mon man...

I know of a lot of people back in the day who said they loved the grove and style of the song but hated the title/chorus. If I remember even Robin Williams did a small bit in his comedy routine about that chorus for a while....

That never bothered me beccuase it's a common idiom. When people say "You need a XXX like you need a hole in your head." I think it make you do a double take. Now that really says how badly you need to leave an obsession alone.

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Reply #22 posted 01/03/14 5:49pm

delirious

peterkearns said:

'Wet circles 'round the toy while you bring yourself to joy' always makes me flinch. Ha. And I thought I was unshockable.

OK I feel dumb - what song is this line from?

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Reply #23 posted 01/03/14 6:29pm

NoVideo

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Pop go Mama When Daddy gets a little too much

* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #24 posted 01/04/14 4:40am

novabrkr

"Cybersingle" might have been a pretty good song with different lyrics. Ones that would have suited the melody better too. The music on it is somewhat reminiscent of stuff like "Extraloveable" and "My Drawers", or at least could have been worked in that direction easily.

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Reply #25 posted 01/04/14 7:50am

noclaim

How about this: The friends of my enemies are not my frenemies. Prince just needs to

write a good song and include that phrase in the chorus and we've got a winner.

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Reply #26 posted 01/04/14 2:13pm

billymeade

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"Thank God this ain't Monopoly; You'd make us all go back to start." - Race

This shows a severe misunderstanding of Monopoly.

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Reply #27 posted 01/04/14 5:18pm

popgodazipa

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delirious said:



peterkearns said:


'Wet circles 'round the toy while you bring yourself to joy' always makes me flinch. Ha. And I thought I was unshockable.


OK I feel dumb - what song is this line from?


TRC Mellow Mellow"..just at the end.
1 over Jordan...the greatest since
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Reply #28 posted 01/04/14 5:36pm

Byron

SuperSoulFighter said:

eye Hate U "I hope U have some baby if not boohoo" Come on man! U've GOT to be able to come up with something better that rhymes with "U". Otherwise it's a fantastic song that won the "best 90s song" poll that we had some time ago.


It actually rhymes with "through", not "U". "One" and "fun", then "though" and "boo-hoo".


I never thought that you would be the one

After all the things that we've been through

You gave your body to another in the name of fun

I hope you had some, baby

If not, boo-hoo

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Reply #29 posted 01/04/14 5:38pm

Byron

So I can't go like a jerk - The Future. Ruins the chorus completely for me. Rest of the song is cool, though.

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