01 February 2013

Annoying Song Lyrics


There’s nothing like a catchy song to get me playing the drums on my steering wheel and singing along while I drive. More than once I’ve been caught having my own dance party at a red light. However, like many writers, I pay close attention to the lyrics and find it irritating when they contain blatant grammatical errors or don’t even make sense.  
Here is my list of the top five songs with lyrical flaws that annoy the bleep out of me…
I Cry, by Flo Rida
“When I need a healing, I just look up to the ceiling, I see the sun coming down, I know it’s all better now…”
Really? You see the sun through your ceiling? No x-ray vision or skylight is mentioned here, therefore I can only assume you were grasping for a rhyme or taking hallucinogens.
Beauty and a Beat, by Justin Bieber
“’Cause all I need is a beauty and a beat who can make my life complete…”
Sorry Justin, you’re wrong. You need a beat THAT can make your life complete. Not WHO.
Thank You, by Dido
“Push the door I’m home at last and I’m soaking through and through. Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you. And even if my house falls down now I wouldn’t have a clue…”
Are we in present tense or past tense here? She says she’s pushing the door right now, but then someone handED her a towel? Ok so now we’re in the past. Then, she remarks that even if her house falls down NOW she wouldn’t have a clue…I guess she’s a time traveler. Cool.
Love You Like a Love Song, by Selena Gomez“And it feels like I’ve been rescued. I’ve been set free. I am hypnotized by your destiny.”
There are a number of goofy things I could pick on in this song (how does one love someone like a love song, anyway?). But what really gets to me, is the line quoted above. How in the heck can you be hypnotized by someone’s destiny? What does that even mean? She can see his future and it is so awesome that she falls into a trance?
And that’s not even the worst one. Here it is…my number one pick for most annoying and nonsensical song lyric EVER:
Our Song, by Taylor Swift
“When we’re on the phone and you talk real slow ‘cause it’s late and your momma don’t know.”
This is just stupid. So the next time I have to say something private to someone I should just talk at full volume but say everything reeeeeaaal slooooow(ly) and no one else will be able to hear me. Excellent.

What song lyrics drive YOU crazy? Leave a comment and add to my list!

(image from freedigitalphotos.net)

9 comments:

  1. They lyrics to nearly any rap song will make me cringe. But then again, I once had a teacher who compared song lyrics to poetry. Rules are made to be broken in art. Bob Dylan--yeah, he can get away with it. But I don't think Flo Rida ever passed English I.

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    1. Yep song lyrics are definitely poetry, but some people get away with poetic license better than others :)

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  2. The truth is that bad grammar is perfectly acceptable in pop music. It's nothing new either. A great example is one of my favorite old songs by Van Morrison. "It stoned me to my soul, stoned me just like jelly roll, yeah, it stoned me." Is it bad grammar? yes, but great art often is!

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  3. Wow, I just noticed all the typos in my comment. The truth is should have a comma after it. There should be a capital y on the word yes. Oy!

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  4. I agree! I've written poetry and songs with grammatical errors :) I just can't stand when it doesn't make sense or it's pure laziness. Like, how does talking slow make you quieter? LOL she could've said "low" and it would've fit just as nicely as "slow".

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  5. Hey, I just met you,
    And this is crazy,
    But here's my number,
    So call me, maybe?
    CALL ME MAYBE LYRICS

    Sad part is, I used to really love this song, I think because it reminded me so much of the 80's, and then my 6yr old daughter made me listen to it one-million times in a row. It's dead to me now.

    Fun post!

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    1. Ha! My friend just sang that at karaoke last week :) That really is a catchy song.

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  6. And now I have Dido singing in my head. Fortunately I like the sound of her own voice.

    I've heard it said that to get rid of an annoying earworm song though, play Duran Duran's Rio until it's gone. Then you have Rio playing in your head.

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