...I am not a lyrics guy. Never have been. They just don't register with me like the music does. Slayer could be singing about Peanut Butter and Jelly sammitches and the music would still be the thing. Now, as it happens, they sing about horrible things but, hey, it's Slayer. What are they supposed to sing about? Peanut butter and jelly? :lol:

It was with great joy I found that John Lennon (or was it Paul?) explain that, hey, don't read into the lyrics. They simply fit the music. :shrug:

In any event, I heard "My Little Town" this AM, Simon and Garfunkel, and for the first time it registered; "Nothing but the daaaayyyeed and dying back in my little town..." and it struck me just how bleak lots of lyrics are, even from pop/light artists who are not thought of, at all, in any sort of 'extreme' sense.

Now, I am not saying S & G is in the same class as Slayer but, it did get my attention. That chorus "Nothing but the..." had always been some nondescript words I really wasn't sure what they were singing but, that sounded pretty and soaring and inspirational to my ear. And now, I am dealing with them being rather bleak and seeing them in a new light.

So, to the point; How about other examples of rather extreme or surprising lyrics from folks not reflexively thought of as edgy or bleak? I mean, a lot of light pop is a whole lot more suggestive sexually than maybe it comes across at first blush. Death, war, sex, violence, you name it.

:popcorn:


And the zertec is making me wiggy. :jameo:

Don't give a hoot about Slayer, or many other bands, but agree with you on this. The music to me makes probably about 85% of my appreciation of songs/groups out there, or were out there.

In my opinion, there are only a few groups (I'm talking rock, mind you) where the music/words are close to being even - Pink Floyd, The Eagles, the Beatles work for me. Led Zeppelin is more on the music edge, but some of their lyrics do make certain songs stand out - especially from my long-past dazed days.

Simon and Garfunkel area good example of words making a lot of songs (even though your outlook on them may have changed, but not for me), as you stated. I really appreciate Simon's guitar work as well.

IMHO, of course.

You are on the road to enlightenment. You will only be truly free to understand what you seek when you have an epiphany. The path is long and filled with fear and trepidation, and you must be strong to complete your journey.






Have another Zertec.

Don't give a hoot about Slayer, or many other bands, but agree with you on this. The music to me makes probably about 85% of my appreciation of songs/groups out there, or were out there.

In my opinion, there are only a few groups (I'm talking rock, mind you) where the music/words are close to being even - Pink Floyd, The Eagles, the Beatles work for me. Led Zeppelin is more on the music edge, but some of their lyrics do make certain songs stand out - especially from my long-past dazed days.

IMHO, of course.

:buddies:

OK, now, to play, y'ah gotta come up with some examples!

You are on the road to enlightenment. You will only be truly free to understand what you seek when you have an epiphany. The path is long and filled with fear and trepidation, and you must be strong to complete your journey.






Have another Zertec.

Or at least be able to walk on sand and leave no footprings......

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we're nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills or trees.
Learned of love and ABC's,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Pretty girls are everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.



Discuss.

:buddies:

OK, now, to play, y'ah gotta come up with some examples!

I'll do my best:

Pink Floyd - albums Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, The Wall - to me none of those works would be anything close to what they are without the music complimenting the words, and visa versa.

The Beatles - too many songs where the lyrics surpassed their musical ability (which was pretty good overall), even if a lot of the lyrics were really drug-induced, but very cool.

Zeppelin - where would Whole Lotta Love, Stairway To Heaven, among others, be without the words to quantify the fantastic hard rock music?

The Eagles - Hotel California - the song? Desperado - the entire album story (it is a story) unfolded by the words, the music complementing and emphasizing the words.

I'm an oldie kind of guy. Just sayin'.......

Pink Houses (JCM)

Good (Better Than Ezra)

And She Was (Talking Heads)

#### You (Cee Lo Green) :lol:

Heaven (Los Lonely Boys)

Walking on the Sun (Smash Mouth)

Come Out And Play by The Offspring has a sad message.

Pink Houses (JCM)

Good (Better Than Ezra)

And She Was (Talking Heads)

#### You (Cee Lo Green) :lol:

Heaven (Los Lonely Boys)

Walking on the Sun (Smash Mouth)


I was hoping you'd play. Now, give me some actual lyrics while I pop another zertec...

:dye:

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we're nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills or trees.
Learned of love and ABC's,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Pretty girls are everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.



Discuss.

GREAT example from Petro gurl!!!

:buddies:

Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon. A fun bouncy song about a serial killer. :jet:

Bad Moon Rising by CCR - catchy tune but the lyrics are a *bit* depressing:

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes ablowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Bad Moon Rising by CCR - catchy tune but the lyrics are a *bit* depressing:

:clap:

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins and I’m out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray-paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin’ with a loser and the cruise control
Baby’s in reno with the vitamin d
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love-seat
Someone came in sayin’ I’m insane to complain
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don’t believe everything that you breathe
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin’ all your food stamps and burnin’ down the trailer park

Yo. cut it.

Soy un perdedor
I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?

Soy un perdedor
I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me?

When Black Sabbath first came out, they presented themselves as a folk band, following in the footsteps of Peter, Paul, & Mary. If you listen to the lyrics of their first album, it's all about finding ways to put an end to wars & destruction...but the music was a turnoff to the folksy types, whereas a whole generation of burnouts thought it was the greatest. Now, for some songs with lyrics that mean more than what you're listening to:

Puff The Majic Dragon
Blinded By The Light
Amazing Grace
Strange Fruit(?)

Strange Fruit(?)
Do you mean Strange Brew? :lol:

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People. Got a beat, you can dance to it, and it's about a kid who's planning to shoot up his school.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, outrun my gun
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet

:dance:

SDTZ7iX4vTQ#!

Do you mean Strange Brew? :lol:

Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday's signature song.

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit..." It's about lynching blacks.

a kid who's planning to shoot up his school.

been done.... :coffee:

vMh6EaVhnLc

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old
A little girl came through the front gate holdin' a fishing pole
His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind
Son I know you don't want her to go but someday you'll change your mind
And Johnny said "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo
Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go
Take any boy in the world
Daddy please don't take the girl

Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Ten years down the road
He held her tight and kissed her lips
In front of the picture show
Stranger came and pulled a gun
Grabbed her by the arm said "If you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm"
And Johnny said "Take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards
Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me
Here's the key to my car
Mister give it a whirl
But please don't take the girl

Same old boy
Same sweet girl
Five years down the road
There's going to be a little one and she says it's time to go
Doctor says the baby's fine but you'll have to leave
'Cause his momma's fading fast and Johnny hit his knees and there he prayed
Take the very breath you gave me
Take the heart from my chest
I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me
Make this my last request
Take me out of this world
God, please don't take the girl

Johnny's daddy
Was taking him fishin'
When he was eight years old

:barf: :barf: :barf:

been done.... :coffee:

Jeremy is dark and sounds dark. The topic is dark songs set to happy music or from unexpected sources. :smack:

Jeremy is dark and sounds dark. The topic is dark songs set to happy music or from unexpected sources. :smack:
I'll see you both and raise you a Boomtown Rats school shooting song...

The silicon chip inside her head
gets switched to overload
and nobody's gonna go to school today
she's gonna make them stay at home
And Daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was good as gold
And he can see no reason
Cos there are no reasons
What reasons do you need to be shown

Chorus:
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down

When Black Sabbath first came out, they presented themselves as a folk band, following in the footsteps of Peter, Paul, & Mary. If you listen to the lyrics of their first album, it's all about finding ways to put an end to wars & destruction...but the music was a turnoff to the folksy types, whereas a whole generation of burnouts thought it was the greatest. Now, for some songs with lyrics that mean more than what you're listening to:

Puff The Majic Dragon
Blinded By The Light
Amazing Grace
Strange Fruit(?)

GREAT point! Now, we're getting somewhere; cultural behavior and mind set.

If it sounds light and happy, you can sing about the worst stuff. If it sounds heavy yet is about peace, we can't have that!

Fascinating...

:buddies:

:buddies:

OK, now, to play, y'ah gotta come up with some examples!

I can't really come up with any examples......everything I listen to comes from genres that are supposed to have dark lyrics......

The Stones were, for the most part, upbeat..and they dropped, "Paint it Black"

Alice Cooper was obviously a dark "shock rocker" but the music and even vocal delivery from, "Cold Eythl" was always upbeat and poppy.

Yeah ooh oh one thing I miss is cold Ethyl and her skeleton kiss
We met last night making love by the refrigerator light
Ethyl Ethyl let me squeeze you in my arms
Ethyl Ethyl come and freeze me with your charms
Ah one thing no lie Ethyl's frigid as an Eskimo pie
She's cool in bed she's gotta be 'cause Ethyl's dead
Ethyl Ethyl let me squeeze you in my arms
Ethyl Ethyl come and freeze me with your charms
Come on cold Ethyl freeze me baby that's cool that's nice
One thing it's true cold Ethyl I am stuck on you
And everything is my way ethyl don't have much to say
Ethyl Ethyl let me squeeze you in my arms
Ethyl Ethyl come and freeze me with your charms
Come here cold Ethyl what makes you so cold ooh so cold ooh ooh
Cold Ethyl cold cold Ethyl cold Ethyl cold cold Ethyl
Cold Ethyl cold cold Ethyl cold Ethyl cold cold Ethyl
If I live 'til ninety seven you'll still be waiting in refrigerator heaven
'cause you're cool you're ice cold Ethyl you're my paradise aah

Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday's signature song.

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit..." It's about lynching blacks.

Good 'un...

Jeremy is dark and sounds dark. The topic is dark songs set to happy music or from unexpected sources. :smack:

:shrug:

PUhIEEwSSSo

:buddies:I'm just going to put this out there......I hate the Beatles and everything they ever did....

Song about the Apocalypse...

cnndERkkB20

:buddies:I'm just going to put this out there......I hate the Beatles and everything they ever did....

Even Yellow Submarine?

:buddies:I'm just going to put this out there......I hate the Beatles and everything they ever did....

Wow. How can that be? I mean, we all like what we like and don't what we don't but, nothing? Not even this? The greatest Beatles song of all time?

taADLPtyDb0

Even Yellow Submarine?

Especially Yellow Submarine...

See, I think of Simon and Garfunkel as depressing music. The Boxer, Sound of Silence, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, Hazy Shade of Winter...even the bouncy fun Cecelia is about a girl who runs off with another guy.

My Little Town doesn't come as a surprise to me.

Especially Yellow Submarine...

You're a blue meamie. :frown:

See, I think of Simon and Garfunkel as depressing music. The Boxer, Sound of Silence, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, Hazy Shade of Winter...even the bouncy fun Cecelia is about a girl who runs off with another guy.

My Little Town doesn't come as a surprise to me.

That and Art looks like a serial killer...

The greatest Beatles song of all time?



:eyebrow:

:buddies:I'm just going to put this out there......I hate the Beatles and everything they ever did....

Okay, I just had this discussion with a friend a few days ago. You cannot hate the Beatles. You may think it's cool and edgy to say you hate the Beatles, but nobody really does. They are unhateable because their music is far too diverse to be hated in toto.

Okay, I just had this discussion with a friend a few days ago. You cannot hate the Beatles. You may think it's cool and edgy to say you hate the Beatles, but nobody really does. They are unhateable because their music is far too diverse to be hated in toto.

Ummm, no I hate them....If it's in ear shot I find the source and kill it....

Okay, I just had this discussion with a friend a few days ago. You cannot hate the Beatles. You may think it's cool and edgy to say you hate the Beatles, but nobody really does. They are unhateable because their music is far too diverse to be hated in toto.

That's right, damn it!


:tap:

Ooh! Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin:

Sunny came home with a list of names
She didn't believe in transcendence
"And it's time for a few small repairs", she said
Sunny came home with a vengeance

Ummm, no I hate them....If it's in ear shot I find the source and kill it....

You can hate a few of their songs - Norweigian Wood, for example - but you cannot hate them all. Unless you just hate music. Do you hate music?

Okay Larry, I know it's not exactly what you're asking for but how about young children singing "Ring around the Rosie, pocket full of posies, Ashes Ashes we all fall down!"

Okay Larry, I know it's not exactly what you're asking for but how about young children singing "Ring around the Rosie, pocket full of posies, Ashes Ashes we all fall down!"

Of a kind, for sure.

:buddies:

Most of Springsteen's Born in the USA album is depressing words set to dance music. I'm On Fire is just creepy.

Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
Ohh I'm on fire...

:twitch:

Most of Springsteen's Born in the USA album is depressing words set to dance music. I'm On Fire is just creepy.

Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
Ohh I'm on fire...

:twitch:

I hate Bruce like Hurley hates The Beatles....

You can hate a few of their songs - Norweigian Wood, for example - but you cannot hate them all. Unless you just hate music. Do you hate music?

It's pretty simple. I hate the Beatles.

It's pretty simple. I hate the Beatles.

Well you can't.

Well you can't.

And yet, I do :)

The MASH theme song.

The MASH theme song.

Good one...Suicide is Painless right?

Good one...Suicide is Painless right?

Vrai will not let this one pass... The music is dark as well as the lyrics...:larry:

Good one...Suicide is Painless right?

Bud Cort! He also starred in Harold and Maude. :yay:

As a kid, I remember watching MASH and liking the comedy. The instrumental did not seem dark. As an adult, it was surprised at the lyrics that went with it. Would never have known.

And yet, I do :)

Unpossible. :razz:


How about Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman? It sounds like a love song, perhaps something you might choose as a wedding dance, yet the words are very bitter.

This tread, unlike comments about EMS, has gone just as I had hoped.

We live in a world where much of pop music has long had some rather bleak and even sinister content, lyrically, yet is not worrisome, for some reason, if the music is gentle yet, let Ozzy blare out 'Suicide Solution' or AC/DC does "Night Prowler" or Priest has some sort of heavy lyrical content and, it seems to me, the music, rock music, distorted guitars and thundering drums, all of a sudden makes the lyrics a big deal.

Always fascinated me.

KISS - Detroit Rock City

It's about a KISS fan dying in a car accident on the way to one of their shows.

This tread, unlike comments about EMS, has gone just as I had hoped.

We live in a world where much of pop music has long had some rather bleak and even sinister content, lyrically, yet is not worrisome, for some reason, if the music is gentle yet, let Ozzy blare out 'Suicide Solution' or AC/DC does "Night Prowler" or Priest has some sort of heavy lyrical content and, it seems to me, the music, rock music, distorted guitars and thundering drums, all of a sudden makes the lyrics a big deal.

Always fascinated me.

But you yourself admitted that you don't listen to the words as much as the music. Clearly other people do the same.

I, on the other hand, am a lyrics person and can always understand what the song is saying regardless of the music its set to.

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight, gonna grab some afternoon delight - a song about a couple going on a picnic and fishing.

Relax, don't do it - an anti-stress song, like Don't Worry Be Happy.

And that song about a musical family, a la the Partridges - Mama's got a squeezebox she wears on her chest and when Daddy comes home he never gets no rest.

:yay:

Priest has some sort of heavy lyrical content.

Who knew the whole time he was singing about dudes...:lmao:

Relax, don't do it - an anti-stress song



:lmao:

Who knew the whole time he was singing about dudes...:lmao:

Anyone who didn't know Rob is gay didn't want to know.

But you yourself admitted that you don't listen to the words as much as the music. Clearly other people do the same.

I, on the other hand, am a lyrics person and can always understand what the song is saying regardless of the music its set to.

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight, gonna grab some afternoon delight - a song about a couple going on a picnic and fishing.

Relax, don't do it - an anti-stress song, like Don't Worry Be Happy.

And that song about a musical family, a la the Partridges - Mama's got a squeezebox she wears on her chest and when Daddy comes home he never gets no rest.

:yay:

Yes, and thus it is such an interesting topic. Music means so many different things to folks. For instance, not many knew Purple Haze was the first pro gay rights protest song. Most think it's about drugs.

:shrug:

Anyone who didn't know Rob is gay didn't want to know.

I was too young at the time to recognize that...:lmao:

I was too young at the time to recognize that...:lmao:

Yeah, he hid it pretty well...

MoDbAd4fYBA


:lol:

Yeah, he hid it pretty well...

MoDbAd4fYBA


:lol:

ghey or not... they are still bad ass (no pun intended)

ghey or not... they are still bad ass (no pun intended)

Judas Priest is one of the founding pillars of heavy metal. An indisputable, indispensable all time great. Arguably, the greatest of them all.

KO2DYwvseiY&feature=related

Judas Priest is one of the founding pillars of heavy metal. An indisputable, indispensable all time great. Arguably, the greatest of them all.



Yeah, I agree... I just don't sing along to the music anymore....

not that there is anything wrong with it...:lmao:

Yes, and thus it is such an interesting topic. Music means so many different things to folks. For instance, not many knew Purple Haze was the first pro gay rights protest song. Most think it's about drugs.

:shrug:

I remember people trying to figure out if the line was:

"Actin funny, but I don't know why,
Scuse me while I kiss the sky"
OR
"Scuse me while I kiss this guy"

I remember people trying to figure out if the line was:

"Actin funny, but I don't know why,
Scuse me while I kiss the sky"
OR
"Scuse me while I kiss this guy"

Kind of like...

"plowman dig my earth"

people would sing::: "plowman dig my herb"

**All along the Watchtower

Don't give a hoot about Slayer, or many other bands, but agree with you on this. The music to me makes probably about 85% of my appreciation of songs/groups out there, or were out there.

In my opinion, there are only a few groups (I'm talking rock, mind you) where the music/words are close to being even - Pink Floyd, The Eagles, the Beatles work for me. Led Zeppelin is more on the music edge, but some of their lyrics do make certain songs stand out - especially from my long-past dazed days.Simon and Garfunkel area good example of words making a lot of songs (even though your outlook on them may have changed, but not for me), as you stated. I really appreciate Simon's guitar work as well.

IMHO, of course.

Got me thinking about this little gem.

xUvkxz1nHMM

Yeah, he hid it pretty well...

MoDbAd4fYBA


:lol:

:lmao::lmao: OMG I'm rolling here. These old videos are pretty bad.

Cracked sez:

6 Popular Upbeat Songs You Didn't Realize Are Depressing | Cracked.com (http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-popular-upbeat-songs-you-didnt-realize-are-depressing/)

Depressing songs that don't hide it.

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'

But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction Lyrics (http://artists.letssingit.com/barry-mcguire-eve-of-destruction-s1m88lj)

Billy Joel Captain Jack

Ode to Billy Joe - Bobby Gentry