Author Topic: Sinister popular songs (Read 12409 times)

rogerzilla · « **on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:23:00 am »

A thread for songs which are really quite wrong when you listen to the lyrics, but have somehow slipped under the radar of the moral guardians.

1. Sweat (A La La La La Long) by Inner Circle. Date rape.
2. No Reply by The Beatles. Stalking.
3. Thank Heaven For Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier. Pretty obvious.
4. Standing On A Corner by Dean Martin. General lechery.
5. Little Brown Jug by various artists. Alcoholism.

Amusingly, the last two are on a children's compilation CD we have for the kids.

Gaston Lagaffe · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:28:38 am »

Lola by the Kinks is a fairly obvious one at the time, as was Walk on the Wild Side.

Does Your Mother Know by Abba now takes on a slightly paedo twist bearing in mind the activities now being revealed about the 70's

clarion · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:31:28 am »

Every Breath You Take - Police. Stalking
You're Gorgeous - Baby Bird. Exploitation
Black Heart - Stooshe. Domestic Abuse
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis. Not directly, perhaps, but the imagery is unsettlingly of abuse throughout.

clarion · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:32:47 am »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 28 May, 2013, 09:23:00 am

3. Thank Heaven For Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier. Pretty obvious.

Given that the song is taken from Gigi, a popular family musical about the training of a young adolescent girl into prostitution, then, yeah...

clarion · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:34:16 am »

Oh - All Night Long by Rainbow has the brutally honest line, possibly regretted in retrospect, 'Don't know about your age, but you look all right...'

Euan Uzami · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 May, 2013, 09:51:48 am »

Quote from: rogerzilla on 28 May, 2013, 09:23:00 am

A thread for songs which are really quite wrong when you listen to the lyrics, but have somehow slipped under the radar of the moral guardians.

1. Sweat (A La La La La Long) by Inner Circle. Date rape.
2. No Reply by The Beatles. Stalking.
3. Thank Heaven For Little Girls by Maurice Chevalier. Pretty obvious.
4. Standing On A Corner by Dean Martin. General lechery.
5. Little Brown Jug by various artists. Alcoholism.

Amusingly, the last two are on a children's compilation CD we have for the kids.

Ace of base - "you know that I just want to torch you". Arson.

Peter · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 May, 2013, 10:04:03 am »

This has only just occurred to me but "Fog On The Tyne" must mean that was some spliff....

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 May, 2013, 10:54:36 am »

My Sharona by the Knack is well dodgy. And The One I Love by REM is quite nasty.

clarion · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 May, 2013, 10:58:59 am »

In a similar vein, Come On Eileen was a song about persuading an underage girl to have sex.

Random trivia: I've just found out that I cycle within 50m of the location for the video on a regular basis.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 May, 2013, 10:59:36 am »

"Norwegian Wood" is also about arson. Girl won't shag John Lennon, so he torches her flat.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:01:30 am »

A lot of songs that seem to be about love are really about drugs. The Las "There She Goes" is a classic example.

clarion · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:03:37 am »

Which brings us to Perfect Day, of course.

Gaston Lagaffe · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:04:08 am »

Quote from: clarion on 28 May, 2013, 10:58:59 am

In a similar vein, Come On Eileen was a song about persuading an underage girl to have sex.

Not sure where you get the underage thing from, young yes, but so were they at the time. As was I.

Great song though, one of my favourites

clarion · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:05:28 am »

I got it from a former member of the group.

Karla · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:07:36 am »

Maxwell's Silver Hammer - The Beatles. Murder.

Jaded · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:17:25 am »

Quote from: clarion on 28 May, 2013, 11:05:28 am

I got it from a former member of the group.

We're you underage at the time?

clarion · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:19:48 am »

Apostrophe crime forgiven for that one

numbnuts · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:24:00 am »

Harry Chapin
Sniper
Burning herself
Cat's in the cradle

TimC · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:27:44 am »

Polly - Nirvana.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #19 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:39:09 am »

Sadly it's an urban legend that The Vapors' "Turning Japanese" is about reaching the vinegar strokes.

clarion · « **Reply #20 on:** 28 May, 2013, 11:56:12 am »

I've no idea what it is about, then.

Eccentrica Gallumbits · « **Reply #21 on:** 28 May, 2013, 12:11:11 pm »

Tell Laura I Love Her by whoever that was by is quite gruesome.

Wobbly John · « **Reply #22 on:** 28 May, 2013, 12:18:09 pm »

Don't fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult?

arry_b · « **Reply #23 on:** 28 May, 2013, 12:33:23 pm »

Brown Sugar - Slavery / rape.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #24 on:** 28 May, 2013, 01:45:01 pm »

I thought it was about a brothel.

Author Topic: Sinister popular songs (Read 12409 times)

Euan Uzami