poor grammar in songs

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You know what I mean - those people who speak perfect English in real life except when singing. People who never use double negatives or the word "ain't" in conversations, yet write songs full of such colloquialisms. What's that about?

― mike a, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

um, who are you talking about? gillian welch?

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

See R Elizabeth II's "Gotcha Money"

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

The use of the word "don't" instead of "doesn't" is rampant in every era, every class, every genre.

― PappaWheelie (PappaWheelie), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

There'a a song by the Bravery that has this asinine lyric:

"You put the broke in broken hearted
You put the art in retarded"

I guess it's not really grammar, but there is no 'art' in 'retarded.'

― yr mom (yr mom), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Wings' and Guns 'N Roses cover of "Live and Let Die":

"But if this ever changin' world in which we live in"

....obviously too many "in"'s.

― PB, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:34 (twenty-one years ago)

persona /= artist

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Neil Diamond's "songs she sang to me/songs she brang to me" has always really bugged the shit outta me, it's so clumsy and wrong.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:39 (twenty-one years ago)

"brought" don't rhyme with "sang" don't it?

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

no, it DOESN'T.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Stipe's pet quirk -- using verbs/adjectives as nouns -- bugs the SHIT out of me.
"Have I missed the big reveal?"
"Leaving was never my proud"

Countdown to Ellison and/or Perpetua swooping down to defend this as a legitimate poetic device begins... now.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, might as well mention that Bono is at his most pathetic when he goes into "soul" colloquialisms ("She teach me how to sing")

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:49 (twenty-one years ago)

You could proabably notch this trend down to the combined influences of blues and hillbilly, along with pop's inclination to "speak to the common man". Dylan's dumbing down of grammar made it all the more respectable/hip, so thar u go.

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The Doors' - "Touch Me" ... Morrison sings "for you and I" when he should say "for you and me"

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:54 (twenty-one years ago)

what's with those rastafarians using "I and I" when "we" will do???

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I and I:

Explain Reggae to me _ I and I _ and _ Jah Rastafari _ the weed thing, etc.

― PappaWheelie (PappaWheelie), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

can't Prince spell???

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

huzzah then to April Wine for 'Just Between You and Me'!

― righteousmaelstrom (righteousmaelstrom), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

lay lady lay

― a banana (alanbanana), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

lie di lie
lie di lie lie di lie
lie di lie
lie di lie di lie di lie di lie di lie

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Super Furry Animals

― Aerodynamic (Aerodynamic), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

morrissey's "ec cetera" in "sweet and tender hooligan" still annoys me 20 years on

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Ipso fatso.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

My favorite Patsy Cline song: "You're Stronger Than Me." Not only is it sad, I always say, it's bad grammar.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

gonna wanna

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess it's not really grammar, but there is no 'art' in 'retarded.'

On the other hand, if it were spelled "retarted," it would sound exactly the same in everyday speech as "retarded"

― 666, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:48 (twenty-one years ago)

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours.

No, they're like "it's better than hers".

― stet (stet), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I Want To Be Sedated
Give Me Shelter

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

The opposite of PB's too many "in"'s upthread, from Martin Stephenson & The Daintees: "Rain brings peace upon all whom it falls". Not enough "upon"'s!

― OleM (OleM), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Stipe's pet quirk -- using verbs/adjectives as nouns -- bugs the SHIT out of me.

Hm. That's never really been an annoy to me.

― OleM (OleM), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

No, they're like "it's better than hers".

Speaking of which, what is it with rappers occasionally using "thee?" (Kelis does, in the same song). Not that it's bad, just... archaic... I mean, I understand it's an easy rhyme with, say, "pretty," (or what was it in "The Humpty Dance?" humpty --> hump thee?), but it's still pretty freakin' odd that they resort to it. It's not like anyone uses "thou" or "thine."

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"Since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand" to thread!

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

OleM - hee hee. x-post

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 22:02 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Portishead - Sour Times:

"All I have left/Is my memories of yesterday"

That always bothers me.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:24 (twenty years ago)

What always kinda bugs me is this line from Joy Zipper's 'Baby You Should Know': "That what I see when I see in you eyes"

You don't 'see' in someone's eyes now, do you? You look into them (and spare me the metaphysical explanations, it's plain wrong). Great band and record though, nonetheless.

― Gerard (Gerard), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

that should read: "That's what I see when I see in your eyes"

― Gerard (Gerard), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

That shitty P!nk song, "There You Go" with it "somtimes it be's like that" line.

FUCK YOU, PINK!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

hahaha...with ITS blah blah blah.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

I remember reading a huge debate on whether the line:

"If I was you/I wouldn't treat me the way you do"

of The Pet Shop Boys' song "I'm not Scared" is wrong. And I don't even remember what the conclusion was.

― daavid (daavid), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:46 (twenty years ago)

It comes from the slavery era and poor blacks ragging white people's music and way of talking. Can't play a piano? Play it fast as hell and intentionally mangle the English.

― Cunga (Cunga), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 22:55 (twenty years ago)

Blame the black people. So, what about st-st-stuttering?

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Wednesday, 6 July 2005 23:10 (twenty years ago)

Stipe's pet quirk -- using verbs/adjectives as nouns -- bugs the SHIT out of me.
"Have I missed the big reveal?"

but "reveal" is in fact a proper english known (look it up in the dictionary), and has been used as such for years in tv and other media. that's a case of stipe talking like people actually do talk.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 7 July 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

"known" = "noun" (a known noun, as it were!)

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 7 July 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

"I've used up all my tissues, 'cause there's more seriouser issues"

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 7 July 2005 14:00 (twenty years ago)

"Why'd you wanna go do that for?" - Delays

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Thursday, 7 July 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

Sloan's "Underwhelmed" is about grammar.

She said, "You is funny"
I said, "You are funny"
She said, "Thank you"
and I said, "Nevermind"
She rolled her eyes
Her beautiful eyes

The point is not the grammar
It's the feeling
That is certainly in my heart
But not in hers

and the Manics "Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart"

poor single lone apostrophe that doesn't even belong there.

― Viz (Viz), Thursday, 7 July 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

morrissey/Smiths, "and in the midst of life we are in death ECK CETERA ECK CETERA" FUCKING HELL

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 7 July 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

No matter where I roam
I will come back to my English Rose
For no bums
Can ever tempt me from SHE

WHAT THE FUCK?

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Thursday, 7 July 2005 16:27 (twenty years ago)

Whom Do You Love?

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Thursday, 7 July 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

Gonna be a rock and roll singer
Gonna be a rock and roll star
Gonna be a rock and roll singer
Gonna be a rock and roll
A rock and roll star
Yes I are.

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Thursday, 7 July 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

noel gallagher owns this thread.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 7 July 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

Which SFA songs contain incorrect grammar? Their lyrics don't always make sense, but I can't think of any examples of actual grammatical errors.

― Wobble (Wobble), Friday, 8 July 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

Neil Diamond's "songs she sang to me/songs she brang to me" has always really bugged the shit outta me, it's so clumsy and wrong

That's the best ever - I mean, the song's the important thing not the grammar, of course. More annoying is in "Done Too Soon" when Neil sings "Wolfie Mozart" instead of "Wolfgang Mozart" when the latter would SCAN JUST AS WELL. Always seemed a bit familiar on Neil's part

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 8 July 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

The Stars, "Everyone is free, except for you and I". You and me! It even rhymes better!

― ledge (ledge), Friday, 8 July 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

I did not know you were a huge Neil Diamond fan, Dadaismus.

― Peter Stringbender (PJ Miller), Friday, 8 July 2005 12:31 (twenty years ago)

ABC, "Vanity kills/It don't pay bills." In 1985 this particularly disappointed me because (1) god, it's Martin Fry, who is supposedly and on the evidence of The Lexicon of Love completely erudite, and (2) "doesn't" would have fitted just as well into the melody.

― brittle-lemon, Friday, 8 July 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

There'a a song by the Bravery that has this asinine lyric:
"You put the broke in broken hearted
You put the art in retarded"

I guess it's not really grammar, but there is no 'art' in 'retarded.'

Or, unlikely as it seems, the Bravery could be rather cleverly pointing out that the person in question is so stupid they spell it 'retarted'.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Friday, 8 July 2005 12:47 (twenty years ago)

I did not know you were a huge Neil Diamond fan, Dadaismus.

I thought everyone was?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Saturday, 9 July 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

Husker Du - Celebrated Summer

"I summer where I winter at..."

Makes me crazy!

― john. a resident of chicago., Saturday, 21 May 2011 13:06 (fifteen years ago)

In this ever-changing world in which we live in

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 21 May 2011 13:08 (fifteen years ago)

that line always reminds me of essays I wrote in high school

― corey, Saturday, 21 May 2011 13:19 (fifteen years ago)

I still insist that the line from "Live and Let Die" is the perfectly grammatical "But if this ever changing world in which we're living/makes you give in and cry."

― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 22 May 2011 23:55 (fifteen years ago)

In line with the "eck cetera" comments above, Sarah McLachlan's "no ex-cape" lyric has always annoyed the shit out of me.

― Sean Carruthers, Monday, 23 May 2011 02:29 (fifteen years ago)

three years pass...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning

― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, 23 June 2014 09:22 (eleven years ago)

thank you

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 23 June 2014 09:25 (eleven years ago)

can't even count the number of "(preposition) you and i" songs

i mean it's not like it's any harder to rhyme with "me"

― dyl, Monday, 23 June 2014 14:06 (eleven years ago)

"Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 23 June 2014 14:14 (eleven years ago)

Martin Stephenson, "Rain":

"Rain brings peace upon all whom it falls"

― goth colouring book (anagram), Monday, 23 June 2014 14:20 (eleven years ago)

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