Jump to content

Great songs with dumb lyrics


Wilfrid

Recommended Posts

Listening today for obvious reasons to “Summer in the City,” I was plunged back into contemplating the Spoonful’s “Darling be Home Soon,” which deploys dawdle and toddle as rhymes. Repeatedly.

But the one that has been burning me up for years, fantastic song, but if “all the leaves are brown” it is almost certainly not “a winter’s day.” Fall, more likely.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What always bothers me about that song is that many commentators insist on hearing a particular line as "the preacher likes the cold", and interpreting it as such, when it so clearly goes, "the preacher lights the coal".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

I was but a young lad, in grade school, living across the street from what was then the NBC studio that filmed Hullabaloo.  Stood outside to watch the performers arrive and snuck in for several shows.  The Lovin’ Spoonful was my first.  I still have several of their 45s.  Sigh.

Edited by Steve R.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

If you’re talking about song lyrics, I think you have to cut some slack for the guy who came up with not only, “it’s like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll,” but also, “she said she’d never been in trouble, even in town.”

Edited by Sneakeater
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

What always bothers me about that song is that many commentators insist on hearing a particular line as "the preacher likes the cold", and interpreting it as such, when it so clearly goes, "the preacher lights the coal".

Oh no, I have been making that error and wondering what on earth it meant. At least, some years ago, I stopped hearing "pretend to pray" as "began to pray."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

When John Sebastian now sings "Darlin Be Home Soon", I wonder what he does with, "now, a quarter of my life is almost past".

Sadly, he evaded that dilemma by largely losing his singing voice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

What always bothers me about that song is that many commentators insist on hearing a particular line as "the preacher likes the cold", and interpreting it as such, when it so clearly goes, "the preacher lights the coal".

 

it's actually "the preacher likes nicole".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Wilfrid said:

Oh no, I have been making that error and wondering what on earth it meant. At least, some years ago, I stopped hearing "pretend to pray" as "began to pray."

I was actually a little disappointed by that.  I much preferred “pretend” in context. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Sneakeater said:

I was actually a little disappointed by that.  I much preferred “pretend” in context. 

Wait I just listened.  Are you SURE it isn’t “pretend”?

(Listen especially to to the choral repetition.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

You hear a lot in those choral repetitions/responses if you listen carefully.

I still can’t believe that, in “Look Through My Window”, they managed to sneak “and I will fuck somebody new” onto AM radio. 

Edited by Sneakeater
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course, there’s another cover on “Slade Alive.” I bought the album when it first came out (I was a child of course) and would not have heard Steppenwolf perform “Born to be Wild.” When I did hear the original, it would have been a disappointment. Slade kills that too, with no audible belches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Wilfrid said:

Of course, there’s another cover on “Slade Alive.” I bought the album when it first came out (I was a child of course) and would not have heard Steppenwolf perform “Born to be Wild.” When I did hear the original, it would have been a disappointment. Slade kills that too, with no audible belches.

Actually a bunch of covers. Curious thing about the album is that, although the band was having a stream of chart hits, none are on this monumental live album.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The whole thing is fabulous and I would listen to it now if it weren’t a shot of adrenalin. Maybe in the morning.

This might have been the second “pop” album I bought. I know the first was “Electric Warrior.” I had previously purchased budget MOR albums in line with what I perceived to be my parents’ tastes, but since they included Ella Fitzgerald doing Porter or Gershwin, not too much to complain about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...