Evil misogynistic song lyrics

[Florabritannica]

Billy Joel, ‘Always a woman to me’. Heard this introduced on the radio today as a romantic love letter to his wife.
‘She’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding’ - wtf?
What other apparently sweet loving songs have lyrics that on closer inspection turn out to be woman-hating bile?

I was about 7 when I heard this song on the radio, I would hope no station would play it now, it put me off the Beatles (beaters) for life. I just knew it was wrong - Run For Your Life -

Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or I won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Well, you know that I'm a wicked guy
And I was born with a jealous mind
And I can't spend my whole life
Trying just to make you toe the line
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Let this be a sermon
I mean everything I've said
Baby, I'm determined
And I'd rather see you dead
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or you won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand, little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na

Gary Puckett and Union Gap “young girl”.. urgh it’s so so horrible

Ohh, I’ve been annoyed by this song for a while now and no-one else would get why it’s horrible. But this thread is perfect.
A seemingly cheerful song but listen to the words carefully and it’s quite misogynistic. Basically it’s saying that you can’t have any feelings of your own, your only job is to make the man happy. It was the line ‘never bring me any tears’ that made me notice it.

Bring me Sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me Laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,
Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.
Bring me Sunshine, in your eyes,
Bring me rainbows, from the skies,
Life's too short to be spent having anything but fun,
We can be so content, if we gather little sunbeams,
Be light-hearted, all day long,
Keep me singing, happy songs,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.

Roy Orbison - I drove all night
Basically he’s horny so he drives all night ‘crept in your room. Woke you from your sleep to make love to you’

Sounds more like breaking and entering and rape to me

Woman can be cruel and calculated. It isn’t a woman hating song. It’s describing someone. It isn’t woman hating bile. There’s no self interest or ‘she cant hurt me cos i’m in control’ its literally about her being in control and him being powerless to it. I really think you missed the point of that one!

The Police...Every Breath You Take

Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you
Oh, can't you see you belong to me
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Every move you make, and every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you
Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying, "Baby, baby, please"
Oh, can't you see you belong to me
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Every move you make and every vow you break
Every smile you…

Bleugh

Also Bring Me Sunshine, you are being ridiculous. But I assume you think its a man bashing hateful sexist song actually then - because it was written by a woman

@SageRosemary
Those Beatles lyrics are shocking...pretty much what my exh said to me when I left him

What Do You Mean by Justin Bieber.

"When you don't want me to move
But you tell me to go
What do you mean?"

She means bugger off mate.

It's such a shit message to teenagers. "Girls might say one thing but they don't really mean it so it's ok to keep pushing your luck."

Women can be misogynists too! As the song is usually sung by men I did assume it was about how a woman should behave.
Taking your point that it was written by a women (and assuming she wasn’t a misogynist) then the message in the song is still a rubbish one. Basically it’s describing a very one sided relationship where it is the responsibility of one person to be happy all the time and never have any negative emotions themselves.

That was replying to Amanduh btw.

@DinaCaliente - hope you are safe now

BUT Mumsnetters - Songwriters don't write these lyrics in a vacuum and Bands/Solo Artistes don't sing them in a vacuum - they all have mothers, most will have sisters, aunts, daughters. Most of the songs above are vintage and from a time when there were fewer women involved in the "business" side of music. Most of us posting here are parents or very much hoping to be parents. These songs do not represent the world we want to be sending our daughters and sons out into. Someone is hearing similar songs being composed/rehearsed in a back room or a shed. Who will call a halt to this hatred? Why are we raising our sons to think this is any way acceptable? If your tune is catchy enough it will be a hit, your lyrics should avoid misogyny.

Ikea that’s a great song but you need to hear the whole thing

I heard the whole thing - does it change the fact a nearly 40 yr old man has the hots for a teenager - shags and shacks up with her and then changes his mind?

I was going to say Under My Thumb too. Coercive control right there. Stray Cat Blies is pretty grim too:

hear the click-clack of your feet on the stairs
I know you're no scare-eyed honey
There'll be a feast if you just come upstairs
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
I can see that you're fifteen years old
No I don't want your I.D.
And I've seen that you're so far from home
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Bet your mama don't know you scream like that
I bet your mother don't know you can spit like that.
You look so weird and you're so far from home
But you don't really miss your mother
Don't look so scared I'm no mad-brained bear
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh, yeah
Woo!

I think ‘Every Breath You Take’ is actually meant to highlight the fine line between devotion and obsession - that repeated bass line is certainly sinister and fixated.

Every breath you take is about a stalker so what kind of lyrics are you expecting? (And it could be a girl singing )

Sting has said so many times Every Breath You Take is the opposite of a romantic song and he's baffled why so many people chose it as a wedding song. It's meant to be creepy.

A seemingly cheerful song but listen to the words carefully = twist them to suit your own agenda.

Besides it being written by a woman 'never bring me any tears' could equally mean 'don't break my heart by cheating' not 'don't ever cry in front of me'.

Dhalandchips Totally agree with you about the early Stranglers stuff. And I still love them! I'm also a big Thin Lizzy fan,but one of their songs called 'Don't play around' is awful. I used to listen to it back in the early 80s,and it didn't occur to me then how misogynistic the lyrics were.

He stuck that knife right into her gut,
I want to tell you she was lucky with what she got,
She played around.
Don't play around.
She'd be laughing and dancing the night away,
She'd be laughing and dancing with every man that came her way.
But as her life's blood slipped away,
I thought I heard her say,
Don't play around,
Don't play around.....

Basically,saying that she deserved to be knifed to death by her boyfriend because she'd been unfaithful.

Dr Hook/ Boys II Men

"When your bodies had enough of me and you're laying flat out on the floor
When you think I've loved you all I can
I'm going to love you a little bit more"

Seriously mate, if her body has had 'enough' then no more loving

Ooh yes that Dr Hook song has always made me want to vom.

Extreme’s ‘More Than Words’

Don’t say you love me, let me fuck you and prove it

Ooh, my little pretty one, my pretty one
When you gonna give me some time, Sharona
Ooh, you make my motor run, my motor run
Got it coming off o' the line, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
M-m-m-my Sharona
Come a little closer, huh, a-will ya, huh?
Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona
Keeping it a mystery, it gets to me
Running down the length of my thigh, Sharona
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
When you gonna give to me, a gift to me
Is it just a matter of time, Sharona?
Is it d-d-destiny, d-destiny
Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?
Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
I always get it up, for the touch of the younger kind
My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
M-m-m-m-m-m-m-my, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
M-m-m-my Sharona
Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona
Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona
Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona

One of my favourite songs in the world but eurgh some of the lyrics make yah want to rinse your brain !

These are all pretty old songs... The casual misogyny is more depressing in recent/current stuff, imo. Two from today, for instance:

Dave and Fredo, Funky Friday:
Who's that girl in the line
With the big behind that's looking all tempting?
If her friend is a dead ting
Take one for the team with a bredrin

Roll Deep, Green Light:
That time when I saw ya I thought, wow, so
Check out the skirt on that

Objectification, entitlement to women's bodies, all over the show.

Interesting thread thanks OZ - I appreciate everyone's opinions.

I always disliked Roman Keating's "When You Say Nothing at All". I feel like I know men in real life like that and they sure don't like women with opinions, but I'm probably reading too much into a song.

I was listening to Soft Cell "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" recently and felt a bit , but I read online that Marc Almond said it is about a gay man who can't cope with his trans lover.

Standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo, crying in the rain
It was a kind of so-so love and I'm gonna make sure it never happens again
You and I, it had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a sleep around, a lost-and-found, and not for me I fear

I tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt, and me in a suit, well it just wasn't me
You're used to wearing less and now your life's a mess, so insecure you see
I put up with all the scenes and this is one scene that's going to be played my way

Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look at my face for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello, goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye

Under the deep red light, I can see the make-up sliding down
Hey little girl, you will always make-up, so take off that unbecoming frown
What about me? Well, I'll find someone that's not going cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife, who'll give me a steady life and won't keep going off the rails

Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look at my face for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello, goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye

We've been involved for quite a while now, and to keep you a secret, has been hell
We're strangers meeting for the first time, ok? Just smile and say hello...

Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Say hello, then wave goodbye
Say hello, say goodbye
Goodbye...