Bits in songs that make you cringe

[HolidayAtNight]

Inspired by the thread the other day about "More Than Words" by Extreme. Like many posters, I hadn't heard the song in years, so went to listen to it. It was all going well until the bit when he sings "Hold me close don't EVAH LET ME GO" and I had to turn it off immediately.

What bits of songs do you find jarring and/or embarrassing? I have so many, but will try to choose a few. Lines where they've had to awkwardly shift the words around or use old-fashioned vocab/syntax to make them fit are definitely among the worst offenders.

In "Upside Down" by Diana Ross: "Respectfully I say to thee..." Whyyyy

In "A Spaceman Came Travelling" - the bit where he sings about a baby's cry and then the guitar imitates a newborn crying. This might be the worst one.

In "Come On Eileen" - "You in that dress, my thoughts, I confess, verge on dirty" Just no. The awkward old-fashioned phrasing, and the way his voice goes when he sings "dirty". Unbearable.

'Come on Eileen' is bad enough in itself...that's one dodgy title.

Some of ABBA (probably because (although excellent) English was not their first language.
I've played all my cards and that's what you've done too.

Beautiful South song Perfect 10 makes me cringe

It's a modern one for me....

Snow Patrol In the Beginning, the "unequivocally" part, its so cringe and I hate it.

Greased Lightning from Grease. "With a four speed on the floor they'll be waiting at the door You know that ain't no shit, we'll be getting lots of tit", "You are supreme, the chicks'll cream for grease lightning" and "You know that I ain't bragging, she's a real pussy wagon" Definitely inappropriate!

YES! The whole song, but especially the bit where the man is like "8 or 9, well that's just fine, but I like to hold something I can see" - aside from being insulting, THERE IS NO SIZE 9. This enraged me as a child in the 90s.

@HolidayAtNight your OP made me cry with laughter! I love Spaceman came travelling for its ridiculous overblown-ness, when Chris starts going nuts towards the end jabbering some bollocks about the whole wide world waiting to see etc. 80s/90s was go hard or go home with the cringe factor and you just need to give in and go with it!

One that I find extremely jarring is NIN Hurt, Trent Rezner wears his crown of ‘shit’ which just kinds of sounds like a 12yr old trying to sound tough. The Cash cover with ‘thorns’ is much classier. I’m sure Trent would sob himself to sleep if he heard my damning review haha!

Everyone says this but My Sharona, something like always get it up for the touch of the younger kind

I cringe towards the end of Hey Jude when Macca is ad-libbing and sings Judy, Judy, Judy!

Kaiser Chiefs’ I Predict a Riot: Watching the people get lairy, it’s not very pretty I tell thee.

Hey Ya by Outkast. The excruciating ‘Heeeeeyyyyy yaaaaaaa’ and then the ‘shake it like a Polaroid picture’ instruction. Embarrassing!

Black Eyed Peas - I’ve got a feeling… that I wanna switch off the radio!

Nelly Furtado - I’m like a biiiiiiiird, I only fly awa-aaaaay! So nasal and grating.

Don’t say you’re easy on me, you’re about as easy as a nuclear war.

Duran Duran , Is there something I should know?

(Yes there is, your lyrics are cringy)

Many songs from Grease give me the ick. As a kid you just sing along to the upbeat tunes. It's only later you take notice of the lyrics and think "ewwww"!

That awful "You're gorgeous" song by Baby bird. A bit about spreading legs across a car bonnet made me feel sick when I heard it played in a primary school assembly a few years back.

This might be a bit obscure apart from to other Eurovision nerds... the UK entry from 2009, by Jade Ewen: It's My Time.

The lyrics were actually written by Dianne Warren, which makes it even more surprising, but the words go

It's my time, it's my time
My moment, I'm not gonna LET GO OF IT

The last part jars so horribly and sounds really unnatural. "I'm not gonna let it go/get/slip away" almost wrote itself, and would have flowed perfectly. I love that song, but just, why that part, Dianne?!

Why does it always rain on me? Is it because I lied when I was seventeen? ... even when the sun is shining, I can't avoid the lightning ...

Arrrrrrgh. Just no. Terrible, terrible lyrics!

The way Debbie Harry says ‘Atomic’ in the song of the same name. I don’t know if it’s some Blondie in-joke but she sounds like she’s just dropped a mogadon and turned the speed down to 33rpm!

Much as I like the Eagles, wine is NOT a spirit! Hotel California "I said to the captain, please bring me my wine. He said we haven't had that spirit here since 1969"

In the summertime?

If her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal; if her daddy's poor just do what you feel ...... have a drink, have a drive ..,

Just, no!

I was going to say this one!

Also Heaven 17, Come Live With Me getting the maths wrong.

"I was 37 you were 17,
You were half my age..."

Katie Melua -Closest Thing To Crazy

'feeling twenty-two...acting seventeen!'

Wow that's some serious difference in ages there Katie!

Its so earnestly sixth form but apparently the song was actually written by Mike Batt

How about the 90's hit "Life" by Des'ree, which contains the lyrics:

I'm afraid of the dark
Specially when I'm in a park

As well as:

I don't want to see a ghost
It's a sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast

It's probably not great for primary kids, but it was meant to make you feel sick - it was about exploitative and abusive photographers, and it wasn't intended to paint them in a good light.

"What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her" must be up there with the weirdest lyrics.

But the worst is Life by Des'ree

I don't want to see a ghost
It's a sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast

Back Streets Back when the lead singers asks 'Am I sexual?' and all his bandmates shout 'Ye-ah!'
Awful.

Oh god I’ve just remembered that terrible BBC multi-celeb version of Perfect Day 😵‍💫 Heather Small ‘You’re gonna REEEEEEEEEAAAPPP’ and Tom Jones doing a passable impression of her seconds later!! Yuk.

I could add to this thread all day 😆