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.

That '3 words' song by will.i.am and Cheryl Cole (don't know her current surname but that's who i mean). The whole song is awful but particularly the bits that go (spelling out the letters):

'I said I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U
I'm so into you girl
I said M-E-T-O-O
It's obvious I'm so into you boy'
🤢

'those 3 words saved ma liiiiiiiife'

'You are the love of ma liiiiife
Ma liffffffeee'

The whole song is recycled meaningless garbage but those parts in particular make me cringe so much

I hate spoken parts in songs too. I didn't realise that was so common.

I also seem to get the cringe when actors sing. For example, Somethin’ Stupid with Nicole Kidman (and Robbie Williams) makes me want to rip my skin off. Kate Winslet did something too many moons ago that hurt.

Randomly I also can't stand it when people sing live (without full music production) on reality TV-type shows. Like just sitting there singing or serenading someone. Or like during the audition stages of X Factor/Pop Idol where there is no music, just voices singing. I hate it. I have to mute it.

Young girl
Get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl
You're much too young, girl

EEW

Yes! This winds me up so much I can't listen to it! I'm so glad I'm not the only one 😅

Well this took spoken parts of a song to a whole new level...

Captain Hook, A Little Bit More—again, you wouldn't get away with it today:

When your body's had enough of me
And I'm layin' flat out on the floor
When you think I've loved you all I can
I'm gonna love you a little bit more

"Captain Hook" - I'm dying! 😂

But yes, that "Dr Hook" song is well creepy.

I remember reading that Freddie wanted the song to be "Radio ca-ca", but it was vetoed by the other band members

Bobby Goldsboro, Honey
The entire song is just cringe, the way he sings about her makes her sound like a six year old not a grown woman. I guess we have to remember it was "of its time" but the absolute worst rhyme is Heck and Neck. I can't bear it and I don't know why. Probably because it's so clunky.

She wrecked the car and she was sad
And so afraid that I'd be mad
But what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Guess you could say she saw through me
And hugged my neck

I think it's what was meant, lots of double meanings. X

Oops! Well it might as well have been Captain Hook, he's certainly predatory!

Oh but talented creepy! X

😆

The heck/neck rhyme reminded me of another one! "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye West: 1) the bit about the pound 2) the rhyme of seats and seats

Just touched down in London town
Bet they give me a pound
Tell 'em, put the money in my hand right now
Tell the promoter, we need more seats
We just sold out all the floor seats

Oh no hating on this please!

I love this and it was my friends favourite recording, he had it played as the curtain came around at his funeral so it means a lot to me!

I will say it's subjective then. That's more than fair.

Noooooooo!
<😭peels off skin😭>

See also,
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon

And,
Parklife - Blur
End of the Road - Boyz II Men (I actually LOVE this, but sometimes I. just. can't.)

Neil Sedaka Sweet 16

Tra la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Happy birthday sweet sixteen
Tra la-la-la-la la-la-la-la
Happy birthday sweet sixteen

Tonight's the night
I've waited for
Because you're not a baby anymore
You've turned into the prettiest girl I've ever seen
Happy birthday sweet sixteen

What happened to
That funny face
My little tomboy now wears satins and lace
I can't believe my eyes
You're just a teenage dream
Happy birthday sweet sixteen

When you were only six
I was your big brother
Then when you were ten
We didn't like each other
When you were thirteen
You were my funny valentine
But since you've grown up
Your future is sewn up
From now on you're gonna be mine so

Used to love this song when I was a kid!

I love Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott but

Tonight there's gonna be a jail break, somewhere in this town

Erm, it'll be at the jail Phil!

Although now I'm wondering if all this time it was a metaphor for something else🤔

Do they know it's Christmas time Well, tonight, thank God it's them instead of you.

I the 80's or 90's there was a song called little China girl. At the end of the vid he's literally f*ING her on a beach. Showed an above shot as well. No way they would get away with that now.

Hope this thread goes on forever. Though it's ruined some songs. Never thought of the 'Come' on Eileen as referring to semen.

Agree with so many. Always have to brace myself for Roy Orbison's growl in PW and All Saints' dire breathy monologue.

A PP mentioned 99 Problems...I always took the "doing 55 in a fifty-fow" to be Jay-Z exaggerating how police would make up fake reasons to stop him.

Enjoy 'ripping off tights with my teeth'. So down to earth British.

Another Jay-Z one and not a serious offender but this Crazy In Love line jars: "Tennis shoes, I don't need to buy a new dress". Just that Bey, in her throes of angst, is so specific about her choice of dull footwear.

Know I'm overthinking this but in Galway Girl: "I walked her home then she took me inside / To finish some Doritos and another bottle of wine." Aside from singing about Doritos it makes me think the woman he's just met in the pub has said "why don't you come back to mine, I've wine and a packet of Doritos that I started earlier. Yeah, opened today. You'll be doing me a favour."

Your Girlfriend by Blossoms about being in love with his flatmate's gf: "And now your girlfriend is ringing in my ears again / I should be moving out but can't 'cause we've just signed a lease." It's so much worse sung than written...towards the end m.youtube.com/watch?v=U73Qn-NCQIU

I'm not offended by lyrics from days gone by, they were a sign of the times. Now artists should know better but some songs I've heard, are pretty aggressive and sexist. I may have misheard but 'slap your bitch down'?

It seems some musicians can get away with more offensive words but others are called out for it.

Liked 'Girl I wanna make u sweat' and didn't realise looking into your 'big brown eye' wasn't eyes lol 😊

Ditto the moment that the children start singing in We Don't Need Another Hero / Another Brick In The Wall / I Have A Dream / any other song with children or bag pipes.

There's a version of Feliz Navidad where Jose Feliciano's very young child joins in singing with dad. I'm sure it's the kind of thing that Jose and Mrs Feliciano would absolutely treasure; but for a stranger, it's just grating. Sorry if that's a mean thing to say, but I always wince when I realise that it's that version.

What used to really make me cross was when an X Factor contestant would announce they were going to sing the Adele song "To make you feel my love" and then one of idiot judges would also concur that it was a great song that Adele had written and I used to yell at the screen "no, it was bloody written by Bob Dylan.

Haven't read the whole thread but surely someone has said the usual great, late Burt Bacharach's cringiest rhyme, performed by many but mostly Dionne Warwick

What do you get when you kiss a guy?
You get enough germs to catch pneumonia
After you do, he'll never phone ya
I'll never fall in love again

The old pneumonia/phone ya line. Argh.