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.

😂 As a Beatles fan I’m at peace with dissing Macca’s choice to sing Judy Judy Judy! A moment of embarrassing madness from a musical genius.

I love that version of the song (yes, I know it's actually about heroin), and I do really like Heather's voice; but I hear she's a little 'challenging' in person.

“It’s just Justin” 😂😂😂😂

😂 😂 😂

I loved this whole album at the time so will always have a soft spot for it.... but you're not wrong about the whispering.

That made me think of the Conway Twitty song, can't remember the title but lyrics
" I can tell you've never been this far before" 🤢 full body cringe 😬

Rasputin, “there was a cat who was really gone” and “It was a shame how he carried on”

Vulgar by Sam Smith and Madonna makes me want to put in earplugs and never take them out 😬

The poor grammar in Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. You are not a chicken or a duck: you do not lay, you lie.

"I'm serious as cancer" in Rhythm is a Dancer

I find tights so hugely unsexy, and have only ever worn them for work. I find them uncomfortable and sweaty, so the thought of somebody tearing off sweaty work tights with their teeth has always felt a bit gross to me.

Have always wondered if other women feel similar or if it's just me?

Jess Glynne's No One with this gem.

They say you're no one
Until you're somebody to someone
They say you're no one
'Till someone misses you when you're gone

Apparently, I've been no one for the past 20 years. What a cheerful thought.

Shoes on, get up in the morn'
Cup of milk, let's rock and roll
King Kong, kick the drum
Rolling on like a Rolling Stone
Sing-song when I'm walkin' home
Jump up to the top, LeBron
Ding-dong, call me on my phone
Ice tea and a game of ping pong

BTS, Dynamite

I think they get away with it to a certain extent with their accents, but these lyrics are pretty cringe, especially "Ding-dong, call me on my phone"

A common musical for schools!

Rod Stewart’s proposing underage/just legal sex.

Who was it who had the song Sweet Sixteen?

Mull of Kintyre. The whole thing is a complete cringe-fest, compounded by the presence of the be-mulleted Linda McCartney, absent-mindedly smacking a cow-bell or whatever.

Awful. Especially when the bagpipes turn up.

Yep, gross. I always imagine thick American Tan ones like my mother used to wear.

JLS

If I died
Would you come to my funeral?
And would you cry?

Somebody used to say that as a joke, and I can't remember who.

Was it Bo Selecta?

The bit with the sound effect of a bog flushing in ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life’ always strikes me as a bit out of place and crass, too.

Obviously not a song, but does anybody else remember when BBC1 had their 'Inside Out' magazine programme on Monday evenings, featuring local articles for each region? I never quite understood why they felt the need to accompany the red flash separating each item with a very noisy bog flushing sound!

I love that line in Insomnia! 😂

Nah. The thread title is "Bits in songs that make you cringe". That was pure cringe from start to finish. It doesn't count!

I don't know, I love that song so much I think I choose to find that line sexy 🤣

Hahaha, this one falls into the category of "so shamelessly bad that I love it anyway" songs and so escapes the cringe!

Also in this category: in "If Ya Getting Down" by 5ive, when Abz opens the 'rap' section with "Wiggy wiggy, I'm getting jiggy"

If you're going to slag Kaiser Chiefs, it has to be for the line 'Due to lack of interest/Tomorrow is cancelled', in Ruby, where both 'interest' and 'cancelled' are sung with the stress on the wrong syllable. To me, that's properly cringey, much worse than iffy lyrics.

Born To Run is a stone cold classic, and I love Bruce Springsteen, but I could never work out why he chose the name ‘Wendy’ for the girl in the song.

”Together Wendy, we can live with the sadness,
I’ll love you with all of the madness in my soul…”

Wendy just seems such an unlikely name for a girl on the back of a motorbike. No offence to any Wendies out there, but it really jars.

That was John Barnes, not John Fashanu - and every time he's on an entertainment show of some kind they find a bloody reason for him to do his rap again. He's apparently very proud of it - any opportunity for him to do it again and off he fucking goes 😅

There was a song my DM used to play - it's an oldie, and I know different times yada yada, but even so, I always found this one weird. Seven Little Girls by The Avons I think.

Seven little girls sittin' in the back seat
Huggin and a'kissin with Fred
I said, why don't one of you come up and sit beside me
And this is what the seven girls said
(All together now, one, two, three)
(Keep you mind on your drivin')
(Keep you hands on the wheel)
(Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead)
(We're havin' fun sittin' in the back seat)
(Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred)

The whole of "I wanna sex you up" by Color Me Badd. Even the spelling of the group's name is cringe worthy.