Popular song lyrics that would be a red flag in real life - light hearted

[Unglamorousgranny]

Watched Cliff Richard singing Livin' Doll on MTV at the weekend. "Got a rovin' eye & that is why she satisfies my soul" "gonna lock her up in a trunk so no big hunk can steal her away"
So he's a cheat & a kidnapper!

Can you think of any others? There's no reason what so ever for this post, other than a change from all the worries we are all facing

Always amuses me that anyone thought Every Breath you Take was a sweet little Love song... I don't find it sinister, mind. Like Every little breath she takes, it's more of a funny saddo song than anything else.

Can't take most things songs that seriously.

That just made me laugh.

I love that song, the fact it is so cheerful sounding about a horrific event.

A surprising number of Abba songs. And not just the "Does your mother know?" one. Those two men must really have thought those women were nothing without them. No wonder they all ended up divorced.

Theres also "When I Kissed The Teacher", all those lines in Super Trooper "I was sick and tired of everything. When I called you last night from Glasgow. All I do is eat and sleep and sing Wishing every show was the last show." "The Day Before You Came" is a monologue about a woman being totally obsessed to the point of oblivion by a man. "I Could Be that Woman - "let you down somehow' and he's not the man he", and all those songs singing about their impending divorces - "The Winner Takes It All", etc.. Ugh.

Struggling to see the problem with Super Trooper.
She's exhausted and fed up with performing every night and having no time for anything else, but then her boyfriend shows up so she's happy again.
There's nothing else to it than that that I can see!

Its not the worse but when you see it as part of a general theme of lyrics written by Benny Anderrson who by all accounts had a pretty acrimonious divorce from Frida, it forms part of a pattern of women being portrayed as needy and nothing without the man in their lives. There are quite a lot of posts out there on how abusive/misogynistic/stereotyping some of those lyrics are, I didn't just look them up!

Admittedly I actually find it difficult to listen to Winner Takes it All or Knowing Me, Knowing You because they're so sad and depressing, despite being awesome songs!
I think they, like most groups of their time, are just singing about love, longing and lost love, and with women being the voice of Abba, they're from a woman's POV. I don't doubt they're 'of their time', but abusive?
Maybe I'll have another listen with a fresh ear!

Buddy Holly - Heartbeat

“Widdly pant… and sing to me loves story”

Pee fetish?

He did cover incest though

If you want to be happy for the rest of your life by Jimmy Soul (on the kitchen dancing scene at the end of mermaids). Probably wouldn't fly today as some may see it as mysogonist. On the other hand, empowering to unnatractive women and encouraging men to ignore physical beauty

I can't see anything wrong with Claire by Gilbert o Sullivan, does everything have to be taken the wrong way 🙄 it reminds me of my late sister Clare it reminds me of her every time I hear it.

Agree. Claire was his producer’s daughter that he used to babysit. Neither she nor her father had a problem with the song.

God that’s awful. I don’t know who the singers are but I wonder what they think of those lyrics now?

There are some vile songs out there... however I think we need to allow musicians to take roles. Just as we allow actors and writers to. Sting isn't recommending that people become stalkers in Every Breath You Take - he's writing about a stalker from that point of view.

Claire - it's a fond song about babysitting. Gilbert wasn't eyeing her up as his next girlfriend.

I think we need balance and a bit less picking through looking for offence or meanings that were never there.

This puts me in mind of Memphis, Tennessee by Chuck Berry. It's a great song but always made me feel uneasy (perhaps exacerbated a bit because it was Chuck Berry) until I realised that the character was talking about his daughter. I know now too that this ambiguity was deliberate.

Agreed, there are songs wherein the singer is inhabiting a character - that may or may not completely be a work of fiction on the part of the writer - or writing from an imagined perspective and as PP have said there has to be some room for artistic freedom, and as already said, there's a big difference between writing song lyrics from the imagined p.o.v. of a stalker or murderer/rapist (as in Diane) and the outright bile as in Blurred Lines

I like the way you move by body rockers gives me the ick

"I'd catch a grenade for you ....but you won't do the same"
Exactly what is this asshole trying to coerce his girlfriend into doing? Sounds like it us either something dangerous or something demeaning. Like making her give his friends BJs

"I'd catch a grenade for you ....but you won't do the same"
Exactly what is this asshole trying to coerce his girlfriend into doing? Sounds like it us either something dangerous or something demeaning. Like making her give his friends BJs
I don't see it like that. I see it that he is calling his girlfriend out on not giving a shit about him when he would do anything for her.

I like the way you move by body rockers gives me the ick
I love that song, especially when the beat drops
Also reminds me a lot of what DH used to say to me in our early days!

I found his song from last year, One more time for old times sake, creepy, especially when he performed it with a gaggle of young girl s. I like Rod too.

I listened to Clair in the car yesterday while driving. Good grief, it is creepy! I've been listening to it for years and never noticed before. And the bit with the little kid giggling at the end…. Eugh.

Hmm, I'm not so sure.

But why in spite of our age difference do I cry
Each time I leave you I feel I could die
Nothing means more to me than hearing you say
I?m going to marry you
Will you marry me Uncle Ray?
Oh! Clair, Clair

I don't know the song 'Clair' but I read the lyrics and it IS creepy af!
I don't get why everyone is saying 'oh it's just a sweet innocent ode to a beloved child & you're all spoiling it by suggesting it's wrong'.

Back to lighthearted, Norwegian Wood is definitely a cocklodger.

She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.
I told her I didn't, and crawled off to sleep in the bath.