Page 6 | Dodgy morals in pop songs

Gahhhhereheisagain · 2023-08-30T18:24:01+00:00

I'll start... Escape (the pina colada song) I'd be leaving that Irish bar without him. What a tit.

HonoriaLucastaDelagardie · 30/08/2023 21:59

Yes, putting fuck into your song would guarantee you no radio play in the UK.

Cool for Cats was often censored for 'bleedin'.

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 30/08/2023 21:59

Thr fact that Beyoncé now presents herself as a feminist really hacks me off. 14 year old me was listening to the lyrics above thinking that was the ideal dynamic in a relationship

I mean, she was what, 23/24 then? People's politics and stances can change. I was a very different person at that age than I am now.

IseeNarcPeople · 30/08/2023 22:03

"Annie, I'm not your daddy"
Kid creole and the coconuts:
"See if I was in your blood you wouldn't be so ugly"
Utterly vile.

AngelinaFibres · 30/08/2023 22:22

ABBA 'I kissed the teacher'. Yuk
Does your mother know. yuk
Police Every breath you take

mewkins · 30/08/2023 22:22

Veryverycalmnow · 30/08/2023 19:58

I hate the lyrics of You're Gorgeous

Show quote history

I kind of like that it's creepy but sounds like it's a love song. Sinister.

SuffolkUnicorn · 30/08/2023 22:24

Creepy songs from the 60s and 70s where every song was about a girl being 16

young girl get out of my mind you’re much too young girl

foolishone · 30/08/2023 22:24

murasaki · 30/08/2023 19:43

You're gorgeous is deeply dodgy. Great tune, but....

It's not dodgy, it's judging the sleazy bloke.

Mistressofnone · 30/08/2023 22:25

Pussycat Doll - Don't Cha. They haven't quite grasped female empowerment! The rapper's lyrics are dreadful too.

Good Charlotte - Girls & Boys

"Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money.
Boys will laugh at girls when they're not funny"

Plus, they blatantly ripped off Blur and added a twist of misogyny.

Alstro · 30/08/2023 22:31

Itsnamechange · 30/08/2023 21:19

At break of day when that man drove away, I was waiting
I crossed the street to her house and she opened the door
She stood there laughing
I felt the knife in my hand and she laughed no more

Bad.

Henry Lee by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey have the woman stab the man as he wasn’t interested.

“She leaned herself against a fence
Just for a kiss or two
And with a little pen-knife held in her hand
Well, she plugged him through and through”

Alstro · 30/08/2023 22:33

Without You - by Kid Laroi

‘So there you go, oh
Can't make a wife out of a ho, oh’

foolishone · 30/08/2023 22:36

LifeofBrienne · 30/08/2023 20:14

You’re Gorgeous is supposed to be dodgy! From Wikipedia:
”The song's lyrics are interpreted to describe the way a photographer exploits his models. The track is often mistaken as a love song”

I'm sure I read about this being one of the really inappropriate songs people have at their weddings.

ZebraDanios · 30/08/2023 22:40

IkeandKyle · 30/08/2023 20:52

Not really lyrics but the entire song House on Fire by Mimi Webb. Glamourising arson, absolutely hate it with a passion. Just not ok on any level.

Agree, but this bit makes me chuckle:

”I’ve got my story right down to a T:
I’ll say it wasn’t me”

Great story Mimi 😆

HonoriaLucastaDelagardie · 30/08/2023 22:41

What's wrong with Young Girl? She pretended to be older. Now he's found out she's too young, he's telling her to go. The boy in the song might be only about 18 himself, and he's trying to do the right thing.

PoshPineapple · 30/08/2023 22:42

I honestly don't know how Gilbert O'Sullivan hasn't been arrested, courtesy of 'Clair' 😵

ZebraDanios · 30/08/2023 22:45

It always surprises me that Brown Eyed Girl never gets mentioned in these discussions:

”Saw you just the other day
My, how you have grown
Cast my memory back there, Lord
Sometimes I’m overcome thinking about
Making love in the green grass…”

How old is this girl if she’s literally still growing …and how much younger was she when they were “making love in the green grass” if he has to cast his memory back there?!

ZebraDanios · 30/08/2023 22:46

HonoriaLucastaDelagardie · 30/08/2023 22:41

What's wrong with Young Girl? She pretended to be older. Now he's found out she's too young, he's telling her to go. The boy in the song might be only about 18 himself, and he's trying to do the right thing.

I guess the problem is he’s still tempted: “get out of here before I have the time
to change my mind/Cos I’m afraid we’ll go too far…” - I totally agree he is trying to do the right thing though and obviously knows it’s wrong.

Puppylucky · 30/08/2023 22:46

Thank you @HonoriaLucastaDelagardie - at last some one who's actually read and understood the lyrics! Not defending that song in particular but the amount of complete lack of comprehension or even knowledge of a song's lyrics on this thread is so irritating

Clawdy · 30/08/2023 22:47

Iloveanicegarden · 30/08/2023 20:08

Not just modern songs either..............back then was a different time but still unacceptable
Wouldn't it be nice - beach Boys
young Girl - Union Gap
Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood (banned for many years)
Don't stand so close to me - Police

So what's wrong with "Wouldn't It Be Nice"?

ZebraDanios · 30/08/2023 22:49

I’ve seen people say Come On Eileen is dodgy too but I can’t work out what’s wrong with it. “My thoughts verge on dirty”/“let’s take off everything” are as bad as it gets but there’s no implication of any wrongdoing that I can see?

Clawdy · 30/08/2023 22:49

And what part of Browneyed Girl says he is older than her? They were probably two young teenagers together. It's a lovely song.

picklepot22 · 30/08/2023 22:51

I always felt sorry for the girlfriend in Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend. Even worse in the video. She doesn't seem to be a bad person or do anything wrong, except not being a rebellious punk like Avril.

Also All My Life by Avril Lavigne. Another one that is worse when you watch the video. Girl wakes up and decides to be a complete arse to her unsuspecting boyfriend for the day (as well causing many antisocial incidents and being a general public nuisance) then rolls back into bed with him like nothing ever happened. Twat.

Sandydune · 30/08/2023 22:55

‘John Wayne is Big Leggy’ by Haysi Fantasyzee.
I just thought it was a novelty song back in the 80s when I knew no better.
Can’t believe that ‘Relax’ was banned but this was perfectly fine on TOTP!

Ineedhelp1981 · 30/08/2023 22:56

orangeyeahthatsright · 30/08/2023 21:11

SOS Band's 'Just Be Good To Me' and 'Just The Way You Like It' both feature the singer encouraging her guy to keep putting it about till he's ready to settle down... the latter even suggesting that she'll be waiting in the wings for 'whenever you get bored'... #barf

I was looking through this thread for SOS Band's song before I posted. Heard it just earlier in a shop and I actually thought 'Really?'🙄

DrSbaitso · 30/08/2023 22:57

ZebraDanios · 30/08/2023 22:49

I’ve seen people say Come On Eileen is dodgy too but I can’t work out what’s wrong with it. “My thoughts verge on dirty”/“let’s take off everything” are as bad as it gets but there’s no implication of any wrongdoing that I can see?

Come on Eileen.

It may help to think of the version we sang at uni. "Come on Eileen, do you think that she minds..."

TedWilson · 30/08/2023 23:00

I find Hang on in There Baby a bit grim and its on Smooth incessantly:

Now that we've caressed a kiss so warm and tender
I can't wait till we reach that sweet moment of surrender
Oh we'll hear the thunder roar, feel the lightning strike
At a point we'll both decide to meet at the same time tonight
Hang on in there baby, hang on in there darling
I'm gonna give you more than you ever dreamed possible
Don't be afraid baby sweet virgin of the world
You know we can't help but make it
Because there's true love between us girl
Hmmm! so let us touch that cloud that everyone dreams of
Oh we're almost there darling truly making love