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I wanna, I wanna, I wanna zig-a-zig-ah
The Guardian has an awesome debate going on right now, attempting to find the worst song lyrics ever. It´s still open for anyone who wants to post, but some of the submissions really bring on the lulz. Rhyming ´toast´ and ´ghost´, indeed.
Caring about the lyrics to a song is one of those weird things that makes one feel adrift from society. Why be so bothered that the Pussycat Dolls unleashed their latest massacre of the English language? Does Paul Simon being a better lyricist than Las Ketchup make him cooler in the public eye? Noes, alas.
My brother firmly insists that songs don´t need to have good lyrics, that lyrics are just incidental words getting in the way of a tune. I believe the opposite: lyrics can make a song. Sometimes a song doesn´t reach out to me much at first, but the lyrics can make the difference. If I hear a particularly good lyric, I often rewind the song on my mp3 player or what have you to listen again. The plaintive refrain in If You Tolerate This, for example, that wonders "is it maybe shame/at being so young and being so vain" always gets me. It means something to me on a personal level and listening to this song is like being slapped. I struggle to explain this properly, but I mean that the combination of that beat and those saddened, dark lyrics gives me a few minutes of so many different emotions and thoughts because the power of music and the power of words can be overwhelming when joined like that.
That´s not to say lyrics completely ruin a song. God knows Shakira´s lyrics are infamously nuts, but I could listen to her music all day because of the sheer energy and fun of her songs. I love the beat to Oasis´ The Importance of Being Idle, but I try not to think about the lyrics because it´s disappointing to listen for a message and instead get simplistic rhyming.
Oasis songs often sound marvellous, but the sheer stupidity of the lyrics really gets me:
She´s got a sister
And God only knows how I´ve missed her
And on the palm of her hand is a blister
And I need more time
Criticising 50 Cent lyrics is like shooting fish in a barrel, but: I´ll take you to the candyshop/Let you lick my lollipop has to be one of the most inept, predictable lyrics ever written.
Finally, I have to admit that I rather like some Jennifer Lopez songs, but though this lyric isn´t inherently stupid, the rhyming scheme is just all wrong and Lopez actually seems to stumble when speaking the second lengthy line:
So much time you wasted
That´s why I had to replace you
I´m not saying that lyrics need to be written by someone with a degree in the arts, that they have to reference Derrida or Socrates, but geez, save us from Babe, I´d swim the deepest ocean/climb the highest mountain/girl/you´re my babe.
Caring about the lyrics to a song is one of those weird things that makes one feel adrift from society. Why be so bothered that the Pussycat Dolls unleashed their latest massacre of the English language? Does Paul Simon being a better lyricist than Las Ketchup make him cooler in the public eye? Noes, alas.
My brother firmly insists that songs don´t need to have good lyrics, that lyrics are just incidental words getting in the way of a tune. I believe the opposite: lyrics can make a song. Sometimes a song doesn´t reach out to me much at first, but the lyrics can make the difference. If I hear a particularly good lyric, I often rewind the song on my mp3 player or what have you to listen again. The plaintive refrain in If You Tolerate This, for example, that wonders "is it maybe shame/at being so young and being so vain" always gets me. It means something to me on a personal level and listening to this song is like being slapped. I struggle to explain this properly, but I mean that the combination of that beat and those saddened, dark lyrics gives me a few minutes of so many different emotions and thoughts because the power of music and the power of words can be overwhelming when joined like that.
That´s not to say lyrics completely ruin a song. God knows Shakira´s lyrics are infamously nuts, but I could listen to her music all day because of the sheer energy and fun of her songs. I love the beat to Oasis´ The Importance of Being Idle, but I try not to think about the lyrics because it´s disappointing to listen for a message and instead get simplistic rhyming.
Oasis songs often sound marvellous, but the sheer stupidity of the lyrics really gets me:
She´s got a sister
And God only knows how I´ve missed her
And on the palm of her hand is a blister
And I need more time
Criticising 50 Cent lyrics is like shooting fish in a barrel, but: I´ll take you to the candyshop/Let you lick my lollipop has to be one of the most inept, predictable lyrics ever written.
Finally, I have to admit that I rather like some Jennifer Lopez songs, but though this lyric isn´t inherently stupid, the rhyming scheme is just all wrong and Lopez actually seems to stumble when speaking the second lengthy line:
So much time you wasted
That´s why I had to replace you
I´m not saying that lyrics need to be written by someone with a degree in the arts, that they have to reference Derrida or Socrates, but geez, save us from Babe, I´d swim the deepest ocean/climb the highest mountain/girl/you´re my babe.
Re: The worst, or silliest anyway, song lyrics ever
Re: The worst, or silliest anyway, song lyrics ever
Oh. Now I want to read it again. I love his stuff and wish he would start writing again.