Tuesday 3 May 2011

More Unusual Song Lyrics...

I am a firm believer that in music, it is the rhythm, melody and harmony and not the lyrics that are important. That's not to say that I don't appreciate great lyrics... of course not, it's just I feel that if a song sounds good then it doesn't matter what the words mean.



But sometimes, lyrics stand out in songs not not because they are great, but because they are so confusing! For example, The Jackson 5 wrote a song called "I want you back" where a young Michael Jackson tries to convince a young lady to leave her current partner, and be with him instead. One lyric, early on in the song, reads:

" When I had you to myself
I didn't want you around
Those pretty faces always made you
Stand out in a crowd "
 Maybe I'm misinterpreting this, but is MJ really saying to the girl, "Hey, I never noticed you before, because, compared to the hordes of beautiful girls that I know, you are nothing special?"

Really, Michael? I mean, I know he was young, but this is a very dangerous opening gambit when you're trying to woo a young dame. Or have I misunderstood?

Anyway, this poor choice of words does nothing to detract from one of the greatest songs of the 20th century.

59 comments:

  1. Whoa, you're right. Kinda mind blowing. I like me some good double entendres. :D

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  2. Check this out:

    "The inhume soils that we left in slags
    Decrepit joy by open wide tracts
    Of the little fermenting recently baptizeds
    Utter necrophilic nocturnal impiety
    Storming diabolic is the search"

    Beauty thru grotesque narrative i guess.

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  3. basically, he did not notice at first but he does now

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  4. really nice post .

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  5. Sounds right to me

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  6. Listen to half of Michael's songs and they don't make a giant amount of sense.

    Try "Beat it"

    "Show em how funky strong is your fighter"

    ...

    I'm sorry, wait what? Hahahaha

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  7. i like weird al versions of mj

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  8. Never really listened to MJ but that is a really harsh lyric once you really break it down and look at it. So easy to overlook when you actually listen to in during the song.

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  9. A lot of songs have really strange lyrics.

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  10. I don't think artists find words always important, but sometimes it sounds so good, it doesn't even mather if the words aren't that great.

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  11. Well, you have to consider the context in the song, the put down is part of the plan. By making her feel less special he tries to entice her to chase this mystery man who isn't woo'd by looks.

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  12. odd Lyrics, but pretty cool

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  13. He was a weird lyricist :S

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  14. @Mysterious Stranger - I agree with you. Thats how it came off to me after reading it.

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  15. MJ has always had a way with words, NOT!

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  16. Lyrics is lyrics, without music it can be a poem. Its the unity rythm, groove, melody and lyrics form that makes it special.

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  17. that is very true. i normally don't even pay attention to the lyrics. tbh, 80% of what i listen to is instrumental music. heheh

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  18. It's a shame that lyrics have gone so downhill in a lot of mainstream music nowadays :/

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  19. Hey! i like your post, this song must be interesting. I will check this.

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  20. No. chicks love it when you insult them! i swear its what they love most about guys...

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  21. hah, kinda funny. I never really thought about it like that, most the the jackson 5 stuff sounds so innocent.

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  22. R.I.P! good share definatly strange

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  23. Was never a MJ fan myself, interesting post though man.

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  24. I miss MJ, was definitely one of my favorites.

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  25. Sounds like you're on point. Even when read in context it still doesn't make sense.

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  26. R.I.P MJ. Great musician man, shame he had to go so early :(

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  27. Awesome read, thanks for sharing this! =D

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  28. "When I had you to myself
    I didn't want you around"

    Hmm, things don't work like that on normal relationships.

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  29. I find that when I listen to a song the first couple of times its all about the sound, but then eventually I will listen more closely to the lyrics. Lots of the time it is quite the wtf moment when I finally listen to the lyrics.

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  30. Harsh MJ... Harsh. No wonder Billy Jean wasn't your lover

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  31. had never thought og that

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  32. I agree except when it comes to Billy Joel...or Def Leppard!

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  33. It's hard to get what an artist really means. xD

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  34. I think it's kinda a message to women, saying we are all special and that, and we shouldn't forgive people like that? Maybe, it kinda paints the song in a bit of a pathetic light!

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  35. you sure it's a girl he's talking about? ;-)
    +following

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  36. Most things about MJ were unusual anyway

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  37. Wow I've heard it but never thought it out!

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  38. MJ was a good musical artist

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  39. Almost sounds to me like he's calling his girl ugly and annoying! Sounds vaguely familiar lol +follow

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  40. Yeah sounds like a bad pickup line haha, oh well didn't stop him making a hell of a lot of money.

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  41. i think the lyrics mean millions of different things to millions of different people, they can almost mean whatever you want them to! another good post!

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  42. I agree with you. Great post.

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  43. I remember how we used to examine song lyrics in english class a few years back and someone had an MJ song as example. Parts of it were quite contradictive, but hey, that's music I guess

    +following

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  44. I never really noticed that, great post!

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