Stupidest Pop Lyric?
The Huffington Post has a list of The Stupidest Pop Lyrics of All Time. On the list? “I’ve got no self control/ Been living like a mole now/ Going down, excavation/ I and I in the sky/ You make me feel like I can fly/ So high/ Elevation.”
I can think of some other U2 lyrics that have made me think, WTF? Is that the best you could come up with? I just realized there seems to be an animal theme:
- “Sometimes you can’t stand the sight of a puppy”
- “I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo”
- An intellectual tortoise (my friend Melodie’s choice for worse)
I do, however, still love “Who’s Going to Ride Your Wild Horses.” Especially the video with the black-and-white Bono!
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31 Responses to “Stupidest Pop Lyric?”
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How about “I’ll give you anything that you want except the thing that you want?” Almost as dumb, but I think Elevation’s still the champ.
Personally I can find several ways to wave away the stupid on Some Days and Breathe. Don’t really care, but I can see how they might rankle.
Though I do now kind of see the point behind erstwhile-incoherent-80s Bono. I buy that guy much more than the dingbat from the worst off ATYCLB and HTDAAB.
But then again my first band’s first song was called “Your Mama’s A Ho” and it was gloriously awesome. Contradiction is balance after all.
That verse in “Electrical Storm” about the air being “heavy as a truck/ We need the rain to wash away our bad luck” bothers me. Come on, Bono, you can do better than that!
I actually disagree. First, the elevation lyric and whole song actually points to the experience of being in the studio and looking for a magical moment.
Some Days are better than others are all throw away lyrics to point to tour disorientation.
Nevertheless,
The stupidest U2 lyric?
In some white track
You come right back
Cartoon cutout
Cut throat let out
I’m on your side
Be on the both side
I’m on right track
You get off my back
I’m no dope
I give you hope
Here’s the rope
Here’s the rope
Now…swing away
(U2 Wire)
Pompous, pretentious and dumb.
“Sometimes you can’t stand the sight of a puppy”
- Have you ever been so f*ing cranky that even tender, sweet things p*ss you off? A “puppy” is a great example of the ultimate image of playful, happy, carefree and cute. Some days are better than others: some days you’re ok and some days you are in a really bad place. I think it is a perfect descriptor for being in the latter mood.
“An intellectual tortoise”
- All because of you: I like the sound of my own voice; I didn’t give anyone else a choice; An intellectual tortoise; Racing with your bullet train. This refers to the story of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise is the essence of being slow and methodical. So this refers to someone who is slow and methodical intellectually (maybe even slow as in stupid). The tortoise was in a race with the hare. The hare was fast and appeared as if he would win the race (racing with the bullet train=the fast hare). This song is about God. Perhaps this lyric is about God’s intellect or that the graceful, “Great Design” idea will win out over someone who is forceful and stupid (a mere human, ie Bono).
“I’ll give you anything that you want except the thing that you want” …continues with “You are the first of your kind”
- Has anyone considered the parable/story of Adam & Eve and the apple? (Original of the Species… the bible says that Adam & Eve were the first humans… the first of our species). God said they could have ANYTHING in the kingdom, but they had to stay away from 1 Apple. It then became the object of their desires…The ONE THING they HAD TO HAVE. They can have anything they want, except the one thing they now are obsessed about (the apple). God gave them “anything they wanted” (the whole kingdom) except the thing that you want” (except that one apple or apple tree, can’t remember exactly).
Please people… Bono is a wordsmith, a word guy, a word Genius. He puts words together for a living and puts them together creatively, subtly. If at first a lyric seems like it doesn’t make sense or sounds silly, think again. Look for how it could make sense. Bono is extremely creative when putting together lyrics that have (possibly several?) much deeper meaning possibilities - and imply much more - than they at first seem. As a good first bet, look to the bible (that they have EXTENSIVELY studied) for meanings/references to his lyrics.
Over and out…
i’ll give you anything you want-except what you want- Original of the Species.
Put into context of Edge’s daughter being sick with cancer and this lyric makes perfect sense. The band are multimillionaires who can fly at a moments notice anywhere in the globe. They can buy the best that money can afford.
What they can’t buy is a 100% cure for cancer. That I submit is the meaning behind that particular lyric.
I’ve always thought of Original of the Species as U2’s “Hey Jude” type of song. U2 doesn’t do those type of songs well. But in regards to subject matter I feel that Bono and Edge wrote it out of support for a little girl with cancer. Certainly, the era and video point to that being the meaning behind the song.
“i’ll give you anything you want-except what you want”- this is a great lyric no one ever gets it.
Sometimes want and Want are two different things, like Runtmg said.
I love the song Wire, but I would have bet a million dollars that those lyrics were not copied down correctly. Good thing I didn’t find anyone to take me up on it.
But the heroin, dope, white track, monkey on the back, russion roulette, hangman’s noose, and extreme ambivilance gives me a feeling of being out of touch, wild and strong. Like on a high. (I love it when he laughs ironically after “Place Your Bets”)
A while back some magazine or website had the worst lyrics ever. Included was “There’s an insect in your ear/If you scratch it won’t disappear” from Staring At The Sun.
I thought that was an odd choice. It’s not a great line or anything, but I wouldn’t say it was bad. I thought they could have easily picked at least 50 stupider things Bono has said in songs.
adam & eve couldn’t have the apple.
I hate the lyrics from Boy and October.
Yes yes, Adam and Eve, I know. I get that. I just don’t personally like that line. It feels clumsy, like so many others he writes that you all cited.
And even Bono would admit he’s not a word guy-he’s a feeling guy, an emotion guy. Nailing down an emotion in words is damn near impossible, and that’s why despite his stumbles I still like about 80% of his lyrics.
Now, Dylan and Costello, those are word guys. I love ‘em, but sometimes they need editors. Word guys have a tendency to squish too many syllables in one line. Bono doesn’t usually have that problem; he likes long, loud vowels. Conversely, those are hard to write coherent things with.
I used to get annoyed with indecipherable lyrics a la young Mr. Stipe or old Mr. Yorke. Not anymore-the voice is an instrument, and lyrics are nothing if not endlessly misinterpreted.
I don’t claim expertise either; I’ve only written about 25 or so that I’m proud of in the first place, so yer man has definitely got me there.
I guess I’ll go with Elevation and Electrical Storm as #1 and #2 for Grand Dumbness. Not like it matters.
Hi, Keir! Re: Elevation lyrics, I found this interesting description on http://davewainscott.blogspot.com/2010/01/rabbi-bono-pulls-nigun.html?showComment=1263320165165
…Of course Bono has moved in Jewish prayer forms before… whether or not he has studied them…most notably the song “Elevation,” which is named after, and the lyrics incarnate, the Chasidic “prayer of elevation of strange thoughts” (See this
(last five paragraphs, beginning with “Sex Leads to Elevation”)
and here is a description of elevation-prayer by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen).
don’t forget this gem:
‘it’s hot as hell / we’re like butter on toast.’
i yi yi………
Are we really debating stupid pop lyrics? Its not that Bono doesn’t have lyrics that I question, but I guess we only tear down those who are on top. But sometimes its just the sound of the words; After all rock and roll was founded on such greats as Shamalamadingdong and Tutti Frutti
“I’ll give you everything you want, except the thing that you want.”
This song is about their children. I remember Bono saying he wrote it for one of Edge’s kids a long time ago.
And this line pretty much sums up being a parent. It always seems like you provide everything a child could possibly need but they are still whining about something they can’t have i.e. a dumb toy or something.
Everything doesn’t have to be about god or something.
“And I kneel because I want you some more.” is not about pews or priests but rather kneeling down to get to a little kids’ eye level.
I think the lyrics in this song are great.
The puppy lyric however…
And even though I know everyone likes it, I think “Oh, you look so beautiful tonite” in City of Blinding Lights is about the tritest thing I’ve ever heard. I really dislike the song because of it.
Miracle Drug as a whole made me cringe ever since I first heard it. Usually, Bono’s lyrics are pretty vague - they subsequently leave room for interpretation. Miracle Drug (and Sometimes You Can’t … as well actually) are so direct and in your face.
But we’re talking about stupid lyrics and for the “freedom has the scent / like the top of a newborn baby’s head” has to be the dumbest thing Bono ever wrote. Geez.
I don’t like to focus on the negative, so I’ll give what I believe are the top 10 BEST Bono Lyrics, the ones you remember decades later.
In no Particular Order:
1. Wild Irish Rose (1988)
“I saw the city of Angels,
it brought a Devil out in Me,
and Hell’s Hotel on Sunset
showed a Whore no mercy,
As the Orange Sky was screaming
From the roof I let her know,
These are the dizzying heights that brought me
My Wild Irish Rose.”
Wild Irish Rose - 1988 (Contributed to the TV Series and Album ‘Bringing it all back home’)
2. Bad (1984)
“This desparation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go”
3. Mercy (2004)
“I was drinking some Wine,
and it turned to Blood,
What’s the use of Religion
if you’re any good.”
4. One (1991)
“Have you come here for forgiveness,
have you come to raise the dead,
have you come here to play Jesus
to the Lepers in your head”
5. Sometimes (2004)
“I know that we don’t talk
I’m sick of it all
But Can you hear me when I sing?
You’re the reason I sing!
You’re the reason why the opera is in me!”
6. Moment of Surrender (2009)
“Two souls too smart to be
in the realm of certainty,
even on our wedding day.
We set ourselves on fire,
Oh God, do not deny her,
It’s not if I believe in Love
if love believes in me”
7. One Tree Hill (1987)
“I don’t believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I’ll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill”
8. Van Diemens Land (1988)
“Still the gunmen rules and the widows pay
a scarlet coat and a black beret
They thought that blood and safrifice
could out of death bring forth a life”
NOTE: This lyric is found in the RATTLE and HUM album sleeve as a third verse to Van Diemens land, but was cut from the actual album. Not sure if this was an easter egg or a mistake.
9. Beautiful Day (2000)
“See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out ”
10. MOFO (1997)
“Looking for a sound that’s going drown out the world
Looking for the father of my two little girls
Got the swing, got the sway, got my straw in lemonade
Still looking for the face I had before the world was made ”
Anyone want to best these?
OK, so here are my picks for WORST BONO Lyrics, but I will give reasons why I hate these lyrics
Again in no particular order:
1. Vertigo (2004)
“Hello, Hello, I’m in a place called Vertigo”.
Originally, this song was called “Native Son” and the chorus was:
“Officer put down the gun (Native Son)
I never wanted to own one (Native Son)
Both of us want to be someone (It’s so hard)
Is it so hard for a native son to be free?”
I believe U2 changed the theme and lyrics of this song after the 2003 US Invasion of Iraq and the patriotic fervor and the hatred of Green Day and Dixie Chicks over their outspoken comments. Native Son defended a paerhaps unfairly convicted Native-American and could have been seen as Anti-American or Anti-Gun. U2 ended up choosing less inflammatory subject matter. Of course, i’m speculating, I haev no information on this beyond what’s publicly available.
2. Discotheque (1997)
“You know you’re chewing bubble gum,
you know what that is but you still want some,
You just can’t get enough of that lovin’ doving stuff. Let’s go Discotheque.”
This gives me spinal spasms.
3. The Sweetest Thing (1987)
“My love she throws me like a rubber ball,
Oh Oh Oh the sweetest thing
And she won’t catch me or break my fall
Oh Oh Oh the sweetest thing”
Seriously how did this sone not make the cut for the Joshua Tree *LOL*
4. Goldeneye
No lyric in particular. Just the idea that U2 would write a song for James Bond grates my eyeballs.
5. Desire
“I have a fever when I’m beside her. Desire”
If I had a fever when I got next to a woman, it would not make me desire her.
Good idea, CodeGuy! Lyrics I Like
Get On Your Boots:
The future needs a big kiss
Winds blows with a twist
Never seen a moon like this
Can you see it too?
Night is falling everywhere
Rockets at the fun fair
Satan loves a bomb scare
But he won’t scare you
You free me from the dark dream
Candy floss ice cream
All our kids are screaming
But the ghosts aren’t real
Here’s where we gotta be
Love and community
Laughter is eternity
If joy is real
That’s someone’s stuff they’re blowing up
We’re into growing up
Women of the future
Hold the big revelations
I got a submarine
You got gasoline
I don’t want to talk about wars between nations
(Not right now!)
And from Being Born:
A speeding head, a speeding heart
I’m being born, a bleeding start
The engines roar, blood curling wail
Head first then foot
Then heart sets sail ~
And your #5 DESIRE cracks me up! Burning desire = fever (ala Elvis Presley). Lately, Bono sings “fever when I’m inside her” …now that’s HOT (and he aint talking about having the flu)
why you hate october and boy KEIR
“There’s an insect in your ear/If you scratch it won’t disappear” from Staring At The Sun.
I believe this lines comes from Jean Paul Sartre (French Philosopher)”Les Mouches” (flies)where the [ever present]insects represents conscience & repent
Party Girl
The entire song, but in particular:
la-da-de-da-da-de-da-da-dom-da
la-da-de-da-da-de-da-da-dom-da
la-da-de-da-da-de-da-da-dom-da
la-da-de-da-da-de-da-da-da
Another candidate for BEST lyric
“There is no feeling so alone
as when the one you’re hurting is your own,
North and south of the river
Some high ground is not worth taking,
Some connections are not worth breaking,
There’s an old church bell that’s no longer ringing,
some old songs are not worth singing
North and south of the river”
-From U2’s lesser known Northern Ireland MasterPiece “North and South of the river”
- A Duet with Christy Moore
Boys and girls
they go to school
Girls make children
not like this one
grace… its a name for a girl…
That line ruins the song for me.
“The Playboy Mansion” has a few… including the lead off line:
“If Coke is a mystery / And Michael Jackson history”.
This line, also from “The Playboy Mansion” is a close second for not so great lyric:
“If O.J. is more than a drink / And a Big Mac bigger than we think”
When compared to some great writing on “Achtung Baby”, “The Playboy Mansion” from POP comes up a bit short and sounding more like the Bongo-lese we hear about when songs are being formed. Yet that ‘rough draft’ made the album.
Not sure if this counts as a WORST lyric, but certainlyt a MOST EMBARRASSING lyric. I was working out at home recently with my headset on, unaware that some friends had come in. Thinking I was alone, I was heard to say, out loud at high volume:
“You can swallow, or you can spit, you can throw it up or choke on it.” from Acrobat.
My niece asked her father what i was referring to!
“I was punching in the numbers at the ATM machine…”
Worst. Lyric. Ever.
My fav u2 lyric of all time is: midnight is where the day begins…