00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks from the most
00:07acclaimed songs with the most problematic, lazy, or just plain nonsensical lyrics.
00:12Number 10, I Got a Feeling, Black Eyed Peas.
00:21This song was a great hit by the group, hitting number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 consecutive
00:34weeks.
00:35It even won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a duo or group with vocals.
00:39So why is it that the lyrics are so...disappointing?
00:42Granted, dance music usually doesn't have particularly impressive lyrics, for obvious
00:53reasons, but I Got a Feeling is repetitive, with a huge chunk of its runtime comprising
00:58the same one-line refrain.
01:00The rap interlude's lazy slant rhymes don't help matters much either.
01:03For a supposedly fun dance song, its lyrics often feel like an indifferent shrug.
01:07Number 9, Gratitude, Beastie Boys.
01:24This song from this group is an emphatic rock number, and the accompanying music video is
01:28a neat homage to 1972's Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.
01:32That said, the number muddles its message with its riddling lyrics.
01:35It's not even particularly clear exactly what the message is.
01:39Don't feed inner hate and be grateful?
01:41Also, when you've got so much to say, it's called gratitude?
01:50That's very far from the actual definition of gratitude.
01:53The contrast between the angry rock music and the lyrics is either genius or dumb.
01:58Possibly both.
01:59When you've got so much to say, it's called gratitude!
02:03And that's fine!
02:05Number 8, Bip Bop, Wings.
02:07Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop,
02:12Even Paul McCartney expressed his disappointment with this song, admitting it was the weakest song
02:17he had ever written in his life.
02:18The purpose was to write just a fun, playful song to sing and groove to.
02:22The group even released a 53 second instrumental version of the song at the end of the album.
02:26But there is fun and simple, and there is...this.
02:29Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop,
02:34The majority of the lyrics are just Bip Bop, with occasional addresses to what sounds like
02:38a female fan.
02:39It's a bop musically, but lyrically, it's all just Bip Bop.
02:43Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop, Bip Bop,
02:49Number 7, Africa, Toto.
02:51Yeah, the drums echo in tonight, and she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation.
03:00This critically acclaimed classic rock number became certified gold by the RIAA in 1991.
03:06It even experienced a resurgence in popularity thanks to social media, and it has been certified
03:11diamond ever since.
03:12But listening to the lyrics closely beyond just the vague affirmation of love is a very head-scratching
03:17experience.
03:18There's the oxymoron solitary company for starters.
03:25And the line, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti, is just geographically
03:33incorrect.
03:37What makes this really puzzling is that the melody was composed in ten minutes, but the
03:44lyrics were the result of six months of work.
03:47Maybe Toto should have taken that extra month.
03:50Number 6, Da-do-do-do, da-da-da-da, The Police.
03:53There is such a thing as too much onomatopoeia.
04:03In response to criticism over the baby talk lyrics of this track, lead singer Sting explained
04:08the song was in fact a commentary on the attraction of simple language and the manipulation of
04:12words.
04:13Did the police succeed?
04:15The song is pure rock and roll catchiness, but satire is largely lost amid bad social
04:26commentary.
04:27Not just politicians, but poets apparently use words that scream for your submission.
04:31Also, the end rhyme about eloquence is too terrible to even talk about it here.
04:36This unusual homage to anti-intellectualism should have just stuck to the dee-doo-doos.
04:48Number 5, Money for Nothing, Dire Straits.
05:01This song about disgruntled hardware-stir employees commenting on an MTV performer is a successful
05:07bop.
05:08It stayed at number one for three weeks in the Billboard Hot 100.
05:11The single was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, and the music video
05:15was nominated 11 times at the MTV Video Music Awards.
05:18But its lyrics, otherwise a cleverly reconstructed conversation, leave much to be desired, and
05:23it even stirred controversy at the use of a homophobic slur.
05:26Mark Knopfler expressed mixed feelings, admitting it's tricky to write lyrics for a character,
05:37and not lose the social commentary.
05:39Satire is truly tricky to do in song, and this one missed the mark a little.
05:51Number 4, Love the Way You Lie, Eminem featuring Rihanna.
05:54This memorable ballad about a toxic relationship clearly hit a nerve.
06:04The single sold over 12 million copies in the US alone.
06:07Both Eminem and Rihanna admitted to having abusive relationships with their partners,
06:11which gives the song a personal, authentic ring to it.
06:14Lyric-wise though, the single is marred by lazy slant rhymes, and one groaner of a pun.
06:19Now you get to watch her leave out the window, guess that's why they call it windowpane.
06:29That the song goes into detail and even rationale about Eminem's perspective,
06:33while leaving Rihanna mainly with the chorus, was also criticized.
06:37All in all, very problematic.
06:45Number 3, Shiny Happy People, R.E.M.
06:54This single was almost the theme song for the series Friends, but it was replaced.
06:58To this day, it is one of R.E.M.'s most well-known songs, and to be sure, its upbeat wholesomeness is groovy, if a little bland.
07:05But the critical reception was mixed, due to its lyrics.
07:08There's no time to cry, happy, happy.
07:15Music forgives a lot of repetition, but the shiny happy people refrain, with its accompanying vague verses, is perhaps one too many.
07:23Michael Stipe reportedly was dissatisfied, while Mike Mills claimed the track was actually meant for kids.
07:28This bubblegum song is perhaps too bubbly.
07:31Number 2, Champagne Supernova, Oasis.
07:41How many special people change?
07:45How many lives are living strange?
07:48This dynamic, psychedelic anthem has appropriately abstract lyrics.
07:52Perhaps too abstract, though.
07:54Because its meaning cannot be guessed at.
07:56The lines are all over the place.
07:58It's at first reflexive and dreamy, then hedonistic, and then depressingly existential.
08:03Champagne Supernova, Champagne Supernova.
08:09Songwriter Noel Gallagher admitted the meaning is left to the listener's interpretation, and they didn't know the meaning of the lyrics either.
08:16Whatever the meaning of Champagne Supernova, it is considered by many critics as one of Oasis' best songs.
08:21And for what it's worth, scientists nicknamed a real-life supernova after the song.
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08:45Number 1. Human. The Killers.
08:50Are we human? Or are we dancer?
08:56Are we human? Or are we dancer?
08:58This critically acclaimed pop rock song was the top globally streamed song in Spotify in 2008.
09:03So it is certainly standing the test of time well thus far.
09:06Perhaps part of the appeal is in fact the vague lyrics, loosely about what exactly makes us human.
09:11That human dancer line in particular is meme worthy.
09:14But there is also, will your system be alright?
09:17And, there is no message we're receiving.
09:19Both receiving uninspired rhymes.
09:21Songwriter Brandon Flowers grew irritated with the criticism of the lyrics, saying the single was meant in fact to be a dance song.
09:35You heard it here folks. We are dancer, after all.
09:38Are we human? Or are we dancer?
09:44Which other fantastic song do you know has questionable lyrics?
09:48Let us know in the comments down below.
09:50I'm so obsessed.
09:53My heart is bound to be right out my untrimmed chest.
09:59I believe in you like a virgin young Madonna.
10:03And I'm always...
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