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WatchMojo
  • 7 weeks ago
They sound amazing, but what are they actually saying? Join us as we count down our picks for the most beloved songs with the most head-scratching lyrics! Our countdown includes tracks from The Killers, Oasis, Black Eyed Peas and more. From grammatical confusion to geographic inaccuracies, these songs prove great music doesn't always need sensible words.
Transcript
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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