Good Songs Spoiled By Just One Line

LastMantra

viz said:

rlw said:

And in this ever changing world in which we're living

Too many ins.........

Change it to “And in this ever changing world in which we live in”, then change it back again. Should help. 

When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die)
What does it matter to you
When you got a job to do
You got to do it well
You got to give the other fellow hell
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die)

I'd say "...ever-changing world in which we're livin'..." would be better. 
Maybe it is, it would sound very similar. 

Fuengi

Accidents Will Happen by Elvis Costello and The Attractions is almost perfect... until that dreadful fade out / bridge / whatever it is in the final 30 seconds when they just drearily repeat a harmony of "I know" which always leaves me with a horrible earworm. 

Terrible ending to a brilliant song. 

thecolourbox

Jfingers said:

Space, who I rather liked with Female of the species.

'The Female of the species is more deadlier than the male'

That can get in the sea.

Have we had 'These boots are made for wanking' yet?

To be honest I heard it as "The female of the species is more deadly than the male", which seems less worse

RandallFlagg

Blur - Parklife

“I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being”

Whenever I hear that line I end up debating with myself whether is should read “an enormous sense of wellbeing” instead.

Flip

I hope this qualifies within the OP question. My particular peeve is not a word or phrase but an omission, specifically of the last line of 'On The Road To Mandalay' in Sinatra's recording with the Billy May band on his Come Fly With Me album. The last two lines are 'and the sun comes up like thunder, and there's China 'cross the bay.'

For some reason, the recording ends at 'thunder' which is awkward in rhyme, rhythm, metre and musically. The only justification I can think of is the political hostility at the time of the US towards China. Maybe someone knows the real reason.

Teetonetal

axisus said:

You lot are easily bothered! I can't particularly think of any but then I'm not big on lyrics

Says the man who finds squeaky strings off putting enough to ruin an instrument  

idiotwindow

Litterick said:

Far away across the field, 
The tolling of the iron bell, 
Calls the faithful to their knees,
To hear the softly spoken magic spells. 

English church bells are made of bell metal, an alloy of bronze. Yes, I know it doesn't scan.

Roger Waters' lyrics are usually quite good for singing along to but they make poor poetry. He probably had Gray's Elegy in mind here: "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, the lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea....etc."

The worst line in the song is probably "The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older".  

CaseOfAce

If we're talking pendantry:

Eagles - Hotel California -
So I called up the captain / 'Please bring me my wine' / He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.'
Wine isn't a spirit. 
Just don't make the mistake of telling Don Henley that! 

Space's Female Of the Spieces line is so crap it's good - the way he tries to cram in the words there would make James Dean Bradfield blush.

lustycourtier

gatheredinsong said:

Grumpyrocker said:

darius said:

I think the real point of this thread is to answer that universal question from throughout the eons of time:

Are we human? Or are we dancer?

Or whether we've got a soul not but are not a soldier. 

I used to DJ indie clubnights and I never understood how The Killers were so massive pumping out utter tripe like this  

I seriously cannot believe none of you know its a very famous quote from Hunter S Thompson. 

Sporky

lustycourtier said:

I seriously cannot believe none of you know its a very famous quote from Hunter S Thompson. 

That suggests that it might not be that famous a line...

Anyway, I will submit a two-line error by Amplifier in the otherwise glorious UFOs:

Don't you know that all machines sink?
Do you know they sing as they think?

I think it'd be much better if they'd swapped the last words.

Don't you know that all machines think?
Do you know they sing as they sink?

Also on the same album they do "judge not, least you may be judged", which should be "judge not, lest you may be judged".

RocknRollDave

NME used to often reference the line from The Lebanon by The Human League about “where there used to be some shops”, although I can’t day it bothered me when I heard it.

lustycourtier

Sporky said:

lustycourtier said:

I seriously cannot believe none of you know its a very famous quote from Hunter S Thompson. 

That suggests that it might not be that famous a line...

I also mean the fact its a quote, rather than the fear and loathing quote its self.

Philly_Q

lustycourtier said:

I seriously cannot believe none of you know its a very famous quote from Hunter S Thompson. 

No, I'm as thick as shite, me....

Having Googled it, Thompson said something like "We're raising a generation of dancers", so it's not a quote at all really.

Hootsmon

That song from Ghost where they do the pottery bit........the descending a ha ha ha line in the song is as good as anything the Goons done and gives me fits

BillDL

I had to watch a YouTube video of that scene to remind myself.  Unfortunately I had to run it again because I missed the Unchained Melody playing while transfixed by the phallic symbolism spinning slowly on the pottery wheel.  I see what you mean, it does sound a bit strange.  I've never really been a fan of the song, so I have never before purposefully sat down and listened to the singing in detail.

Aidanspaghetti

Dave Edmunds "Not a woman not a child".... "Her mind is into dollies but her body's into Action man".
R'n'R innit. 

Tannin

RandallFlagg said:

Blur - Parklife

“I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being”

Whenever I hear that line I end up debating with myself whether is should read “an enormous sense of wellbeing” instead.

But they mean different things. 

A "sense of enormous well-being" means feeling good and satisfied with the world, while an "enormous sense of well-being" means you have an erection.

TTBZ

My God Is The Sun by QOTSA has a really shit line in it. I'm not sure if it's intentionally shit, a quote or something but it's bad.

"I don't know what time it was, I don't wear a watch" 

SimonC

The time warp in “Up the Junction” which takes us without a pause from:

This morning at four fifty, I took her rather nifty,
Down to an incubator where thirty minutes later
She gave birth to a daughter……..

all the way to:

And now she’s two years older…….

Philly_Q

Too much micro-analysis going on here!  They're only words.