Lyrics that make no sense

[Gabriel Girard]

I'm not talking about purposefully nonsensical lyrics but about lyrics that seem to come out of nowhere.

For exemple :

''I think I'll buy myself some plastic water
I guess I should have married Lennon's daughter'' Ozzy Osbourne - I Just Want You

Hmm how about letting someone else write the lyrics Ozzy?

[Dan Mancini]

This is probably unfair since the members of Nickelback are functionally illiterate, but the lyrics of "Hero" make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sure, they're English and they create the illusion of having been assembled in some sort of meaningful order, but they really only manage to imitate cliche while actually meaning exactly nothing. A sample:

Someone told me love would all save us,
But how can that be?
Look what love gave us,
World full of killing,
And blood spilling.
That world never came.

Love gave us what? Wait...how did love give us a world full of killing and blood spilling? The hell?!? I'm not convinced that the Nickelback douchebag knows the definition of the word "love." He may be confusing it with "knives" or "bomb." Also: Which world never came? The one with killing and blood spilling? So that means love didn't give us murder and arterial spray? Did love "all save us" or not? I think my head may explode.

[Dunnyman]

He's unquestionably one of the greatest songwriters ever, but it's clear that Paul McCartney is never going to be considered an incredible writer of lyrics:
OH, YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN ME WITH THE POKER MAN,
I HAD A HONEY AND I BET A GRAND,
JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME I LOOKED AT HIS HAND.

I WAS TALKING TO AN ESKIMO,
SAID HE WAS HOPING FOR A FALL OF SNOW,
WHEN UP POPPED A SEA LION, READY TO GO.

LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO,
DOWN TO JUNIOR'S FARM WHERE I WANNA LAY LOW.
LOW LIFE, HIGH LIFE, OH, LET'S GO,
TAKE ME DOWN TO JUNIOR'S FARM.

OH, AT THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT,
EV'RYBODY'S TALKIN' 'BOUT THE PRESIDENT,
WE ALL CHIP IN FOR A BAG OF CEMENT.

OLLIE HARDY SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE SENSE,
HE BOUGHT A GEE-GEE AND HE JUMPED THE FENCE,
ALL FOR THE SAKE OF A COUPLE OF PENCE.

LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO,
DOWN TO JUNIOR'S FARM WHERE I WANNA LAY LOW.
LOW LIFE, HIGH LIFE, OH, LET'S GO,
TAKE ME DOWN TO JUNIOR'S FARM.

If anyone ever meets Paul, can you ask him what the hell that song's supposed to be about for me?

[Gabriel Girard]

^^^^^I would qualify those as intentionally nonsensical lyrics. This is a former Beatle after all - a band which had lyrics like ''Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eyes''. If he really wanted us to decipher this I feel sorry for him - maybe this is what LSD does to you...

[Stubby]

It's been 35 years and I'm still trying to understand what Robert Plant meant by:

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean
For the May queen

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway
To heaven...

[Dunnyman]

It's been 35 years and I'm still trying to understand what Robert Plant meant by:

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean
For the May queen

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway
To heaven...

I've heard Plant say that most of the lyrics for that album were just phrases and words pulled from Lord Of The Rings. Of course, I've had overzealous religion types tell me that the entire song is a list of Satanic rituals. I just wish I could play it in a guitar shop in Aurora, Illinois.

[BrettCullum]

Just what in the hell did ...
"EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT!" really mean?

From Shakira...
"Lucky that my breasts
Are small and humble
So you don't confuse
Them with mountains"

From REM ("Leaving New York")
"Leaving was never my proud"

From Sade ("Smooth Operator")
"Coast to coast L.A. to Chicago"

[corkbouy]

I'm not sure there is a single U2 lyric that makes sense...

[Stubby]

Some people call me the space cowboy,yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
Cause I speak of the pompitus of love.

So a word created out of thin air by Steve Miller was the basis for the 1996 movie "Pompatus of Love". Who can say which is the correct way to spell it. I guess only Maurice knows

[Steve T Power]

It's been 35 years and I'm still trying to understand what Robert Plant meant by:

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean
For the May queen

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway
To heaven...

I've heard Plant say that most of the lyrics for that album were just phrases and words pulled from Lord Of The Rings. Of course, I've had overzealous religion types tell me that the entire song is a list of Satanic rituals. I just wish I could play it in a guitar shop in Aurora, Illinois.

Yeah, there's actually a website out there somewhere that does a pretty amazing job of explaining all of the Lord of the Rings references and analogies that pop up in Zeppelin tunes.

[Gabriel Girard]

I still have no idea what Jim Morrison meant by : ''I want to hear the scream of the butterfly'' in When The Music's Over.

[Andrew Forbes]

I still have no idea what Jim Morrison meant by : ''I want to hear the scream of the butterfly'' in When The Music's Over.

What did Jim Morrison ever mean?

[Kenneth Morgan]

"Daily Nightly" by the Monkees is a very cool-sounding song, with some memorable synthesizer work by Micky Dolenz. (Reportedly, this was one of the first, if not the first, pop songs to use a Moog synthesizer.) That said, I'm still trying to figure out Mike Nesmith's lyrics:

Darkened rolling figures move thru' prisms of no color.
Hand in hand, they walk the night,
But never know each other.
Passioned pastel neon lights light up the jeweled trav'ler
Who, lost in scenes of smoke filled dreams,
Find questions, but no answers.

And that's just the first verse. Look it up on Google, and you can hear the whole song from Lala.com.

[mkiker2089]

"Daily Nightly" by the Monkees is a very cool-sounding song, with some memorable synthesizer work by Micky Dolenz. (Reportedly, this was one of the first, if not the first, pop songs to use a Moog synthesizer.) That said, I'm still trying to figure out Mike Nesmith's lyrics:

Darkened rolling figures move thru' prisms of no color.
Hand in hand, they walk the night,
But never know each other.
Passioned pastel neon lights light up the jeweled trav'ler
Who, lost in scenes of smoke filled dreams,
Find questions, but no answers.

And that's just the first verse. Look it up on Google, and you can hear the whole song from Lala.com.

I had no idea the Monkees were that clever. I like the lyrics. It's a bit fanciful but within reason. Walking and not knowing is self exclamatory as is the questions with no answers. Both are common themese. Smoke filled dreams probably eludes to the fantasy segments in popular movies and the TV show. I'm not exactly sure what prisms of no color means but to me it conjurs up a bleakness.

[Kenneth Morgan]

"Daily Nightly" by the Monkees is a very cool-sounding song, with some memorable synthesizer work by Micky Dolenz. (Reportedly, this was one of the first, if not the first, pop songs to use a Moog synthesizer.) That said, I'm still trying to figure out Mike Nesmith's lyrics:

Darkened rolling figures move thru' prisms of no color.
Hand in hand, they walk the night,
But never know each other.
Passioned pastel neon lights light up the jeweled trav'ler
Who, lost in scenes of smoke filled dreams,
Find questions, but no answers.

And that's just the first verse. Look it up on Google, and you can hear the whole song from Lala.com.

I had no idea the Monkees were that clever. I like the lyrics. It's a bit fanciful but within reason. Walking and not knowing is self exclamatory as is the questions with no answers. Both are common themese. Smoke filled dreams probably eludes to the fantasy segments in popular movies and the TV show. I'm not exactly sure what prisms of no color means but to me it conjurs up a bleakness.

Here's the Wikipedia article on the song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Nightly. It gives background on the subject, but I still don't get the lyrics. As for the Monkees, people are usually surprised at how good their songs are, especially after they gained more creative control over their music.

You might also want to see the music video they did for the song; it's on YouTube and it's off-kilter.

[stypee]

One of my favorite R.E.M. lyrics...
Birthday, Party, Cheesecake, Jelly bean, BOOM! -It's the End of the World and We Know It (I Feel Fine) - When you think about it, the whole song makes no sense. Love it!

Lunch Meat, Palm Scum Wake Up Bomb

In the morning I was playing the tart, I kissed your lips and broke your heart, except you, you were talkin' like it's the end of the world U2

[Future Man]

Blinded by the light
Wrapped up etc.

[stypee]

Blinded by the light
Wrapped up etc.

Thank You! I HATE this song with an amazing passion! I mean I really HATE IT! What the hell is it about?

[mkiker2089]

Blinded by the light
Wrapped up etc.

Thank You! I HATE this song with an amazing passion! I mean I really HATE IT! What the hell is it about?

Is that the one about destroying feminine hygiene products?

I don't car what they officially say, revved is not pronounced anything like ripped. He's not even close to saying "revved up like a duece"

[Gabriel Girard]

Blinded by the light
Wrapped up etc.

Thank You! I HATE this song with an amazing passion! I mean I really HATE IT! What the hell is it about?

Is that the one about destroying feminine hygiene products?

I don't car what they officially say, revved is not pronounced anything like ripped. He's not even close to saying "revved up like a duece"

http://www.musiclyricsfyi.com/blinded-by-the-light-lyrics.htm

[mkiker2089]

I get what the say the Man version's lyrics are. I just call BS. He's clearly not saying "revved" or "deuce". Most certainly not deuce. I don't know if he's slurring to be all arty or it's a gag of some sort though. It sounds to me like he's saying "rived up like a deusch"

The fact that he changed the lyrics makes it even more odd beyond just the oddness of the lyrics. How do you rev up a carburetor? It opens and closes the throttle, lets gas vapors pass to the combustion chamber, but never revs or otherwise moves.

[Dunnyman]

I get what the say the Man version's lyrics are. I just call BS. He's clearly not saying "revved" or "deuce". Most certainly not deuce. I don't know if he's slurring to be all arty or it's a gag of some sort though. It sounds to me like he's saying "rived up like a deusch"

The fact that he changed the lyrics makes it even more odd beyond just the oddness of the lyrics. How do you rev up a carburetor? It opens and closes the throttle, lets gas vapors pass to the combustion chamber, but never revs or otherwise moves.

Study the Boss's early career, and the endless "the next Bob Dylan" hype he got. Methinks he just whipped up a bunch of nonsense to try to live up to the comparisons. Especially when he never showed anything remotely like it again. Which is good, because he wrote much more awesome lyrics as he got older, like, "Well I'm no hero, it's understood, all the redemption I can offer girl is beneath this dirty hood, with a chance to make it real somehow, baby what else can we do now?"

[Gabriel Girard]

Remembered this one yesterday:

''International garbage man
I've decidede that's what I am
I need somebody to pull me out
I'm sinking like crazy in my sauerkraut'' - Iggy Pop Take Care Of Me

[Dave Ryan]

I get what the say the Man version's lyrics are. I just call BS. He's clearly not saying "revved" or "deuce". Most certainly not deuce. I don't know if he's slurring to be all arty or it's a gag of some sort though. It sounds to me like he's saying "rived up like a deusch"

The fact that he changed the lyrics makes it even more odd beyond just the oddness of the lyrics. How do you rev up a carburetor? It opens and closes the throttle, lets gas vapors pass to the combustion chamber, but never revs or otherwise moves.

A "Deuce" is any hot rod based on a 1932 Ford Model B coupe chassis. See also "Little Deuce Coupe" by the Beach Boys. They clearly can be revved up. "Revved up like a deuce", in context, means "hot and bothered", i.e. "horny".

[Polynikes]

There was a pop song in the 1980s by a chap named Nick Kershaw, the refrain of which was:

near a tree by a river
there's a hole in the ground
where an old man of Aran
goes around and around
and his mind is a beacon
in the veil of the night
for a strange kind of fashion
there's a wrong and a right
but he'll never, never fight over you

...and the verses were just as bizarre e.g.

it's not me you see
pieces of valentine
with just a song of mine
to keep from burning history
seasons of gasoline and gold
wise men fold

You could not make it up. Well actually, you could and he did.

Interpreters wanted, please.

[Dave Ryan]

There was a pop song in the 1980s by a chap named Nick Kershaw, the refrain of which was:

near a tree by a river
there's a hole in the ground
where an old man of Aran
goes around and around
and his mind is a beacon
in the veil of the night
for a strange kind of fashion
there's a wrong and a right
but he'll never, never fight over you

...and the verses were just as bizarre e.g.

it's not me you see
pieces of valentine
with just a song of mine
to keep from burning history
seasons of gasoline and gold
wise men fold

You could not make it up. Well actually, you could and he did.

Interpreters wanted, please.

I remember Nik Kershaw!

As for the song: well, it WAS called "The Riddle," which clues you in right from the get-go. However, apparently Kershaw said that there actually isn't any sense behind the lyrics. He just put stuff in that fit with the music.

[Polynikes]

As for the song: well, it WAS called "The Riddle," which clues you in right from the get-go. However, apparently Kershaw said that there actually isn't any sense behind the lyrics. He just put stuff in that fit with the music.

I think Nik Kershaw was disingenuous in calling his song "The Riddle", because a riddle is something to which there is a solution.

Nik Kershaw's "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" was another song with baffling "lyrics":

forty winks in the lobby
make mine a G&T
then to my favourite hobby
searching for an enemy

here in your paper houses
stretching for miles and miles
old men in stripey trousers
rule the world with plastic smiles

At least it it is more inventive than the bland lyrics of the "Oo, baby, I love you, yeah" type