Weeb Slinger
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2019
I am a lover of foolish things. This is a thread for songs with lyrics that explore themes outside of the normal subject matters of sex, drugs, cars, those bastards in government, the relative merits of different rappers and their entourages, fair maidens and the highwaymen who love them, and so on and so forth.
I am looking to avoid the intentionally off-kilter - Weird Al, for example, or Van Morrison's 1967 New York Sessions which are wilful piss-takes that were intended to extricate him from an undesirable record contract - Songs with titles like Ringworm ("I can tell by the look in your eyes that you've got ringworm"), Twist and Shake, Shake and Twist and Shake it Mable.
I am thinking more along the lines of songs where the writer comes across as sincere, but what they chose to write about was odd.
Bernice Bobs Her Hair, by The Divine Comedy, takes its title from a short story of the same name, penned by F Scott Fitzgerald. A restraining order, unfairly levied against me by the ungrateful heirs to Fitzgerald's estate, currently prevents me from approaching within 50 yards of any of his literary works. Therefore I have been unable to read the story, though I assume that the song follows the same narrative beats: The callow Bernice pays a visit to her worldly-wise cousin, Marjorie. Marjorie is jealous of Bernice's long, dark hair and convinces her to get it bobbed, knowing that the style will not suit her. Bernice, upon realising her mistake, waits until Marjorie is asleep and then cuts off her cousin's hair before running for the train.
It is an utterly ridiculous, barely relatable premise for a song, although Neil Hannon does have form for this kind of thing. He once wrote a song titled The Happy Goth which incorporates the rhyming couplet:
Another candidate can be found on the final Concrete Blonde album - Mojave: In Jim Needs an Animal, lead singer, Johnette Napolitano, who was perhaps running low on inspiration, ponders out loud on the type of pet that would best suit guitarist, Jim Mankey. Sadly I have been unable to track down this masterpiece online. I do recall that, at one point, a fish pond is proposed and it almost seems that a solution might have been found, before Johnette notes "Yeah, the fish are cool, but you can't take them inside." The song fades out inconclusively and the band permanently broke up shortly after, meaning that the matter was most likely left unresolved. It bares mentioning that, throughout the song, Jim repeatedly expresses his doubts that he does indeed "need an animal." It is also revealed that he once owned a cat and was upset when it died. There is a lot to unpack here and the subject perhaps deserved a longer and more detailed song.
I am looking to avoid the intentionally off-kilter - Weird Al, for example, or Van Morrison's 1967 New York Sessions which are wilful piss-takes that were intended to extricate him from an undesirable record contract - Songs with titles like Ringworm ("I can tell by the look in your eyes that you've got ringworm"), Twist and Shake, Shake and Twist and Shake it Mable.
I am thinking more along the lines of songs where the writer comes across as sincere, but what they chose to write about was odd.
Bernice Bobs Her Hair, by The Divine Comedy, takes its title from a short story of the same name, penned by F Scott Fitzgerald. A restraining order, unfairly levied against me by the ungrateful heirs to Fitzgerald's estate, currently prevents me from approaching within 50 yards of any of his literary works. Therefore I have been unable to read the story, though I assume that the song follows the same narrative beats: The callow Bernice pays a visit to her worldly-wise cousin, Marjorie. Marjorie is jealous of Bernice's long, dark hair and convinces her to get it bobbed, knowing that the style will not suit her. Bernice, upon realising her mistake, waits until Marjorie is asleep and then cuts off her cousin's hair before running for the train.
It is an utterly ridiculous, barely relatable premise for a song, although Neil Hannon does have form for this kind of thing. He once wrote a song titled The Happy Goth which incorporates the rhyming couplet:
"Well her clothes are blacker than the blackest cloth
And her face is whiter than the snows of Hoth."
Another candidate can be found on the final Concrete Blonde album - Mojave: In Jim Needs an Animal, lead singer, Johnette Napolitano, who was perhaps running low on inspiration, ponders out loud on the type of pet that would best suit guitarist, Jim Mankey. Sadly I have been unable to track down this masterpiece online. I do recall that, at one point, a fish pond is proposed and it almost seems that a solution might have been found, before Johnette notes "Yeah, the fish are cool, but you can't take them inside." The song fades out inconclusively and the band permanently broke up shortly after, meaning that the matter was most likely left unresolved. It bares mentioning that, throughout the song, Jim repeatedly expresses his doubts that he does indeed "need an animal." It is also revealed that he once owned a cat and was upset when it died. There is a lot to unpack here and the subject perhaps deserved a longer and more detailed song.
