Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 10:02 PM Dec 4

Top Ten Worst Songs Made Since 1950

This will be something I do or will try to do every week. A top ten list of things in pop culture. The list is subjective to my opinion, but feedback and entries you list could be used in future lists as long as the feedback is relatively polite. Now, on with the list.

Music is the universal language. A good song sticks with a listener forever while a bad song sticks in your ear forever. This week, we will examine some of the worst popular songs made since 1950. To make this list, three things must exist in the song:

A: It must be a popular song from the time it was made.
B: The lyrics and/or music must be so horrifically terrible is becomes an ear-worm the second you hear it.
C: Cringe level of the song must be off the charts.

Without further ado, here is my list of the Ten Worst Songs since 1950 along with an honorable mention.

HM: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - Beatles: You know a song sucks when even bandmates claim it is the worst shit they did. John Lennon and George Harrison panned this piece of shit. Inspid, almost sexist lyrics, stupid ass music riffs that are annoying, and sound effects in the background straight out of Dr. Seuss. Sorry, this is the low point of one of the greatest bands ever. At least The Offspring did it better with “Why Don’t You Get a Job” in the late 1990s.

10. Rack City - Tyga: This song is just six words long. Lyrics written by a toddler rapped by someone who sounds like he’s sleeping through the song, and the fact that it made it all the way up the charts shows how rap has fallen from Biggie, LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, and Tupac. The simplistic drum, bass, and finger snap music that accompanies it proves it was written by a toddler.

09. Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back) - Eamon: I don’t know what’s worse. . .the lyrics, the terrible flow, or the whiny, high pitched vocals. Actually what made it worse was it was a smug, slick marketing ploy by the production company to make this and its female response “Fuck You Right Back” with the cringe lyric “I had better sex all alone.” Hell has places specifically for “artists” like Eamon and Frankee.

08. Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus: Overplayed, stupid, and generic, Billy Ray’s early 1990s country barf-fest made me hate county music for years. The best thing about this song was Weird Al ripping it to pieces by begging the DJ “please don’t play that stupid song no more.”

07. Christmas Shoes - Newsong: This is the definition of insipid Christmas music. Only Santa Baby (which makes the singer sound like a sex obsessed homewrecker) come close to the over-the-top mawkishness of this tripe. It wasn’t even endearing on the level of the child.

06. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran: One lyrics shows how pathetic and shallow modern music is: “I’m in love with your body.” Not your mind. Not your soul. Not your ambition, just your body. Screw you, Ed Sheeran. Most of your songs are trash, but this one takes the cake.

05. Honey - Bobby Goldsboro: This is a song’s answer to a garish jumpsuit. If one can sit through this garbage without metaphorically throwing up or turning this off, more power to you. Who cares about that stupid tree? This song is consistently considered one of the worst ever made on many lists.

04. (I Wanna Be) Bobby’s Girl - Marcie Blaine: Most songs from the 1950s and early 1960s for women are extremely cringe for modern audiences. It’s My Party, Judy’s Turn to Cry, Leader of the Pack, and Chapel of Love are a few that so that the men that wrote these songs knew nothing about women and didn’t care. But Marcie Blaine’s Bobby’s Girl is probably the worst, and it is the singer’s sole ambition to be the girlfriend of some guy’s girl because “it’s the most important thing to” her and if she was, “what a faithful, thankful girl” she “would be.” Setting feminism back decades.

03. Barbie Girl - Aqua: Life is plastic, it’s fantastic. You can fix my hair, take me anywhere. Lyrics by an airhead, sung by an airhead for airheads. Just the anthem the shallow part of the 1990s needed. It’s the 1990s answer to Madonna’s “Material Girl.”

02. Simple Simon Says - 1910 Fruitgum Company: The name of the band explains it all. This group sucked, everything they sang sucked, it was 1960s cheesy bumble gum and one needs to be stoned or loaded to enjoy it. All it is a sung version of simon sez. Perfect for the discerning five year old, but this song was meant for adults. Even the music is terrible.

01. We Built This City - Starship: How the mighty fall. They went from edgy with White Rabbit, Volunteers, and We Shall Be Together in the 1960s, to Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now and this trash. They even complain how corporation change their names all the time, but this band changed its name three times. This song is consistently #1 on most worst song lists and listening to it, with its over repeating chorus lines and really shitty music riffs, one can understand why it is #1 on this list as well.

138 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Top Ten Worst Songs Made Since 1950 (Original Post) AZLD4Candidate Dec 4 OP
After that Starship debacle the Jefferson Airplane reformed AZSkiffyGeek Dec 4 #1
Everyone forgets the first Starship album "Blows Against the Empire" dwayneb Friday #83
Once Mickey Thomas joined they went downhill fast AZSkiffyGeek Friday #91
You can't have a list of worst songs without..... lastlib Dec 4 #2
Agree, debm55 Dec 4 #3
Danny's song is dumb, especially the paper cup line. AZLD4Candidate Dec 4 #4
Totally agree regarding Havin' My Baby. wnylib Thursday #18
Absolutely agree about the first one! ShazzieB Tuesday #101
Two songs popped into my mind, unbidden sorcrow Dec 4 #5
Afternoon Delight is terrible. Take a Letter Maria I completely forgot about. Knock Two Times is another I considered. AZLD4Candidate Dec 4 #8
Afternoon Delight was so bad that Sneederbunk 7 hrs ago #135
What? No "Muskrat Love"? Shipwack Dec 4 #6
Captain and Tennille are in a class all by themselves, like the Bay City Rollers AZLD4Candidate Dec 4 #9
Finally, someone named it! Sanity Claws Thursday #51
Oh god, youre so right! ShazzieB Tuesday #104
then there's Norman & James Hold the Ladder Steady(both by sue thompson) and msongs Dec 4 #7
The Lion Sleeps Tonight Cartoonist Thursday #10
I couldn't include a traditional african folksong, but the Tokens version does get tiresome quickly. AZLD4Candidate Thursday #11
I like the Weavers version! ShazzieB Tuesday #111
Pete Seeger is one of my idols. When my father had business in Beacon on time, I met him when I was seven in the AZLD4Candidate Tuesday #118
Oh, wow, what a great story! ShazzieB Yesterday #123
The parody anti-Trump version was way better jmowreader Thursday #61
There's an interesting story about it. I'm a liitle vague on it but... electric_blue68 Friday #69
Two that deserve honorable mention sarge43 Thursday #12
Absolutely Macarthur Park NoRethugFriends Thursday #27
Must admit I liked Macarthur Park dwayneb Friday #84
Ghastly song. Paladin 8 hrs ago #125
I was wondering when MacArthur Park would show up. Scrivener7 Thursday #29
I kind of like McArthur Park, however the description of you & your sis singing it in a parody style, then cracking up.. electric_blue68 Friday #70
MacArthur Park is brilliant! Freddie 8 hrs ago #129
Sarge43 named the first two worst songs that popped into my head 10 Turtle Day Thursday #13
Look up Working My Way Back to You by the Four Seasons AZLD4Candidate Thursday #17
I was just about to nokinate Ruby. ShazzieB Tuesday #105
Worst That Could Happen Freddie 8 hrs ago #130
This one deserves at least an honorable mention True Dough Thursday #14
Ballad of the Green Berets justaprogressive Thursday #15
did you not read the first paragraph of my post? Any suggestions may be used in future lists if done politely. AZLD4Candidate Thursday #16
I am at a complete loss as to what this post is on about. Scrivener7 Thursday #31
I don't get it, either. ShazzieB Tuesday #112
Winnah! zanana1 Thursday #23
Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield wnylib Thursday #19
To be fair, in Young Girl, the girl did hide her age from the singer and at the end, he told her to get lost AZLD4Candidate Thursday #25
Well, he claims in the song that she hid her age. wnylib Thursday #47
the song is about an 11 year old? prodigitalson Thursday #50
Song never said the girl's age, just that she's a young girl AZLD4Candidate Thursday #59
It is about an adult man's strong attraction to and desure for wnylib Friday #72
that's really gross prodigitalson Friday #73
Saw Gary Puckett in concert last year Freddie 8 hrs ago #131
Considering lyrics of rap and hip hop, Puckett is tame. AZLD4Candidate 7 hrs ago #138
you could make a whole list of statutory rape songs prodigitalson Thursday #30
"Turn Around Look At Me" by the Vogues Ritabert Thursday #37
Every Breath You Take - Police prodigitalson Thursday #49
Great song. highplainsdem Thursday #62
It's ok. I got tired of hearing it. prodigitalson Friday #71
That song was deliberately meant to be creepy. ShazzieB Tuesday #113
She's Sexy and 17 Coventina Saturday #92
that one depends on the jurisdiction prodigitalson Tuesday #99
"You Light Up My Life" by Debbie Boone Submariner Thursday #20
Might not qualify under Rule A, because it only charted around 38 or so... malthaussen Thursday #21
Holy crap, I've never heard of this one. 3catwoman3 Thursday #48
I was going to mention this one if no one else did. Worst song ever! FuzzyRabbit Thursday #52
This is the worst recent one (NSFW) Mosby Thursday #22
How is it that there are this many comments and not one has mentioned Danascot Thursday #24
Again, all of these are awesome when I do another list like this. AZLD4Candidate Thursday #26
I love it. malthaussen Thursday #63
My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas prodigitalson Thursday #28
Country Rap is what it is if you take out the letter OUNTRY. Just like Chinese Rap if you take out the HINESE AZLD4Candidate Thursday #41
You mean you don't like the line "my lovely lady lumps?" AZLD4Candidate Thursday #42
The ealier they are found the more treatable they are prodigitalson Thursday #43
I personally don't like songs that make female singers sound like vapid airheads. AZLD4Candidate Thursday #44
Indeed it does, and somehow its even worse prodigitalson Thursday #45
Add Billy Joel's "For The Longest Time" to this list. lastlib Thursday #32
"Piano Man" is a much worse song... appmanga Tuesday #106
I ADORE "For The Longest Time"! ShazzieB Tuesday #114
That Honey song was so awful, even Sequoia Thursday #33
Yep "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro was seriously cringeworthy dwayneb Friday #75
doesn't meet any of the criteria but my friend accused me of trying to kill him The Wandering Harper Thursday #34
Lee Greenwood's God bless the USA tikka Thursday #35
What about "Short People?" Jrsygrl96 Thursday #36
Short People was deliberately sarcastic and directed spooky3 Friday #81
Yes! ShazzieB Tuesday #115
Glad to hear that! I met Randy Newman when I volunteered spooky3 Tuesday #120
"Escape (the Pina Colada song)" Ritabert Thursday #38
oh God yes AZLD4Candidate Thursday #39
Anything from the "Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas" album bif Thursday #40
Honeycomb CanonRay Thursday #46
Are you thinking of the song boonecreek Thursday #55
Yes! I guess I just remembered that stupid line. CanonRay Thursday #56
The first time I heard it boonecreek Thursday #57
Honeycomb was by Jimmy Rodgers LogDog75 Friday #68
Disco Duck. Kung Fu Fighting. megahertz Thursday #53
Feelings by Morris Albert LookoutMtnWriter Thursday #54
crimson and clover and Saturday in the park lynintenn Thursday #58
Crimson and Clover I love for the complex musical riffs using a Mogg. AZLD4Candidate Thursday #60
AZLD4Candidate............. Upthevibe Thursday #64
"Billy" was awful! But here's a disco hit I loved: spooky3 Friday #88
YOUR having MY Baby - Paul Anka BOSSHOG Thursday #65
American Pie Emile Thursday #66
Many of the songs mentioned I actually like LogDog75 Friday #67
For sure everyone has different tastes dwayneb Friday #85
"All of Me" by John Legend skypilot Friday #74
All 10 are swift songs. Groundhawg Friday #76
Katy Perry too. All sounds the same. Same beat, melody, lyric tempo, and all written by a six year old boy AZLD4Candidate Saturday #97
You 100% nailed number 1 Bristlecone Friday #77
In the spirit of the season - "Last Christmas" by WHAM! dwayneb Friday #78
"She was only sixteen" sung by Dr Hook an Klarkashton Friday #79
Hey, Ringo Starr is no pervert! 😉 ShazzieB Tuesday #109
Wives and Lovers Jack Jones 1963 Amanita Pantherina Friday #80
Ugh nt spooky3 Friday #87
A rare mistake by Burt Bacharach and Hal David Freddie 7 hrs ago #133
No one hated "Seasons in The Sun" as much as I did? spooky3 Friday #82
For sure I hated that song a lot in 1974 dwayneb Friday #86
Rock version of a Spanish Civil War song. I tend to give things like this a pass. AZLD4Candidate Saturday #95
This may not fit your standards, as it is a spoken word record... GReedDiamond Friday #89
This was just as terrible as the "I was there" one the right wing put out after 9/11 AZLD4Candidate Saturday #96
Aw I like Barbie Girl FullySupportDems Friday #90
I agree! ShazzieB Tuesday #107
Thank you! I thought it was just me lol FullySupportDems Tuesday #121
Let's Hear It For The Boy EuterpeThelo Saturday #93
Paper Roses, Ebony and Ivory, She's Sixteen (She's Beautiful and She's Mine) Midnight Writer Saturday #94
Johnny Preston "Running Bear" Doc_Technical Saturday #98
Does your chewing gum lose it's flavor on the bedpost overnight radical noodle Tuesday #100
More, More, More BeyondGeography Tuesday #102
Nothing like a divisive music post. Basso8vb Tuesday #103
You're absolutely right. ShazzieB Tuesday #116
Hungry Like the Wolf, and Your Body is Wonderland consider_this Tuesday #108
90% of the music from the 50's and 60's. Elessar Zappa Tuesday #110
I finally thought of one that nobody's mentioned yet! ShazzieB Tuesday #117
I'd rather listen to "We Built This City" ten times in a row ... dawg Tuesday #119
From my favorite artist - title track from Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970) JoseBalow Tuesday #122
Oh come on...Chris De Burgh's "Lady in Red"? jmowreader 9 hrs ago #124
Nooo, now I got Achy Breaky Heart stuck in my head! Dave Bowman 8 hrs ago #126
All disco music, every bit of it---with one glorious exception: Paladin 8 hrs ago #127
Kokomo happybird 8 hrs ago #128
Anything by the BeeGees and Andy Gibb. Oh I forgot whatever doc03 8 hrs ago #132
So the burning question is... Freddie 7 hrs ago #134
I just remembered boonecreek 7 hrs ago #136
Afternoon Delight Aviation Pro 7 hrs ago #137

AZSkiffyGeek

(12,632 posts)
1. After that Starship debacle the Jefferson Airplane reformed
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 10:14 PM
Dec 4

And made the almost as hideous “Summer of Love”.
Fun fact, Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to We Built This City.

dwayneb

(902 posts)
83. Everyone forgets the first Starship album "Blows Against the Empire"
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:36 PM
Friday

That album had some great stuff on it. Why they later churned out awful dreck like "We Built This City" I have no idea.

AZSkiffyGeek

(12,632 posts)
91. Once Mickey Thomas joined they went downhill fast
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 11:30 PM
Friday

Miracles, Fast Buck Freddy, Ride the Tiger, those were great tunes. I even enjoyed some of the Mickey Thomas stuff like Jane and Laying It On the Line - it wasn't as good, but it was nowhere near as bad as the Starship dreck.I've heard that the reformed JEFFERSON Starship stuff from the late 90s and 00s was good, but I've never heard it.

lastlib

(24,961 posts)
2. You can't have a list of worst songs without.....
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 10:27 PM
Dec 4

1) You're Havin' My Baby (Paul Anka); 2) Danny's (Dumb) Song (Loggins/Messina); 3) Never Been To Me (Charlene--whoever the hell she is); and 4) Everything Leo Bleepin' Sayer ever did.

(I'll save the Bee Gees disco catalog for another day.....)





Long Live Rock!! - - - - - - - - - - - -

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
101. Absolutely agree about the first one!
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 05:28 PM
Tuesday

I'm not familiar with most of the others, but I actually like Danny's song! I can't help but love a lyric like "Even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you, honey," and the tune is great, imo.

To each his or her own!

sorcrow

(524 posts)
5. Two songs popped into my mind, unbidden
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 10:56 PM
Dec 4

Afternoon Delight
Made even worse by subjecting myself to the video.

https://m.




And the also weird Take a Letter Maria, a soap opera in a song. But RB Greaves has a great voice and even though it's a terrible song I listened all the way through.

https://m.


Best regards,
Sorghum Crow

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
8. Afternoon Delight is terrible. Take a Letter Maria I completely forgot about. Knock Two Times is another I considered.
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 11:35 PM
Dec 4

Shipwack

(2,332 posts)
6. What? No "Muskrat Love"?
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 11:25 PM
Dec 4

Especially because of the muskrat chittering noises.

Supposedly Captain and Tennille sang it at some state dinner, and Kissinger was completely confused….

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
9. Captain and Tennille are in a class all by themselves, like the Bay City Rollers
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 11:36 PM
Dec 4

Or "Ooga Chaka, Ooga Chaka, Ooga ooga ooga chaka" version of Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede.

msongs

(70,227 posts)
7. then there's Norman & James Hold the Ladder Steady(both by sue thompson) and
Wed Dec 4, 2024, 11:27 PM
Dec 4

Sue was a sort of novelty country act but her songs were strictly bubble gum. Paper Tiger was kinda good though..sort of a a feminist anthem of the day

?si=IdjIlPceaWtbbgQw


?si=Jn0IlWW-K-H_KwWf


?si=DO-ikvwwkCBUMaTI

Cartoonist

(7,552 posts)
10. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:12 AM
Thursday

I could listen to We Built This City on repeat all day rather than catch even three seconds of LST.

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
111. I like the Weavers version!
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:15 PM
Tuesday

Of course, they did as a folk song and didn't try to turn it into a slick pop number, and it sounded totally different and even had a different title, but I love it. 😁

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
118. Pete Seeger is one of my idols. When my father had business in Beacon on time, I met him when I was seven in the
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 08:13 PM
Tuesday

waiting room picking at my guitar. I recognized the voice but not the man, but he helped me with some fingering because I was trying to play and learn The Garden Song.

Seeger was one of the nicest men I ever met in my like. Old Folkie, if you like Harry Chapin (who is another of my idols), spent about ten minutes with me until I built up the nerve to ask if I was playing his song. He smiled and said "well, I did record it a long time ago but it isn't my song."

Then I heard "Mr. Seeger" called from a room and he got up and walked into an office to do business.

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
123. Oh, wow, what a great story!
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 12:00 AM
Yesterday

Thanks for a sharing this. I absolutely love Pete Seeger, too! (Present tense, because my love and respect for him will never die, even though he's gone now. )

jmowreader

(51,557 posts)
61. The parody anti-Trump version was way better
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:24 PM
Thursday

Jay Siegel, the Tokens' singer, liked the project so much he was in several of the videos for "The Liar Tweets Tonight."

electric_blue68

(18,443 posts)
69. There's an interesting story about it. I'm a liitle vague on it but...
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 01:52 AM
Friday

it might be related to then apartheid South Africa. Who ever was originally singing it or someone else. Pete Seeger, maybe.

The idea idea being that The Lion was at some point going to wake up. Either Pete S or someone else in live concert chanted to the Black African audience "You are the lion". Prophecyizing that one they would rise up and defeat apartheid.

dwayneb

(902 posts)
84. Must admit I liked Macarthur Park
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:40 PM
Friday

I liked it because it had actual dynamics and tempo/melodic changes unlike most of the popular songs of the time.

But the lyrics were pretty frightful that's for sure "someone left the cake out in the rain" and "sweet green icing flowing down" are so weird it's tough to get past them.

Paladin

(28,897 posts)
125. Ghastly song.
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 04:15 PM
8 hrs ago

And if we needed any additional proof of Richard Harris' lack of singing ability, his performance in "Camelot" sealed the deal. Loved him in "This Sporting Life," where all he did was some fine acting...

Scrivener7

(53,036 posts)
29. I was wondering when MacArthur Park would show up.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:30 PM
Thursday

Even as 7 and 9 year olds, my sister and I would sing sad operatic versions of it into our hairbrushes and then collapse laughing.

electric_blue68

(18,443 posts)
70. I kind of like McArthur Park, however the description of you & your sis singing it in a parody style, then cracking up..
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 02:09 AM
Friday

made me laugh! 😁 Good fun!

Freddie

(9,725 posts)
129. MacArthur Park is brilliant!
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 04:34 PM
8 hrs ago

Musically. Words…oh well. Songwriter Jimmy Webb wrote an autobiography titled “The Cake and the Rain.” 😊
Fun fact: Webb wrote the song with The Association in mind, who turned it down. They would have been awesome.

10 Turtle Day

(488 posts)
13. Sarge43 named the first two worst songs that popped into my head
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:00 AM
Thursday

I’d also nominate Worst that Could Happen by Brooklyn Bridge and Ruby, Don’t take your Love to Town by Kenny Rogers. The first is about a guy who, instead of being even superficially happy for his sex partner, he is bummed she is getting married because that means he can’t have her anymore, yet he would never marry her because “it’s not my scene” and Roger’s’ song includes the line about if he could walk he’d get his gun and put her in the ground. Chauvenistic pigs at their worst.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
17. Look up Working My Way Back to You by the Four Seasons
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:56 AM
Thursday

Song is practically about an abusive narcissist trying to regain his supply and be obsessive about not giving in and is a whinefest about how terrible his life has become without her in it.

Freddie

(9,725 posts)
130. Worst That Could Happen
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 04:39 PM
8 hrs ago

Another gem by Jimmy Webb. Musically great, lyrically cringe. “A girl like you needs to be married”…you unhip thing.
His autobiography was a fun read. Sounds like a great guy in spite of this. It was the 70s.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
16. did you not read the first paragraph of my post? Any suggestions may be used in future lists if done politely.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:54 AM
Thursday

why is all social media so flip and smug in responses?

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
112. I don't get it, either.
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:19 PM
Tuesday

I certainly don't know why Balkad of the Green Berets would not be eligible for this.

wnylib

(24,547 posts)
19. Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 12:28 PM
Thursday

Sounds like an incel stalker working himself up to commit rape.

Johnny Get Angry -- Joanie Summers. Masochistic woman begs her boyfriend to show her who's the boss.

My Sharona -- The Knack. Every word is totally creepy and cringeworthy.

Young Girl -- Gary Picket and the Union Gap. Pedophile sex attraction song that blames the girl for being too sexy for her age.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
25. To be fair, in Young Girl, the girl did hide her age from the singer and at the end, he told her to get lost
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:17 PM
Thursday

Along with the lines:

"Although you know that it's wrong to be
along with me
That come on look is in your eyes."

I personally never had a problem with Gary Puckett's songs.

wnylib

(24,547 posts)
47. Well, he claims in the song that she hid her age.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 06:07 PM
Thursday

He also claims that she has "that come on look" in her eyes.

If you have ever encountered a pedophile, which I have (in work and volunteer settings), you know that the words of the song are how pedophiles think and talk.

To a pedophile, an 11 year old girl in a family pool with her friends is being deliberately seductive by wearing a bathing suit. When she looks up at him to see who just entered the yard, he sees a "come on look" in her eyes. I encountered that attitude when I was a volunteer Big Sister for a 5th grade girl whose stepmother's 25 year old brother molested her. She was terrified of him but eventually told her teacher, who called police. He insisted that she continually came on to him. He saw the look of fear in her eyes as seductive.

The second time was when I was doing some work for a domestic violence agency which offered women's support groups, housing, and a day care center. There was a guy who worked there part time. Another employee heard from someone she knew that he had a rape conviction. I was there when she asked him directly about it. He said that it was "only" statutory rape because the girl was 14 and he was 34 but she had acted older and lied about her age. A background check by the agency director showed that he knew the girl, her family, her age, and took advantage of her trust in him. He insisted that she dressed and looked older when SHE supposedly seduced HIM.

He was fired, along with the supervisor who hired him without a background check.

Doesn't it sound at all strange that a guy who knows a girl is underage sings about his longing and desire for her that he finds hard to resist? A man with a healthy attraction to age appropriate women would not be so obsessed with an under age one.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
59. Song never said the girl's age, just that she's a young girl
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:17 PM
Thursday

and at the end of the song he tells to to get lost. He did exactly what I did when I was invited to one of my student's homes in China for dinner by her parents only to get there to see the student was alone and tried to do something with me because "I love you, teacher."

I couldn't get out of that house fast enough!

"With the charms of a woman
You've kept the secret of your youth
You led me to believe your old enough
to give your love
But now it hurts to know the truth"

"Beneath your perfume and makeup
You're just a baby in disguise
And though you know that it's wrong to be
Alone with me
That come on look is in your eyes

So hurry home to your mama
I'm sure she wonders where you are.
"Get out of here
Before I have the time
To change my mind
Because I'm afraid we'll go to far."

Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run girl
You're just too young girl

wnylib

(24,547 posts)
72. It is about an adult man's strong attraction to and desure for
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 07:43 AM
Friday

an underage girl. No age given. Throughout the song, he blames the girl for his attraction to her. By remarkable coincidence, that is the same mentality of pedophiles.





Freddie

(9,725 posts)
131. Saw Gary Puckett in concert last year
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 04:44 PM
8 hrs ago

His voice isn’t as great anymore but he has an entertaining show. He admitted a lot of his hits had “mature themes” and wouldn’t be played on the radio today.

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
49. Every Breath You Take - Police
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 06:40 PM
Thursday

Every move you make
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Oh can't you see
you belong to me

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
71. It's ok. I got tired of hearing it.
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 03:16 AM
Friday

The older stuff is better and even more inapropriate now that I think about it - Don't Stand So Close to Me for example. Arguably a straight up pedo song but way more interesting musically than anything on that album with Every Breath. Wrapped Around Your Finger got old fast too, and it was pretty much Every Breath Pt 2., musically..less stalkery

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
113. That song was deliberately meant to be creepy.
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:25 PM
Tuesday

It was about a creepy stalker. Sting said so, and he was weirded out that so many people thought it was a sweet love song!

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
99. that one depends on the jurisdiction
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 04:58 PM
Tuesday

I think they're like 30 when they're singing it so, gross either way

malthaussen

(17,738 posts)
21. Might not qualify under Rule A, because it only charted around 38 or so...
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 12:44 PM
Thursday

... but "He Hit Me and it Felt Like a Kiss" has always been #1 on my list of Worst Song Ever. The Crystals reportedly hated doing it, and that it was written by King/Goffin makes it even more awful.

-- Mal

3catwoman3

(25,574 posts)
48. Holy crap, I've never heard of this one.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 06:24 PM
Thursday

The title alone is terrible. I think I'll pass on checking it out.

Danascot

(4,898 posts)
24. How is it that there are this many comments and not one has mentioned
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 01:39 PM
Thursday

"Yummy Yummy Yummy (I Got Love In My Tummy)" by Ohio Express

It makes me want to lose the contents of my tummy whenever I'm forced to think about it.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
26. Again, all of these are awesome when I do another list like this.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:19 PM
Thursday

People are missing the first part of my post.

The list is subjective to my opinion, but feedback and entries you list could be used in future lists as long as the feedback is relatively polite.

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
28. My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:27 PM
Thursday

We Built This City from your list is a close second, possibly tied for first.

I Wanna Talk About Me by Toby Keith
It is actually worse than his "boot in your ass", 9/11 song.

"We talk about your guys of every shape and size
The ones that you despise and the ones you idolize
We talk about your heart, 'bout your brain and your smarts
And your medical charts and when you start"

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
41. Country Rap is what it is if you take out the letter OUNTRY. Just like Chinese Rap if you take out the HINESE
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 03:33 PM
Thursday

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
43. The ealier they are found the more treatable they are
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 03:40 PM
Thursday

You know. When you're in the shower check for lady lumps!

prodigitalson

(2,917 posts)
45. Indeed it does, and somehow its even worse
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 04:29 PM
Thursday

And not even "sexy" vapid, like the Marilyn Monroe archetype. I put sexy in quotes because it's not my cup of tea. However I do "get it" as a lowest common denominator objectification of women, ie I understand what is going on. "My lovely lady lumps" is just gross and weird. Truly WTF. When I found out my teenage (at the time) daughter was getting into Bikini Kill and other Riot Grrrl genre stuff from my college days I was pretty relieved...impressed actually.

lastlib

(24,961 posts)
32. Add Billy Joel's "For The Longest Time" to this list.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:33 PM
Thursday

OMG, what a pile of vapid tripe that one is!

And then there's Donny --ugh!-- Osmond's "Puppy Love"---what that puppy did wasn't love, but poor housebreaking. I'd need a doo-bag to remotely touch that one.

appmanga

(947 posts)
106. "Piano Man" is a much worse song...
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 05:40 PM
Tuesday

...with some of cringiest lyrics of all time:

"They're sharing a drink called 'loneliness,
But it's better than drinking alone".

And probably the worst use of an accordion in a pop song (and the instrument can work well as Paul Simon's "Boy In the Bubble" and any half-assed zydeco song has proven) ever.

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
114. I ADORE "For The Longest Time"!
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:33 PM
Tuesday

I really do, I think it's my favorite Billy Joel song! It's so tuneful, and the lyrics are great, imo.

It's funny how differently people can react to the same song. I don't think any of us are wrong, necessarily; it's very subjective, like the op says.

Sequoia

(12,540 posts)
33. That Honey song was so awful, even
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:35 PM
Thursday

Billy Graham blasted it during one of his TV broadcasted Crusades we had to watch as children. He said the song was ridiculous because there are no marriages in heaven. Just forget the dead wife and find another.

34. doesn't meet any of the criteria but my friend accused me of trying to kill him
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 02:38 PM
Thursday

for making him listen to it
Frownland by Captain Beefheart

Jrsygrl96

(191 posts)
36. What about "Short People?"
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 03:05 PM
Thursday

Or “Brand New Key?” Minnie Ripperton’s “Loving You” is nails on a blackboard!!!!!

spooky3

(36,323 posts)
120. Glad to hear that! I met Randy Newman when I volunteered
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 08:29 PM
Tuesday

at an event years ago. He could not have been nicer, though he is reserved. I told him a relative was driving several hours to attend his concert with me, and he asked which was his favorite song. Randy then dedicated that song to my relative at the concert.

Ritabert

(747 posts)
38. "Escape (the Pina Colada song)"
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 03:20 PM
Thursday

I improved it by changing it to apply to Trump:

If you hate subpoena coladas
Getting caught and arraigned
If you're full into MAGA
If you have half a brain...

If you like stealing docs at midnight
But need help when you're caught
I'm the lawyer you've looked for
Write to me and I'm bought.

boonecreek

(75 posts)
55. Are you thinking of the song
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 07:22 PM
Thursday

"The Night Chicago Died"? That was by the
English group Paper Lace who obviously knew
nothing about Chicago. I was born and raised there
and every time that came on my flesh would crawl.
Like the Chicago cops having a huge shootout with
the Capone mob when much of the force was in his
pocket. Also, Capone ran the south side not the so called
"east side". Talk about tortured history.

boonecreek

(75 posts)
57. The first time I heard it
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 07:39 PM
Thursday

I was driving home from Minnesota. I couldn't
believe what I hearing. Thought to myself "Well
they've never been to Chicago"

54. Feelings by Morris Albert
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 07:15 PM
Thursday

Has anyone mentioned this one? I remember hearing that there was a Gong Show episode where every contestant sang it. May be apocryphal.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
60. Crimson and Clover I love for the complex musical riffs using a Mogg.
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:19 PM
Thursday

But those first two lines are straight out of high school puppy love. Cringe.

Then Joan Jett didn't change the object's gender, making it a lesbian song which makes it just as cringe and how can you love someone you don't hardly know.

Upthevibe

(9,211 posts)
64. AZLD4Candidate.............
Thu Dec 5, 2024, 08:30 PM
Thursday

Disco....................AWFUL!!!!!!!!!.............I hesitate to even call it music. I like to refer to it as a horrible phase.......

I have several but one that hasn't been mentioned yet:
Billy Don't Be A Hero......God help me...

spooky3

(36,323 posts)
88. "Billy" was awful! But here's a disco hit I loved:
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 10:21 PM
Friday

There are so many layers in this number by Michael Jackson:

?feature=shared

LogDog75

(135 posts)
67. Many of the songs mentioned I actually like
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 01:11 AM
Friday
Honey by Bobby Goldsboro and Muskrat Love by the Captain and Tennille are, IMO, good songs.

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, I fell in love with this song after seeing the movie Yesterday.

Here are a couple of stinkers:

You Light up My Life by Debby Boone

Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim

I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher

BTW, I do love the parody songs and offbeat songs Dr. Demento used to play on his weekly radio program.

dwayneb

(902 posts)
85. For sure everyone has different tastes
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:43 PM
Friday

I'm a sucker for sappy love songs that a lot of people dislike for example.

I liked "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" just because it was so freaking weird.

AZLD4Candidate

(6,338 posts)
97. Katy Perry too. All sounds the same. Same beat, melody, lyric tempo, and all written by a six year old boy
Sat Dec 7, 2024, 10:19 AM
Saturday

dwayneb

(902 posts)
78. In the spirit of the season - "Last Christmas" by WHAM!
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:32 PM
Friday

Yes I know, many people LOVE this song.

But it repeats itself again and again and again until "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart" is burned into your brain. Repeat that lyric again and freaking AGAIN.

I'm sure everyone here knows all about Whamageddon where the objective is to go as long as possible without hearing "Last Christmas"... You're out as soon as you recognize the song.

https://whamageddon.com/

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
109. Hey, Ringo Starr is no pervert! 😉
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:02 PM
Tuesday

Ringo had one of his biggest post Beatles hits with that song, and I love it. I don't think it was ever meant to be pervy, and I don't think people should read that into it.

It could certainly be done in a pervy manner, but when I hear the Ringo version, I hear it as a nostalgia thing. The song originally came out in 1960, and when Ringo did it in 1973, I saw it as him playing the role of a teenage boy singing about his girlfriend. And he does it SO well!

 
80. Wives and Lovers Jack Jones 1963
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:33 PM
Friday

“Day after day, there are girls at the office. And men will always be men. Don’t send him off with your hair still in curlers. You may not see him again.”

dwayneb

(902 posts)
86. For sure I hated that song a lot in 1974
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 09:46 PM
Friday

Such a singsong melody and silly lyrics. I had tried to forget about this one actually.

GReedDiamond

(5,377 posts)
89. This may not fit your standards, as it is a spoken word record...
Fri Dec 6, 2024, 10:37 PM
Friday

...with music (Battle Hymn of the Republic) behind the narration:

An Open Letter To My Teenage Son by Victor Lundberg.

That said, it is my belief that this may be THE WORST RECORD EVER RECORDED & RELEASED, OF ALL TIME:



If you don't believe me, just try listening to it.

Midnight Writer

(23,062 posts)
94. Paper Roses, Ebony and Ivory, She's Sixteen (She's Beautiful and She's Mine)
Sat Dec 7, 2024, 08:50 AM
Saturday

and everything with Auto-tuned vocals.

radical noodle

(8,741 posts)
100. Does your chewing gum lose it's flavor on the bedpost overnight
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 05:15 PM
Tuesday

Does that qualify, or did I just dream that it was once played over and over on the radio?

BeyondGeography

(40,049 posts)
102. More, More, More
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 05:29 PM
Tuesday

One of those repetitive, creativity-free songs that signaled the end of the greatest popular music era there will ever be (1965-1975), not least because it was a major hit and Andrea True was so hawt!

?si=P92NyD4V5__C8skr

Basso8vb

(410 posts)
103. Nothing like a divisive music post.
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 05:32 PM
Tuesday

I learned from a colleague when I was playing professionally not to be a musical snob because the song I might want to denigrate could be very important to someone else.

Sure, I have my opinions about what songs are the worst but I tend to keep those to myself when a song doesn't speak to me.

People listen to music I don't like because it moves them and speaks to them. Who am I to judge?

I know what I like and that's all I need.

That's the beauty of music.

ShazzieB

(18,847 posts)
117. I finally thought of one that nobody's mentioned yet!
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 06:52 PM
Tuesday

"Last Kiss" - originally recorded by Wayne Cochran in 1961 and covered by lots of other artists since, including Pearl Jam in 1999.

The tune of this song is so irresistibly catchy that I can't help wanting to sing along with it, but the lyrics are unbearably maudlin, to me at least:

Oh, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world

dawg

(10,769 posts)
119. I'd rather listen to "We Built This City" ten times in a row ...
Tue Dec 10, 2024, 08:23 PM
Tuesday

than listen to that damned "Christmas Shoes" once.

jmowreader

(51,557 posts)
124. Oh come on...Chris De Burgh's "Lady in Red"?
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 03:45 PM
9 hrs ago

The only way they could have possibly made that song any better is to send the studio's tape deck back to Switzerland for maintenance with a note in the crate: Keep this until he leaves.

Freddie

(9,725 posts)
134. So the burning question is...
Wed Dec 11, 2024, 04:51 PM
7 hrs ago

WHAT did Honey die of? She knew she had cancer but never saw a doctor and hid it from her husband? Always bothered me as a kid.

Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»Top Ten Worst Songs Made ...