Unintentionally scary songs
Peter Boulding
Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
<http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html>
Examples:
* "Do you wanna be in my gang?" by Gary Glitter, probably a light-hearted
pop song at the time, but it takes on a whole new meaning these days.
* I always got freaked by the mouse living in a windmill in old Amsterdam.
It just seemed so completely way out and sad - this mouse living on his own
in a windmill so far away. Even though I'm not sure in retrospect that he
was on his own. Anyway I had this morbid fascination with it and kept crying
every time it was played.
* Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep was a real horror for me as a little girl. The
strangulated voice of the singer seemed false and not like a proper pop
star. The worst thing about the song though, was the jokey approach to the
fact that he/she had "Woke up this morning and my mother was gone, ooee
chirpy chirpy cheep cheep" Indeed!
* Forgot to mention the ultimate shocker - "Two Little Boys". Rolf Harris
scares the living bejesus out of small kids everywhere with his description
of death on the battlefield. The bit they used to play when the Mysterons
appeared in Captain Scarlet was also very creepy.
* Argh, speaking of theme tunes, the music for 'Happy Days' used to fill me
with existential despair.
* Shivers are still sent down my spine years later upon hearing the song 'A
Spoonful of Sugar' from Mary Poppins. Its horrible undertones and cynical
attempts to get people to 'be nice, in order to do something nasty'
frightened me then and still frightens me now. In fact looking up at the
previous posters' comments, songs from musicals seem to have a unique space
in peoples psyches. Perhaps its the inherent freakiness of people breaking
into song for no reason, followed quickly by the people around them joining
in and finally all dancing in time that does it for me? Or perhaps its the
fact it is all done with a strange air stewardess style false grin
permanently attached to their face? The eyes still give it away though ..
look at Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, he has the eyes of a hunted and
desperate man.
* Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
* Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" ("Hey little girl is your daddy
home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once described
it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy Bragg but he was
spot on this time.
Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
--
Regards
Peter Boulding
p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk (to e-mail, remove "UNSPAM")
Fractal music & images: http://www.pboulding.co.uk/
Ulo Melton
>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
><http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html>
>
>Examples:
[snip]
>* Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
>take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
>scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
I don't think that one qualifies as unintentionally scary, since it's
intended to be about a stalker.
>* Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" ("Hey little girl is your daddy
>home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once described
>it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy Bragg but he was
>spot on this time.
I'd love to know Billy Bragg's reasoning on this one, assuming he really
said it.
>Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
Well, sure. A song about gunships on drugs is bound to scare people.
>Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
"Turkey in the Straw" always made me afraid I'd suck up a turkey through
my drinking straw.
--
Ulo Melton
http://www.sewergator.com - Your Pipeline To Adventure
"Show me a man who is not afraid of being eaten by an alligator
in a sewer, and I'll show you a fool." -Roger Ebert
Lars Eighner
lovely and talented Ulo Melton broadcast on alt.fan.cecil-adams:
> Peter Boulding wrote:
>>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>
>><http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html>
>>
>>Examples:
> [snip]
>>* Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
>>take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
>>scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
> I don't think that one qualifies as unintentionally scary, since it's
> intended to be about a stalker.
>>* Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" ("Hey little girl is your daddy
>>home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once described
>>it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy Bragg but he was
>>spot on this time.
> I'd love to know Billy Bragg's reasoning on this one, assuming he really
> said it.
>>Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
> Well, sure. A song about gunships on drugs is bound to scare people.
>>Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
> "Turkey in the Straw" always made me afraid I'd suck up a turkey through
> my drinking straw.
I don't know about scary, but the Lemon Tree always creep me out. And
there was a Cream album that haunted me through most of the '70s one
evening.
--
Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> <http://myspace.com/larseighner>
I got bulk mail from Jesus. It was addressed to "RESIDENT."
Patrick M Geahan
> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
> publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
"My Life" by Billy Joel.
I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
Also, any song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I don't think
that the creators intended it to be the scariest movie ever.
--
-------Patrick M Geahan---...@thepatcave.org---ICQ:3784715------
"You know, this is how the sum total of human knowledge is increased.
Not with idle speculation and meaningless chatter, but with a
medium-sized hammer and some free time." - spa...@pffcu.com, a.f.c-a
Boron Elgar
Geahan<pmgeah...@thepatcave.org> wrote:
>Peter Boulding <p...@unspampboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>> publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>
>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
>very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
I always assumed that song was a "fuck off" for his first wife when he
started up with Christy Brinkley. Nasty lyrics.
Boron
Peter Boulding
wrote in <5dcth2t035tfngak5...@4ax.com>:
>>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>>
>>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
>>very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
>
>I always assumed that song was a "fuck off" for his first wife when he
>started up with Christy Brinkley. Nasty lyrics.
Hardly in the "Positively 4th Street League".
--
Regards
Peter 'was "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" *meant* to be sinister?' Boulding
Boron Elgar
<p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:06:39 -0400, Boron Elgar <boron...@hotmail.com>
>wrote in <5dcth2t035tfngak5...@4ax.com>:
>
>>>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>>>
>>>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
>>>very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
>>
>>I always assumed that song was a "fuck off" for his first wife when he
>>started up with Christy Brinkley. Nasty lyrics.
>
>Hardly in the "Positively 4th Street League".
Oh, I think Joel's are worse.
Dylan was not married to or had children with any of those suspected
as being targets of that song.
Boron
Joseph Michael Bay
>Peter Boulding <p...@unspampboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>> publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
>very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
What's so scary about someone moving to California to do comedy?
>Also, any song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I don't think
>that the creators intended it to be the scariest movie ever.
Oompa, loompa, doobity doo
I've got another message for you
Oompa, loompa, doobity deep
If you're bad you'll be killed in your sleep
What do you get from too much tee vee?
A brain tumor from the rays that you see
What does that candy bar do to you?
It's turning your insides in .. to ... goo
(NOW THERE IS NO HOPE FOR YOU)
Oompa, loompa, doopity die
Do what we tell you or your parents die
Oompa, loompa, doopity doane
Nobody loves you and you'll die a lone
--
It is dark here. You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Mark Steese
"My Life" was recorded in 1978; dunno when he started canoodling with
Christie Brinkley, but his first marriage lasted till 1983 -- he married
Brinkley in 1985. The first verse is about a guy who gets a call from an
old (male) friend who went to Los Angeles to become a stand-up comic;
the rest of the lyrics would seem to be the friend's dismissal of
everyone who tries to harsh his buzz, man. This could well be Joel's
thinly-disguised jab at his wife, but as putdowns go, it's no "You're So
Vain," let alone Peter's example of "Positively 4th Street." ("I'm
Looking Through You" is another favorite of mine -- hard to believe Paul
McCartney could ever be so mean.)
--
Mark Steese
==============================
where no agonizing reappraisal
jarred his concentration on the electric chair--
hanging like an oasis in his air
of lost connections. . . .
Boron Elgar
wrote:
>Boron Elgar <boron...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>news:5dcth2t035tfngak5...@4ax.com:
>
>> On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 12:51:51 -0500, Patrick M
>> Geahan<pmgeah...@thepatcave.org> wrote:
>>
>>>Peter Boulding <p...@unspampboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs
>>>> list for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>>
>>>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>>>
>>>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat
>>>and very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the
>>>lyrics.
>>
>> I always assumed that song was a "fuck off" for his first wife when he
>> started up with Christy Brinkley. Nasty lyrics.
>
>"My Life" was recorded in 1978; dunno when he started canoodling with
>Christie Brinkley, but his first marriage lasted till 1983 -- he married
>Brinkley in 1985. The first verse is about a guy who gets a call from an
>old (male) friend who went to Los Angeles to become a stand-up comic;
>the rest of the lyrics would seem to be the friend's dismissal of
>everyone who tries to harsh his buzz, man. This could well be Joel's
>thinly-disguised jab at his wife, but as putdowns go, it's no "You're So
>Vain," let alone Peter's example of "Positively 4th Street." ("I'm
>Looking Through You" is another favorite of mine -- hard to believe Paul
>McCartney could ever be so mean.)
It doesn't have to be mean just to the wife. That is not what I was
judging it upon. I think it shows Joel to be a dick - and describes
completely the personality of a guy a friend of mine went to school
with on Long Island...namely, Mr.Joel.
Boron
art...@yahoo.com
Patrick M Geahan wrote:
> Peter Boulding <p...@unspampboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
> > publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
> "My Life" by Billy Joel.
>
> I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat and
> very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the lyrics.
So is Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy, although that probably is
deliberate.
OTOH, when Robert Smith of the Cure sings "I will always love you" in
(Love Song?)
he makes it sound like a death sentence. I despise that song.
Pushmi-Pullyu
Lars Eighner wrote:
> I don't know about scary, but the Lemon Tree always creep me out. And
> there was a Cream album that haunted me through most of the '70s one
> evening.
>
> Lars Eighner
Lemon tree was one of the first songs that I ever heard. I was always a
bit puzzled by the part where they sing "but the fruit of the poor
lemon is impossible to eat," since I did eat them, sometimes with a
sprinkling of salt.
One song that really gave me the creeps was a folk song about a boy who
died in a fire.
"I'm seven now" was in the lyrics, with the implication that the singer
never made it to eight. I think it was because he was in a house that
burned down.
I first heard it when I was seven years old, and I remember feeling
relieved when my eighth birthday finally came, and the song could no
longer be about me.
(Five years later, the house I'd lived in at seven burned to the
ground...)
Anyone know what song that was?
P
Jerry Bauer
(in article <1159655287.3...@k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>):
>
> I first heard it when I was seven years old, and I remember feeling
> relieved when my eighth birthday finally came, and the song could no
> longer be about me.
>
You were so vain.
Ulo Melton
>One song that really gave me the creeps was a folk song about a boy who
>died in a fire.
>"I'm seven now" was in the lyrics, with the implication that the singer
>never made it to eight. I think it was because he was in a house that
>burned down.
>I first heard it when I was seven years old, and I remember feeling
>relieved when my eighth birthday finally came, and the song could no
>longer be about me.
>
>(Five years later, the house I'd lived in at seven burned to the
>ground...)
>
>Anyone know what song that was?
Possibly "I Come and Stand at Every Door."
<http://lyrics.duble.com/B/thebyrdslyrics/thebyrdsicomeandstandateverydoorlyrics.htm>
<q>
I come and stand at every door
But no one hears my silent prayer
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, for I am dead
I'm only seven although I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I'm seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow
My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind
I need no fruit I need no rice
I need no sweets nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead, for I am dead
All that I ask for is for peace
You fight today, you fight today
So that the children of this world
May live and grow and laugh and play
</q>
This seems to be another one that would fall under the category of
intentionally scary songs.
Lesmond
>
>
>
>Patrick M Geahan wrote:
>> Peter Boulding <p...@unspampboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> > Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>> > publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
Pop Goes the Weasel.
--
All we have is a soccer ball, a toilet and a sink.
Peter Ward
<p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>
>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
[snip]
>* Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
>take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
>scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
Which reminds me of "Run for Your Life", the Beatles' death threat
song. Also "It'll Be Me" (I'll be looking for you).
--
Peter
I'm an alien
email: groups at asylum dot nildram dot co dot uk
Dana Carpender
Kinks, The - Art Lover Lyrics
Sunday afternoon there's something special
It's just like another world.
Jogging in the park is my excuse
To look at all the little girls.
I'm not a flasher in a rain coat,
I'm not a dirty old man,
I'm not gonna snatch you from your mother,
I'm an art lover.
Come to daddy,
Ah, come to daddy,
Come to daddy.
Pretty little legs, I want to draw them,
Like a Degas ballerina.
Pure white skin, like porcelain,
She's a work of art and I should know
I'm an art lover.
Come to daddy,
And I'll give you some spangles.
Little girl don't notice me
Watching as she innocently plays.
She can't see me staring at her
Because I'm always wearing shades.
She feeds the ducks, looks at the flowers.
I follow her around for hours and hours.
I'd take her home, but that could never be,
She's just a substitute
For what's been taken from me.
Ah, come to daddy, come on.
Sunday afternoon can't last forever,
Wish I could take you home.
So, come on, give us a smile
Before you vanish out of view.
I've learned to appreciate you
The way art lovers do,
And I only want to look at you.
Yikes.
Dana
Dana Carpender
Peter Ward wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 16:15:41 +0100, Peter Boulding
> <p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
>
> [snip]
>
>
>>* Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
>>take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
>>scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
>
>
> Which reminds me of "Run for Your Life", the Beatles' death threat
> song. Also "It'll Be Me" (I'll be looking for you).
>
The Dwight Yoakum album "Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room" had
three-count-'em-three songs about killing women who cheated or left. I
love Dwight, but I found it, er, a tad chilling.
Dana
Veronique
It was the times, man. The dark underbelly of the yellow submarine and
all that. Reminds me of Bloodrock's 'DOA':
I try to move my arm and there's no feeling
I turn around to look, there's nothing there
I remember, we were flying low
Hit something in the air
V.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep
John Dean
> Peter Boulding wrote:
>
>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs
>> list for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>
>> <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html>
>>
>> Examples:
>
> [snip]
>
>> * Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every
>> breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why
>> people think that this scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is
>> beyond me.
>
> I don't think that one qualifies as unintentionally scary, since it's
> intended to be about a stalker.
Said to be about his first wife on the occasion of their breakup. Said to
bring in $2,000 a day in royalties. Still.
>
>> * Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" ("Hey little girl is your daddy
>> home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once
>> described it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy
>> Bragg but he was spot on this time.
>
> I'd love to know Billy Bragg's reasoning on this one, assuming he
> really said it.
"Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I'm on fire
...
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
...
Only you can cool my desire
I'm on fire
--
John Dean
Oxford
Rick B.
spooky, and just happens to have a little more resonance for me than it
really should. You can either indulge me, or go to the next post...
Anyway. In a southern New Jersey shore town that I have frequently visited
during most of my years there is a large, rambling building on the
beachfront. It's three or four stories tall, and it's probably 100 years
old, or close to it. It's owned by the Christian Brothers, who use it for
summer educational programs.
Now, I've never heard any local legends about this place...no stories about
it being haunted, or how someone died there of undetermined causes, nothing
like that. But somehow it's the kind of place that *should* have ghosts,
dammit. It's not used for any kind of public functions that I've ever heard
of, and it's empty most of the year, and it looms over a neighborhood of
one-or two-family vacation homes, and economically speaking it should have
been sold and torn down years ago because it sits on ground that's worth a
fortune, real estate bubble or no...just the kind of place that can make
your imagination run riot when something comes up on the classic rock
station...
"Creeping up the blind side, shinning up the wall
stealing thru the dark of night
Climbing thru a window, stepping to the floor
checking to the left and the right
Picking up the pieces, putting them away
something doesn't feel quite right
Help me someone, let me out of here
then out of the dark was suddenly heard
welcome to the Home by the Sea
Coming out the woodwork, thru the open door
pushing from above and below
shadows but no substance, in the shape of men
round and down and sideways they go
adrift without direction, eyes that hold despair
then as one they sign and they moan
Help us someone, let us out of here
living here so long undisturbed
dreaming of the time we were free
so many years ago
before the time when we first heard
welcome to the Home by the Sea
Sit down Sit down
as we relive our lives in what we tell you
Images of sorrow, pictures of delight
things that go to make up a life
endless days of summer longer nights of gloom
waiting for the morning light
scenes of unimportance, photos in a frame
things that go to make up a life
Help us someone, let us out of here
'cause living here so long undisturbed
dreaming of the time we were free
so many years ago
before the time when we first heard
welcome to the Home by the Sea
Sit down Sit down
as we relive our lives in what we tell you
let us relive our lives in what we tell you
Sit down Sit down
'cause you won't get away
no with us you will stay
for the rest of your days - Sit down
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
Let us relive our lives in what we tell you..."
--
Rick B. (Yeah, it's Genesis; standard Huey disclaimer applies)
Probably conflated in my mind with "Up in the Old Hotel" by Joseph Mitchell
Lesmond
>
>
>Actually, this one's about a song that's supposed to be a little bit
>spooky, and just happens to have a little more resonance for me than it
>really should. You can either indulge me, or go to the next post...
>
>Anyway. In a southern New Jersey shore town that I have frequently visited
>during most of my years there is a large, rambling building on the
>beachfront. It's three or four stories tall, and it's probably 100 years
>old, or close to it. It's owned by the Christian Brothers, who use it for
>summer educational programs.
>
>Now, I've never heard any local legends about this place...no stories about
>it being haunted, or how someone died there of undetermined causes, nothing
>like that.
Have you checked here:
Mark Steese
[snip]
>>>>"My Life" by Billy Joel.
>>>>
>>>>I think the scary part, for me, is the fact that it's happy, upbeat
>>>>and very easy to sing along with...until you actually listen to the
>>>>lyrics.
>>>
>>> I always assumed that song was a "fuck off" for his first wife when
>>> he started up with Christy Brinkley. Nasty lyrics.
>>
>>"My Life" was recorded in 1978; dunno when he started canoodling with
>>Christie Brinkley, but his first marriage lasted till 1983 -- he
>>married Brinkley in 1985. The first verse is about a guy who gets a
>>call from an old (male) friend who went to Los Angeles to become a
>>stand-up comic; the rest of the lyrics would seem to be the friend's
>>dismissal of everyone who tries to harsh his buzz, man. This could
>>well be Joel's thinly-disguised jab at his wife, but as putdowns go,
>>it's no "You're So Vain," let alone Peter's example of "Positively 4th
>>Street." ("I'm Looking Through You" is another favorite of mine --
>>hard to believe Paul McCartney could ever be so mean.)
>
> It doesn't have to be mean just to the wife. That is not what I was
> judging it upon. I think it shows Joel to be a dick - and describes
> completely the personality of a guy a friend of mine went to school
> with on Long Island...namely, Mr.Joel.
I didn't mean to imply that Billy Joel was anything other than a dick. I
was just pointing out his lyrical deficiencies vis-a-vis more talented
songwriters: it is possible to be a dick and still write a hell of a
good song, but Billy's only halfway there.
My favorite Billy Joel anecdote comes from a couple I knew on Long
Island who once attended a function at Billy's house; when it was time
to leave, a member of his entourage gave them a ride in one of Billy's
cars. In the tape deck of said car was a Billy Joel tape -- not
something from his home studio, but a commercially-released tape. The
entourage member confirmed that when Billy was out for a ride, all he
wanted to listen to was his own albums.
--
Mark Steese
=======================
The disturbed eyes rise,
furtive, foiled, dissatisfied
from meditation on the true
and insignificant.
Mark Steese
news:n11th2pdbc9io72ot...@4ax.com:
>
> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list
> for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
> <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocke
> r_w.html>
[snip]
> Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it was
horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but not so
little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years later than I
finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown up. (I also thought
the little boy's name was Jackie Pepper, but that's beside the point. What
kind of a surname is "Paper," anyway?)
> Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
Anything sung by Barney the Dinosaur qualifies.
Ulo Melton
>Ulo Melton wrote:
>> Peter Boulding wrote:
>>
>>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs
>>> list for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>>
>>> <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocker_w.html>
>>>
>>> Examples:
>>
>>> * Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" ("Hey little girl is your daddy
>>> home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once
>>> described it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy
>>> Bragg but he was spot on this time.
>>
>> I'd love to know Billy Bragg's reasoning on this one, assuming he
>> really said it.
>
>"Did he go away and leave you all alone
>I got a bad desire
>I'm on fire
>
>...
>
>At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
>...
>Only you can cool my desire
>I'm on fire
Even pulling lines out of context like that, it doesn't suggest rape.
It's just your basic "you're making me so fucking hot it's driving me
crazy, so how about cuckolding your old man with me" song.
And lyrics like
Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do
I can take you higher
I'm on fire
don't even remotely suggest rape, nor does the six-inch valley cut
through the middle of his soul with a knife edgy and dull, nor the
freight train running through the middle of his head.
But never mind, never mind. Ever since I learned that Melanie's "Brand
New Key" was interpreted by some as a deep feminist political statement,
I've accepted the fact that any song can by interpreted as anything by
anybody.
Boron Elgar
wrote:
>Boron Elgar <boron...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>news:cppth29b4hhks16gs...@4ax.com:
>
>>
>> It doesn't have to be mean just to the wife. That is not what I was
>> judging it upon. I think it shows Joel to be a dick - and describes
>> completely the personality of a guy a friend of mine went to school
>> with on Long Island...namely, Mr.Joel.
>I didn't mean to imply that Billy Joel was anything other than a dick. I
>was just pointing out his lyrical deficiencies vis-a-vis more talented
>songwriters: it is possible to be a dick and still write a hell of a
>good song, but Billy's only halfway there.
His being a dick is what made the lyrics - they were not just an
artistic decision as much as his personal philosophy brought to song.
This was not an intellectual exercise, but a fit of pique.
One can be a fabulous lyricist and write about nasty or evil or venal
things, but this was more a personal statement.
>
>My favorite Billy Joel anecdote comes from a couple I knew on Long
>Island who once attended a function at Billy's house; when it was time
>to leave, a member of his entourage gave them a ride in one of Billy's
>cars. In the tape deck of said car was a Billy Joel tape -- not
>something from his home studio, but a commercially-released tape. The
>entourage member confirmed that when Billy was out for a ride, all he
>wanted to listen to was his own albums.
His ego is well known in the area, as well as the biz. That in itself
is not unknown within the industry and not unique to him, though it
gives it a good run for the money. When leaving Brinkely, one of his
complaints was that she had lost her looks and was no longer
attractive.
Boron
Bill Turlock
Why "Yikes"? It's just sad. Are you reading something into it
that's not necessarily there? Have you ever had your children
forcibly wrenched from you? Can't you feel his pain? What if
there were no rhetorical questions?
Bill "Rorschach joke--'you're the one showing me all the dirty
pictures'... " Turlock
rob...@bestweb.net
in circles, and if you didn't stay away, she might run you over. The
refrain, "Hit, hit, hit the lady lady" only reinforced the notion.
Robert
Charles Wm. Dimmick
>>>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>>>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
[....]
> I don't know about scary, but the Lemon Tree always creep me out.
Not creepy, but "Shenandoah" always sends shivers down my spine.
And then there's The Minstrel Boy Has Gone to War
and the somewhat related version of "When Johnny Comes Marching
Home Again" called "Jonny I Hardly Knew Ya":
http://www.macleods.de/chronicles/Jonny.html
Charles
Boron Elgar
<cdim...@snet.net> wrote:
>Lars Eighner wrote:
>
>>>>Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
>>>>publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>[....]
>> I don't know about scary, but the Lemon Tree always creep me out.
>
>Not creepy, but "Shenandoah" always sends shivers down my spine.
It is a beautiful song to hear and to sing. I have enjoyed it since I
was a child.Now that The Princess has a choir of about 150 high
schoolers to conduct, I have been nudging her to get it onto a
program.
>And then there's The Minstrel Boy Has Gone to War
I do not know that one.
>
>and the somewhat related version of "When Johnny Comes Marching
>Home Again" called "Jonny I Hardly Knew Ya":
Ah...that one I used to see as part of a folk act I had in college. I
have performed that one at least 50 times.
>
>http://www.macleods.de/chronicles/Jonny.html
>
>Charles
Boron
Charles Wm. Dimmick
> On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 22:37:21 GMT, "Charles Wm. Dimmick"
> <cdim...@snet.net> wrote:
>>And then there's The Minstrel Boy Has Gone to War
>
>
> I do not know that one.
The Minstrel Boy Has Gone to War
And in Death's Ranks you will find him.
[sometimes sung as:
{In the Fields of Death you'll find him.}]
download music without the words at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mhancock
I can't seem to find more than the first two lines
on-line. Will keep looking.
Charles
Boron Elgar
<cdim...@snet.net> wrote:
Thanks, Charles.
I have never heard that tune at all. Quite lovely and filled with
melancholy. Of course, I can work up tears for Danny Boy.
There was a Shennadoah Falls on that page you linked.. That wasn't the
Shenandoah you mentioned earlier, was it? The Falls one is not at all
like the one I adore, and for which I cannot seem to find a decent
arrangement online right now.
Boron
Lisa Ann
news:GO_Tg.6672$TV3....@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
I learned it as
The minstrel boy to the war has gone
In the ranks of death you will find him
His father's sword he has girded on
And his wild harp slung behind him.
Land of song, cried the warrior bard
Though all the world betray thee -
One sword at least thy rights shall guard
One soldier's harp shall (?rhymes with 'sway') thee.
On the album I have, this immediately segues into "Rising of the Moon".
Lisa Ann
Mike Williams
THE MINSTREL BOY
(Thomas Moore (1779-1852))
Air "the Moreen" Ancient Irish Air
The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
(Should) "Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"
The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's steel
Could not bring that proud soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
They shall never sound in slavery!
--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure
Boron Elgar
Must be a Brian Boru harp.
Boron
mdginzo
Peter Boulding wrote:
> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list for
> publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>
>
> Examples:
>
> * "Do you wanna be in my gang?" by Gary Glitter, probably a light-hearted
> pop song at the time, but it takes on a whole new meaning these days.
>
> * I always got freaked by the mouse living in a windmill in old Amsterdam.
> It just seemed so completely way out and sad - this mouse living on his own
> in a windmill so far away. Even though I'm not sure in retrospect that he
> was on his own. Anyway I had this morbid fascination with it and kept crying
> every time it was played.
>
> * Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep was a real horror for me as a little girl. The
> strangulated voice of the singer seemed false and not like a proper pop
> star. The worst thing about the song though, was the jokey approach to the
> fact that he/she had "Woke up this morning and my mother was gone, ooee
> chirpy chirpy cheep cheep" Indeed!
>
> * Forgot to mention the ultimate shocker - "Two Little Boys". Rolf Harris
> scares the living bejesus out of small kids everywhere with his description
> of death on the battlefield. The bit they used to play when the Mysterons
> appeared in Captain Scarlet was also very creepy.
>
> * Argh, speaking of theme tunes, the music for 'Happy Days' used to fill me
> with existential despair.
>
> * Shivers are still sent down my spine years later upon hearing the song 'A
> Spoonful of Sugar' from Mary Poppins. Its horrible undertones and cynical
> attempts to get people to 'be nice, in order to do something nasty'
> frightened me then and still frightens me now. In fact looking up at the
> previous posters' comments, songs from musicals seem to have a unique space
> in peoples psyches. Perhaps its the inherent freakiness of people breaking
> into song for no reason, followed quickly by the people around them joining
> in and finally all dancing in time that does it for me? Or perhaps its the
> fact it is all done with a strange air stewardess style false grin
> permanently attached to their face? The eyes still give it away though ..
> look at Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, he has the eyes of a hunted and
> desperate man.
>
> * Every Breath You Take by The Police. It's just freaky. 'Every breath you
> take, every move you make, I'll be watching you.' Why people think that this
> scary-chop-you-up-stalker song is romantic is beyond me.
>
> home..."), totally gives me the creeps. I believe Billy Bragg once described
> it as The Rapist's Song. I don't often agree with Billy Bragg but he was
> spot on this time.
>
>
>
>
>
> Regards
> Peter Boulding
> p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk (to e-mail, remove "UNSPAM")
> Fractal music & images: http://www.pboulding.co.uk/
Artificial Flowers
Lots42
Peter Boulding wrote:
> Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
As a kid, I thought that if I was alone in a room when the 'Shaka Khan'
song came on, they'd chant the title -more- in an effort to somehow get
me.
Lots42
There's two other songs that creep me out.
One is about a guy chanting 'Hey baby, get out of my dreams and into my
car'.
Sad much? What if the 'baby' refuses?
And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom and
get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
implication is she is underage. This song was played on the Easy
Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
explode from being offended.
Lesmond
>
>
>Peter Boulding <p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk> wrote in
>news:n11th2pdbc9io72ot...@4ax.com:
>
>>
>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list
>> for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>
>> <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocke
>> r_w.html>
>
>[snip]
>> Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
>
>I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it was
>horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but not so
>little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years later than I
>finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown up.
I understood that, but the song still made me weep.
Pixel Dent
"Lots42" <lot...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Lots42 wrote:
> > Peter Boulding wrote:
> > > Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
> >
I always thought The Great Selkie was rather creepy, but then again I
didn't realize the whole "very first shot that ere he shoots will kill
both my young son and me" part was a metaphor until I was in my thirties.
Peter Ward
[creepy songs]
>And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom and
>get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
>implication is she is underage. This song was played on the Easy
>Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
>allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
>explode from being offended.
That sounds like it might be "Young Girl", which I think was by Gary
Puckett and the Union Gap. I heard it on the radio here only last
week after not having heard it for years, which you might find spooky
if you're that way inclined. Maybe if it had been today I heard it,
then. I don't find that one creepy, though.
Joseph Michael Bay
>[creepy songs]
I think it's a little, but only in the way it's meant to be.
Also, "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" by Spinal Tap, the
one that opens the film. --
It is dark here. You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Joseph Michael Bay
>There's two other songs that creep me out.
>One is about a guy chanting 'Hey baby, get out of my dreams and into my
>car'.
I think that's Billy Ocean's "Get Out of My Dreams (And Into My Car)".
>Sad much? What if the 'baby' refuses?
>And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom and
>get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
>implication is she is underage.
Could it be, "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett? "Young girl, get out of
my mind, My love for you is way out of line, Better run, girl, you're
much too young, girl". Theme song at my junior high prom.
Nah, we didn't have junior high.
>This song was played on the Easy
>Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
>allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
>explode from being offended.
Hmm, maybe we should open a fast food place where all the music
is really brutal heavy metal, the sort where the singer sounds
like Cookie Monster and says stuff like "DIEDIEDIEDIEIHATEYOUDIEDIE".
Charles Wm. Dimmick
No. I meant the well-known Shenandoah. When sung acapella in any
large enclosure [a cathedral would be best] it sends shivers down
my back. Beautiful, but haunting. As for Danny Boy, I can get to
the tear-jerking stage with that one also, especially when I sing
it around a campfire. Also good for that effect is "Were you there?"
[old negro spiritual]. And don't forget "I Wonder as I wander".
Charles
Charles Wm. Dimmick
>>The Minstrel Boy Has Gone to War
>>And in Death's Ranks you will find him.
>>
>>[sometimes sung as:
>>{In the Fields of Death you'll find him.}]
>>
>>download music without the words at:
>>http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mhancock
>>
>>I can't seem to find more than the first two lines
>>on-line. Will keep looking.
>>
>>Charles
>
>
> I learned it as
>
> The minstrel boy to the war has gone
> In the ranks of death you will find him
> His father's sword he has girded on
> And his wild harp slung behind him.
>
> Land of song, cried the warrior bard
> Though all the world betray thee -
> One sword at least thy rights shall guard
> One soldier's harp shall (?rhymes with 'sway') thee.
Thanks. That slight change allowed me to find it
on-line:
http://ingeb.org/songs/theminst.html
The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he hath girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him;
"Land of Song!" cried the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy right shall guard,
Boron Elgar
Those are all wonderful to sing and to listen to.
Boron
Bill Turlock
Yes
Bill Turlock
What's a meta for?
Mary
Charles Wm. Dimmick wrote:
>
> No. I meant the well-known Shenandoah. When sung acapella in any
> large enclosure [a cathedral would be best] it sends shivers down
> my back. Beautiful, but haunting. As for Danny Boy, I can get to
> the tear-jerking stage with that one also, especially when I sing
> it around a campfire. Also good for that effect is "Were you there?"
> [old negro spiritual]. And don't forget "I Wonder as I wander".
Charles, have you been to Luray Caverns in Virginia? They do a thing
there where they somehow tuned some of the stalactites and whatnot so
that they can play a tune, and it's "Shenandoah" they played when we
visited. It was eerie and very cool.
Of course, whatever they did to make it work was probably vandalism of
the worst sort on the cave itself, but it's already done. You might as
well go listen.
Mary
Mary
For scaring young Pixels.
Mary
Boron Elgar
They have concerts down there. It is the world's largest organ (!!).
http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/roadsideAttractions/lurayCavernsOrgan.php
You didn't see the CDs in the gift shop?
Boron
Bob Ward
Lots42 will be standing in line on opening day.
Dr H
On Sat, 30 Sep 2006, Dana Carpender expostulated:
}You want scary? Take a look at "Art Lover" by the Kinks:
}
}
}Kinks, The - Art Lover Lyrics
Hmm... In that vein we have "Aqualung," by Jethro Tull:
Sitting on a park bench
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
"Claire," by Gilbert O'Sullivan:
[...]
I don't know why you get to me
In a way I can't describe
Words mean so little
When you look up and smile.
I don't care what people say to me
You're more than a child oh Clair
Clair
Clair if ever a moment so rare
Was captured for all to compare
That moment is you
in all that you do
But why in spite of our age
Difference do I cry each time I leave you
I feel I could die
Nothing means more to me
Than hearing you say.
I'm going to marry you
Will you marry me Uncle Ray oh Clair
Clair
Claire I've told you before don't you dare
Get back into bed can't you see that is late
No you can't have a drink
Oh alright then but wait just a bit
While I in an effort to baby sit
Capture my breath what there is left of it
You can be murder at this hour of the day
But in the morning tonight will seem a life time away
Oh Clair
Or "Stray Cat Blues," by the Stones:
I hear the click-clack of your feet on the stairs
I know you're no scare-eyed honey.
There'll be a feast if you just come upstairs
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
I can see that you're fifteen years old
No I don't want your I.D.
And I can see that you're so far from home
But it's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
I bet, bet your mama don't know you scream like that
I bet your mother don't know you can spit like that.
[&etc.]
I don't know any of these are creepier than "Excitable Boy" by Zevon, but
then Zevon himself was kind of intentionally creepy.
Dr H
Bill Kinkaid
>
>One is about a guy chanting 'Hey baby, get out of my dreams and into my
>car'.
>
>Sad much? What if the 'baby' refuses?
>
"you stepped out of my dreams and into my car". It's not an
invitation, it's happened.
>And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom and
>get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
>implication is she is underage. This song was played on the Easy
>Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
>allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
>explode from being offended.
"Sweet and Innocent" by Donny Osmond? Well. any (male) Osmond is right
up there in the creepout category just by existing.
Or do you mean "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett?
Sheesh, these guys are trying to resist the jailbait, telling them to
leave them alone, not propositioning them. If you're creeped out songs
like that you need to get out more.
--
Bill in Vancouver
Dana Carpender
Bill Kinkaid wrote:
>
> "Sweet and Innocent" by Donny Osmond? Well. any (male) Osmond is right
> up there in the creepout category just by existing.
>
Well, except Donny himself was underage when he recorded that song, IIRC.
Dana
K_S_ONeill
Peter Boulding wrote:
<snip>
> Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
"Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank" may have been intentional, so it doesn't
count, but it's quite creepy in a cheerful sort of way.
B.Lanc
Peter Boulding wrote:
>
> Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
>
>
1) It's a Small World
2) Kum Ba Ya
3)This is the Song that Never Ends
Karen AKA Kajikit
wrote:
>Peter Boulding <p...@UNSPAMpboulding.co.uk> wrote in
>news:n11th2pdbc9io72ot...@4ax.com:
>
>>
>> Jarvis Cocker is compiling a top ten Unintentionally Scary Songs list
>> for publication by The Observer Music Monthly.
>>
>> <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2006/09/29/jarvis_cocke
>> r_w.html>
>
>[snip]
>> Puff The Magic Dragon looks, for some reason, to be in the lead.
>
>I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it was
>horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but not so
>little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years later than I
>finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown up. (I also thought
>the little boy's name was Jackie Pepper, but that's beside the point. What
>kind of a surname is "Paper," anyway?)
Puff the Magic Dragon still makes me want to cry because he grew up
and left his dreams behind him... the saddest thing is that there are
a lot of people who really do that - you don't have to live purely in
the 'real world' to be an adult. :(
Greg Johnson
wrote:
>On 2 Oct 2006 05:19:45 -0700, "Lots42" <lot...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>There's two other songs that creep me out.
>>
>>One is about a guy chanting 'Hey baby, get out of my dreams and into my
>>car'.
>>
>>Sad much? What if the 'baby' refuses?
>>
>If you mean "You're Sixteen", the song goes
>"you stepped out of my dreams and into my car". It's not an
>invitation, it's happened.
Nah, I know the song he mentioned and that wasn't it. This was a mid-80s
song, though I'm not sure who it was by.
--
Greg Johnson
Lisa Ann
"Lots42" <lot...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1159791585.4...@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
<snip>
> And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom and
> get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
> implication is she is underage. This song was played on the Easy
> Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
> allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
> explode from being offended.
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap "Young Girl"?
I can understand a sandwich shop not wanting people to explode. I'm sure
the board of health would frown on that.
Lisa Ann
philippa
"Greg Johnson" <greg...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7ql3i29e2u8k19lcg...@4ax.com...
Are you thinking of Billy Ocean?
Jerry Bauer
(in article <jKkUg.103$Y81...@newsfe03.lga>):
And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint.
Lots42
Bill Kinkaid wrote:
> Sheesh, these guys are trying to resist the jailbait, telling them to
> leave them alone, not propositioning them. If you're creeped out songs
> like that you need to get out more.
Maybe but I don't like 'I really need to stop ogling the high school
students' songs.
Dana Carpender
Lisa Ann wrote:
And of course, we had people detonating all over Chik-Fil-A from
watching Veggie Tales.
Dana
groo
> Hmm... In that vein we have "Aqualung," by Jethro Tull:
>
> Sitting on a park bench
> eyeing little girls with bad intent.
> Snot running down his nose
> greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
>
I don't think Aqualung comes even close to being _unintentionally_ scary.
Have you seen the cover art?
--
He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sunday.
Greg Johnson
wrote:
Yep, that's the one I was thinking of. What a bizarre video.
--
Greg Johnson
philippa
On of the comments fits nicely into AFCA:
"this is the stuff nightmares are made of. 5 types of cheese."
Joseph Michael Bay
> Hmm... In that vein we have "Aqualung," by Jethro Tull:
Intentionally creepy.
rob...@bestweb.net
> Hmm... In that vein we have "Aqualung," by Jethro Tull:
I took that one literally too. I didn't take that as someone's name,
but as an answer to a question, which I figured was there and I just
couldn't hear: "How do you stay underwater so long?" "Aqualung, my
friend."
Probably at one time I took "I've Been Working On The Railroad" to mean
someone was doing a non-railroad-related job while straddling the
tracks, probably getting hit by trains a lot.
OTOH, I took "I Touch Myself" semi-metaphorically. I figured the
person was touching hirself (on no particular part of the body) to get
assurance that s/he was still a material entity.
There's a religious song that makes an issue of God's name in the next
to last line, and then concludes, "He forgets not his own." I took
that to mean he remembers his own name.
Robert
Bill Kinkaid
wrote:
>
>"Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank" may have been intentional, so it doesn't
>count, but it's quite creepy in a cheerful sort of way.
The original version of that line is taken from "Farmer's Song" by
Murray McLauchlan. It's a straightforward song about a city guy who's
out in the country, meets a farmer and sympathises with the tractor
guy about all the rough things farmers go through.
"Straw hat and old dirty hanky
Moppin' a face like a shoe
Thanks for the meal, here's a song that is real
From a kid from the city to you"
--
Bill in Vancouver
groo
> I took that one literally too. I didn't take that as someone's name,
> but as an answer to a question, which I figured was there and I just
> couldn't hear: "How do you stay underwater so long?" "Aqualung, my
> friend."
>
"And you snatch your rattling last breaths, with deep-sea diver sounds."
--
"I'm declaring myself conductor of this meeting as I have the bribe
sheet." - Al, founding father of "Deadwood"
The AnsaMan
>
> They have concerts down there. It is the world's largest organ (!!).
I BET they would sing if someone used the
world's largest organ on them!
--
The AnsaMan
The third-rate mind is only happy when
it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate
mind is only happy when it is thinking
with the minority. The first-rate mind
is only happy when it is thinking. - A.A. Milne
The AnsaMan Wiki http://wiki.ansaman.com
Dr H
On Tue, 3 Oct 2006, groo expostulated:
}Dr H <hiaw...@efn.org> wrote:
}
}> Hmm... In that vein we have "Aqualung," by Jethro Tull:
}>
}> Sitting on a park bench
}> eyeing little girls with bad intent.
}> Snot running down his nose
}> greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
}>
}
}I don't think Aqualung comes even close to being _unintentionally_ scary.
}
}Have you seen the cover art?
You have a point...
Dr H
Jeannie
Lesmond wrote:
> >
> >I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it was
> >horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but not so
> >little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years later than I
> >finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown up.
>
Me too; I could hardly sing it for my daughter because of that. Kept
thinking about the poor abandoned dragon slipping back into his cave,
no doubt to die of loneliness. I had an LP when I was little that had
the most marvelous cover art of a big purple Puff with orange circles
on his spikes.
"Momma, Look Sharp" from the musical 1776 always gives me the shivers,
but then it's supposed to. In high school I remember running flat-out
from my history class to make it to the choir room for their last song
to see if it was "Momma," and one time they deliberately waited for me
to get there and gave me an exclusive performance. Bet they wondered
why I liked it so much if it made me cry every time.
Jeannie
Jeannie
> >>If you mean "You're Sixteen", the song goes
> >>"you stepped out of my dreams and into my car". It's not an
> >>invitation, it's happened.
> >
> > Nah, I know the song he mentioned and that wasn't it. This was a mid-80s
> > song, though I'm not sure who it was by.
>
> Are you thinking of Billy Ocean?
There's another one called "Vehicle" whose lyrics were creepy: "I'm
the friendly stranger in the black sedan / Won't you hop inside my
car?" Great marching-band song though.
Jeannie
Mary
Boron Elgar wrote:
> They have concerts down there. It is the world's largest organ (!!).
>
> http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/roadsideAttractions/lurayCavernsOrgan.php
>
> You didn't see the CDs in the gift shop?
I don't even remember the gift shop. This was in the spring of 1986.
It was my very first vacation with the boyfriend who became my husband.
I remember the caves quite well but the gift shop not at all.
It's amazing what you can forget in 20 years.
Mary
groo
>
> There's another one called "Vehicle" whose lyrics were creepy: "I'm
> the friendly stranger in the black sedan / Won't you hop inside my
> car?" Great marching-band song though.
>
"I got pictures, candy, I am a lovable man"
I don't think that one was inadvertant, either. At least, I hope not.
Lesmond
>
>
>
>Lesmond wrote:
>> >
>> >I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it was
>> >horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but not so
>> >little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years later than I
>> >finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown up.
>>
>> I understood that, but the song still made me weep.
>
>Me too; I could hardly sing it for my daughter because of that. Kept
>thinking about the poor abandoned dragon slipping back into his cave,
>no doubt to die of loneliness.
Oh, I'm so glad it's not just me.
I had an LP when I was little that had
>the most marvelous cover art of a big purple Puff with orange circles
>on his spikes.
I just had the single and my sister used to play it over and over just to
torture me.
>
>"Momma, Look Sharp" from the musical 1776 always gives me the shivers,
>but then it's supposed to. In high school I remember running flat-out
>from my history class to make it to the choir room for their last song
>to see if it was "Momma," and one time they deliberately waited for me
>to get there and gave me an exclusive performance. Bet they wondered
>why I liked it so much if it made me cry every time.
That's funny. I remember singing that in 7th grade chorus and it always made
me choke up.
So...how do you feel about The Velveteen Rabbit?
--
All we have is a soccer ball, a toilet and a sink.
Jeannie
Lesmond wrote:
> On 3 Oct 2006 13:38:40 -0700, Jeannie wrote:
> >
> >Me too; I could hardly sing it for my daughter because of that. Kept
> >thinking about the poor abandoned dragon slipping back into his cave,
> >no doubt to die of loneliness.
>
> Oh, I'm so glad it's not just me.
Well, being of Welsh descent, I have a soft spot for dragons.
> So...how do you feel about The Velveteen Rabbit?
Hmm, that one wasn't so bad, since I'm kind of ambivalent about
rabbits...but I had a terrible time with My Friend Flicka, and Where
the Red Fern Grows just did me in. But then, I'm the type to well up
at commercials, so there you are.
Did you ever see the video of "The Run for the Roses" that Dan
Fogelberg (I think) did? It's beautiful...gotta go check YouTube to
see if they have it.
Jeannie
Lesmond
>
>
>
>Lesmond wrote:
>> On 3 Oct 2006 13:38:40 -0700, Jeannie wrote:
>> >
>> >Me too; I could hardly sing it for my daughter because of that. Kept
>> >thinking about the poor abandoned dragon slipping back into his cave,
>> >no doubt to die of loneliness.
>>
>> Oh, I'm so glad it's not just me.
>
>Well, being of Welsh descent, I have a soft spot for dragons.
>
>> So...how do you feel about The Velveteen Rabbit?
>
>Hmm, that one wasn't so bad, since I'm kind of ambivalent about
>rabbits...but I had a terrible time with My Friend Flicka, and Where
>the Red Fern Grows
Gah. That one gets me. Along with The Giving Tree.
just did me in. But then, I'm the type to well up
>at commercials, so there you are.
>
>Did you ever see the video of "The Run for the Roses" that Dan
>Fogelberg (I think) did? It's beautiful...gotta go check YouTube to
>see if they have it.
No...post it here if you find it...or I can just go find it myself, I
suppose.
Ooh! How did you do with Horton Hears A Who?
Joseph Michael Bay
>There's a religious song that makes an issue of God's name in the next
>to last line, and then concludes, "He forgets not his own." I took
>that to mean he remembers his own name.
Hey, me too. I remember thinking "What's so impressive about that?
He's omniscient, so why should he forget His own name?"
Ah, found it:
We gather together to ask the lord's blessing
For turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce.
It was slightly distressing, but now we're convalescing,
So sing praises to his name and forget not to floss.
Our nearest and dearest we don't want confessing,
It's sort of depressing to have them so near.
Our feelings suppressing for lightly acquiescing,
And perfectly professing we're glad they were here.
We gathered together and got the lord's blessing
Of course we're just guessing 'cause how can you tell?
Our stomachs are bloating, our kidneys nearly floating,
Hellos are very nice, but goodbyes can be swell.
Jeannie
Lesmond wrote:
> On 3 Oct 2006 16:42:16 -0700, Jeannie wrote:
> >
> >Did you ever see the video of "The Run for the Roses" that Dan
> >Fogelberg (I think) did? It's beautiful...gotta go check YouTube to
> >see if they have it.
>
> No...post it here if you find it...or I can just go find it myself, I
> suppose.
I looked for the video to the original song but could not find it. I
think they play it before every Kentucky Derby, though, so next time I
will try to remember to tape it. (Yes, tape...we are still riding
dinosaurs here.)
The video that can be found is a series of still pictures (well done)
of Barbaro which are set to the song. Very nicely done, but not a
match for the original video with adorable colts scampering about.
> Ooh! How did you do with Horton Hears A Who?
Too young to be emotional about it...plus I don't really take cartoons
too seriously, except manga sometimes. The first movie I ever saw that
I recall being really emotional about was "The King and I," and I just
fell apart...I had no idea that was how it ended, and my poor mom was
frankly appalled at herself for letting me watch it.
Jeannie
Mark Steese
news:1159907920.3...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
> Lesmond wrote:
>> >
>> >I wasn't scared by "Puff" when I was a kid, but I always thought it
>> >was horribly sad, since I took the lyric "Dragons live forever, but
>> >not so little boys" to mean that the little boy died. It was years
>> >later than I finally figured out he was only supposed to have grown
>> >up.
>>
>> I understood that, but the song still made me weep.
>
> Me too; I could hardly sing it for my daughter because of that. Kept
> thinking about the poor abandoned dragon slipping back into his cave,
> no doubt to die of loneliness.
Except that it's much worse: he *can't* die of loneliness, or anything
else -- the lyrics have him living forever. He's the dragon version of
Tennyson's Tithonus, alone and consumed by cruel immortality.
As it happens, Leonard Lipton, who wrote the poem that Peter Yarrow
based the song on, says the original version ended with a verse about
Puff finding a new friend, but Yarrow decided not to use it, and now
neither of them can remember how it went.
--
Mark Steese
==============================
where no agonizing reappraisal
jarred his concentration on the electric chair--
hanging like an oasis in his air
of lost connections. . . .
Opus the Penguin
> No. I meant the well-known Shenandoah. When sung acapella in any
> large enclosure [a cathedral would be best] it sends shivers down
> my back. Beautiful, but haunting. As for Danny Boy, I can get to
> the tear-jerking stage with that one also, especially when I sing
> it around a campfire. Also good for that effect is "Were you there?"
> [old negro spiritual]. And don't forget "I Wonder as I wander".
That one just gets better as it goes along:
Now Christmas is ended and Jesus must flee
From Herod's cruel soldiers a-searchin' for he.
For to ransom poor sinners is his high destiny.
And the child in the manger must hang from the tree.
--
Opus the Penguin
The best darn penguin in all of Usenet
Dana Carpender
Jeannie wrote:
>
>
> Too young to be emotional about it...plus I don't really take cartoons
> too seriously, except manga sometimes. The first movie I ever saw that
> I recall being really emotional about was "The King and I," and I just
> fell apart...I had no idea that was how it ended, and my poor mom was
> frankly appalled at herself for letting me watch it.
>
The King died, his oldest child became a child king, determined to
continue to bring his kingdom into the modern world.
Dana
Mark Steese
news:geb2i2tppmrnf6o66...@4ax.com:
> On 2 Oct 2006 05:19:45 -0700, "Lots42" <lot...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [creepy songs]
>
>>And another is guy singing about how his girl better go home to mom
>>and get away from him, apparently he is a very bad influence and the
>>implication is she is underage. This song was played on the Easy
>>Listening station at Subway Sandwhiches all the time yet we weren't
>>allowed to listen to the Rock And Or Roll for fear the customers would
>>explode from being offended.
>
> That sounds like it might be "Young Girl", which I think was by Gary
> Puckett and the Union Gap. I heard it on the radio here only last
> week after not having heard it for years, which you might find spooky
> if you're that way inclined. Maybe if it had been today I heard it,
> then. I don't find that one creepy, though.
I don't find it creepy, but like all Gary Puckett songs, I find it
extremely irritating. A song I find both creepy and irritating is "Into
the Night," by Benny Mardones -- "Sheeee's just sixteen years old, Leave
her alone, they said..." Yeah, and they were right, Mardones! Don't make
them get an order of protection, you freak.
Opus the Penguin
Lesmond
>
>
>
>Lesmond wrote:
>> On 3 Oct 2006 16:42:16 -0700, Jeannie wrote:
>> >
>> >Did you ever see the video of "The Run for the Roses" that Dan
>> >Fogelberg (I think) did? It's beautiful...gotta go check YouTube to
>> >see if they have it.
>>
>> No...post it here if you find it...or I can just go find it myself, I
>> suppose.
>
>I looked for the video to the original song but could not find it. I
>think they play it before every Kentucky Derby, though, so next time I
>will try to remember to tape it. (Yes, tape...we are still riding
>dinosaurs here.)
Sounds like it must be a contemporary addition...Hasn't the Derby been going
on longer than Fogelberg has been alive?
>
>The video that can be found is a series of still pictures (well done)
>of Barbaro which are set to the song. Very nicely done, but not a
>match for the original video with adorable colts scampering about.
You need to speak to Veronique.
>
>> Ooh! How did you do with Horton Hears A Who?
>
>Too young to be emotional about it...plus I don't really take cartoons
>too seriously, except manga sometimes. The first movie I ever saw that
>I recall being really emotional about was "The King and I," and I just
>fell apart...I had no idea that was how it ended, and my poor mom was
>frankly appalled at herself for letting me watch it.
Huh. And I had no problem with that as a child. I was around 10 and just
adored it. I feel like I'm missing something.
Hmmm...Have you seen Ring of Bright Water?
(This is the clincher, folks.)
Dana Carpender
Lesmond wrote:
> Hmmm...Have you seen Ring of Bright Water?
>
> (This is the clincher, folks.)
>
>
Yes. In the theater. Just awful. What a horrible thing to do to
unsuspecting children, not to mention an unsuspecting tame otter.
And otters are arguably the cutest things on earth.
Dana
Boron Elgar
Except when a male bites off a female's nose. Then they need to be
made into a muff.
Boron
Dover Beach
news:1159924584.0...@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> The first movie I ever saw
> that I recall being really emotional about was "The King and I," and I
> just fell apart...I had no idea that was how it ended, and my poor mom
> was frankly appalled at herself for letting me watch it.
>
My mom had been anticipating the TV showing for days. She was all excited
about having me watch it. I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through and
she was incredibly grateful because she had forgotten the ending too.
--
Dover
Charles Wm. Dimmick
> Lesmond (les...@verizon.net) wrote:
>
>
>>So...how do you feel about The Velveteen Rabbit?
>
>
> http://tinyurl.com/zuk38
>
Veronique
Jeannie! Fancy meeting you here! Welcome to AFCA! "Where The Posters
Are Nicey-Nice!"
V.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep
Estron
>Anyone care to add to the Unintentionally Scary list?
Traditional Irish Ballad, "The Star of the County Down."
You can find the lyrics at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_County_Down .
Basically, the narrator passed a comely lass one day on the road, and she
smiled at him. From this encounter, and nothing more, he plans that she
will someday be sitting by his fireside as his wife.
Stalker song.
--
All opinions expressed herein are only that, and are my own.
Pax vobiscum.
est...@kc.rr.com
Kansas City, Missouri
Estron
>Which reminds me of "Run for Your Life", the Beatles' death threat
>song. Also "It'll Be Me" (I'll be looking for you).
"You've got nothin' to hide, ev'rybody knows it's true
Too bad little girl, it's all over for you."
Dana Carpender
Charles Wm. Dimmick wrote:
I wish that picture were big enough to see. I'm guessing it's funny.
Dana
Ulo Melton
Larger version:
<http://static.flickr.com/40/116018762_9ec11817f3_b.jpg>
--
Ulo Melton
http://www.sewergator.com - Your Pipeline To Adventure
"Show me a man who is not afraid of being eaten by an alligator
in a sewer, and I'll show you a fool." -Roger Ebert
Mark Steese
news:Xns9851CEBA55A9Bop...@127.0.0.1:
That reminds me of my startling discovery, as a teenager, that there
were additional verses to "We Three Kings" in which the kings went into
detail about what their gifts represented. Frankincense was okay, but
myrrh, well,
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
(As a nice note of irony, I got that version of the lyrics from the
website www.happychild.org.uk.)
Of course, now that I'm an adult, my favorite Christmas song is the
Coventry Carol:
Herod the King, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.
--
Mark Steese
=======================
The disturbed eyes rise,
furtive, foiled, dissatisfied
from meditation on the true
and insignificant.
Lesmond
>
>
>Lesmond (les...@verizon.net) wrote:
>
>> So...how do you feel about The Velveteen Rabbit?
>
>http://tinyurl.com/zuk38
It's still true.
Lesmond
>
>
>
>
>Lesmond wrote:
>
>> Hmmm...Have you seen Ring of Bright Water?
>>
>> (This is the clincher, folks.)
>>
>>
>
>Yes. In the theater. Just awful. What a horrible thing to do to
>unsuspecting children,
My mother was pretty freaked out, too. She had no idea what she was
inflicting upon us beforehand.
> not to mention an unsuspecting tame otter.
>
>And otters are arguably the cutest things on earth.
If I worked in a zoo, I'd want otter detail.