Bad Lyrics- Page 8

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 12:04pm

I'm just gonna say it: Tim Rice hasn't put effort into a lyric since "A Whole New World".

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 12:33pm

joevitus said: "CATSNYrevival said: "Has everyone seen this video? Apparently "la, a note to follow so" is lyricism at its worst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8zD0qFvvMs"

I want to use this as a jumping off point for what I consider the most unfairlymaligned lyric in Broadway history: "A lark that is learning to pray." There's literally nothing wrong with this lyric. No, larks can't learn to pray, but brooks don't laugh or trip, and chimes can't sigh,either. No ones' bothered by those other lyrics. They are all examples ofpoetic imagery. Maria is a free spirit who loves nature butis trying to force herself to conform to the rigid life of a cloister, thus all the references in the song's lyricsare to nature, freedom and religion. She is the lark who is learning to pray. It's a perfectly fine lyric."

I agree with that.  

All personal opinion, and there's nothing scientific or anything that is any more valid in one opinion than anyone else's.   I find the lyrics in The Sound of Music to be fine.  Even "la, a note to follow so."  She's coming up with words to depict the notes, she gets to "la," and I always took it as she can't think of anything off the cuff, so shrugs, and simply says, "a note to follow so."

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 2:16pm

I don’t really have any specific examples from these shows, but the lyrics to Mean Girls and Beetlejuice are very lacking to my ears. They’re both clearly trying to be funny (and occasionally deep), but I just don’t find any wit in them, and compared to their original movies, they just don’t have the same bite. The latter definitely tries to have it, but it just comes across as vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity. Also, since I’m already being pretty critical about them, I really just don’t care for their music in general, especially the former.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 2:20pm

I actually love Mean Girls, but “I won’t twist in knots to join your game. I will say, "you make me mad." And if you treat me bad, I’ll say “you’re bad” is truly terrible and lazy lyric-writing.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 2:30pm

On the topic of Mean Girls:

So your best friend screwed you over
Acted nice but she not nice.

Maybe I’m hearing wrong, but there’s no reason for incorrect grammar there. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 6:02pm

NOWaWarning said: "If we’re talking bad lyrics, I think Mean Girls has too many clunkers to count. Which is puzzling to me because I actually think Nell Benjamin’s lyrics for Legally Blonde are great"

As someone who mentioned Mean Girls lyrics as being bad, I’ll say that I think a big difference in the quality of Benjamin’s lyrics between it and Legally Blonde is that while the shows do appear similar, they have fairly different styles. Legally Blonde is a show that runs on charm and not exactly wit. I’m not saying that as an insult and I think the show does have smart moments, but it doesn’t work because the writing is particularly smart, more so because it’s genuinely likable and empowering. That style works for Legally Blonde, but it doesn’t really work for Mean Girls. Some of the music seems like it’s trying to be like Legally Blonde, while some of it feels like it’s trying to be clever and edgier, which makes the sound of the show in terms of both lyrics and music feel inconsistent and messy.

To me, neither Mean Girls’ lyricist nor their composer felt like they were really a good fit. Which is a shame, because I feel like Mean Girls had legitimate potential to be a great show. Much like many others musicals nowadays I feel like they were just too quick to rush it out rather than spending their time to make a truly quality show.

To bring up another show, Addams Family has its share of clunky lyrics, but I think the big standout is the line:

“Waiting, fixating
Debating, lose weighting
Ice skating, lacating“

Although I’ll cut the song “Waiting” some slack, in that it’s one of the only numbers in the show that has a dark, macabre feel to it, a sound that should’ve been much more prominent in a show about a family of monsters (or whatever they’re supposed to be, no version of Addams Family is really clear about that).

Updated On: 7/11/20 at 06:02 PM

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/11/20 at 7:20pm

The really bad clunker in Mean Girls is in “Whose House is This?” when they try to rhyme marijuana with corner. Twice.

[dianamorales]

Posted: 7/12/20 at 6:35pm

I absolutely HATE

"Alexander Hamilton"

"Where's your family from?"

"Unimportant there's a million things I haven't done"

The biggest issue is is Lin's lack of pause after unimportant, but why does he say the rest of that line? It makes no sense.

 

[hork]

Posted: 7/12/20 at 8:02pm

I've always hated "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and the vermin of the world inhabit it." He's using "pit" as a simile for "hole" even though they're synonyms and "hole" is already a metaphor, and then rhymes it with "it" which is just clunky. Bad lyrics.

[Ahmy]

Posted: 7/12/20 at 8:24pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "The really bad clunker in Mean Girls is in “Whose House is This?” when they try to rhyme marijuana with corner. Twice."

What about them rhyming "power" and "Chihuahua"?

 

(I also find the "Regina George eats steak" line odd.)

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/13/20 at 1:32am

Ahmy said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "What about them rhyming "power" and "Chihuahua"?"

You can't convince me that Nell Benjamin didn't come up with that rhyme while writing Legally Blonde but couldn't find a place for it in "Serious".

[borlechristian]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:12am

"love the friend, not the he'll"

What???

Maybe I'm just dumb but I feel it doesn't make sense at all

[borlechristian]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:12am

"love the friend, not the he'll"

What???

Maybe I'm just dumb but I feel it doesn't make sense at all

[borlechristian]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:12am

"love the friend, not the he'll"

What???

Maybe I'm just dumb but I feel it doesn't make sense at all

[Dionysus3]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:40am

A heel is an antagonist or villain, so in the context of that song, I think that works.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 1:59pm

A really bad one is in “Please Don’t Touch Me” from Young Frankenstein where which had the following line (which I’m certain will be censored when I post this):

[Elizabeth]
But even in your wildest dreams
Don't dare to touch our tits
Don't dare to touch our tits

[Female Chorus]
Don't dare to touch our tits
Don't touch our tits
Don't touch our tits
Don't touch our

[Elizabeth]
Tits, tits, tits, tits
Tits, tits, tits, tits
Tits!
Our tits!

Mel Brooks is a comedy legend and I adore him, but this is the kind of writing you expect from an eight year old who just learned this word, not someone of his stature.

Updated On: 7/14/20 at 01:59 PM

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 4:12pm

That's hilarious because I think Young Frankenstein has some of Mel Brooks' best lyrics.

And then there's Please Don't Touch Me.

I fear there's going to be some reckoning of Mel Brooks' female characters in the future. Many of the ones he's written (especially in his musicals) only exist to have the male characters dream about shtupping them (I apologize to the Yiddish-speakers on this site for my vulgarity).

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 5:27pm

The really bad clunker in Mean Girls is in “Whose House is This?” when they try to rhyme marijuana with corner. Twice.

”I’ve got money and looks.

I am, like, drunk with power.

This whole school humps my leg

like a chihuahua.”

 

Aside from the fact that human beings don’t really speak or think like that, it’s a hugely labored slant rhyme in service of a very lame joke. I always cringe watching the poor Reginas trying to sell it. I could release a coffee table book annotating the Mean Girls lyrics and dissecting what makes them so bad.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 5:31pm

Oh, I was beat to the punch on the chihuahua line. Well good. I’m glad everyone agrees it’s awful. I have this theory that they just used Nell Benjamin’s first draft dummy lyrics because they were lazy and in a rush and knew the show would do well regardless of quality.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 5:56pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "That's hilarious because I thinkYoung Frankensteinhas some of Mel Brooks' best lyrics.

And then there's Please Don't Touch Me.

I fear there's going to be some reckoning of Mel Brooks' female characters in the future. Many of the ones he's written (especially in his musicals) only exist to have the male characters dream about shtupping them (I apologize to the Yiddish-speakers on this site for my vulgarity)."

To be fair though, while Mel Brooks has written stereotypical characters, they’ve always felt more like parodies of them rather than straight examples.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 6:12pm

Hot Pants said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "That's hilarious because I thinkYoung Frankensteinhas some of Mel Brooks' best lyrics.

And then there's Please Don't Touch Me.

I fear there's going to be some reckoning of Mel Brooks' female characters in the future. Many of the ones he's written (especially in his musicals) only exist to have the male characters dream about shtupping them (I apologize to the Yiddish-speakers on this site for my vulgarity)."

To be fair though, while Mel Brooks has written stereotypical characters, they’ve always felt more like parodies of them rather than straight examples."

You know that, and I know that, but I know better than to put much faith in the common sense of the public.