Bad Lyrics — Page 8

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."

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

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.

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.)

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

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.

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.