Block Your Ears

I have heard some really bad song lyrics lately. I often have the radio playing idly while I work, barely taking in the contents spilling out of the speakers. But after paying a bit more attention to the radio waves flowing subconsciously into my brain, I suddenly became aware that many of the song lyrics were often utterly meaningless. This has never really mattered to me in the past as the primary appeal of a song for me was for some time the sound and feel, superficial as that might sound. But as I’ve got older, my inner critic has come to raise its ugly head to point fingers at nasty song lyrics. Lets take a look at Usher’s “Make Love In This Club”. I was driving when I first heard this song, and by the time it was over my head was permeated with all sorts of unmentionable thoughts, as I thought, “This is the most unromantic, most sexually charged song I have heard in a very long time”. I thought I would pick out a few lines that I thought were a bit problematic: “Well come here baby and let daddy show you what it feel like”. Apart from the appalling grammar, those people who are not familiar with the lingo might regard as a bit incestuous. “I'll bag ya like some grocery's”. This particular line is precisely what I was referring to when I described this song as ‘unromantic’, and I think I would be more likely to slap Usher if he said that to me. “On the couch, on the table, on the bar, on the floor”. This would be the most extreme and obscene case of public displays of affection. “You can meet me in the bathroom, ya you know I’m trained to go.” I cannot imagine anything worse. For those people who feel these lyrics are quite meaningful, I apologise, but personally, I wouldn’t miss this song if it suddenly disappeared.