Songs That Use Poor Grammar to Create Rhymes

He drops the 'r' sound out of governor (guv-uh-nuh). But the big problem with that line is that it is factually impossible; judges sentence criminals, not governors. So it irks on 2 levels.

 

I doubt someone could actually sleep at the bottom of Tenkiller Lake either.

 

Don't you mean e. e. cummings?

 

Pronunciation is not grammar. Grammar means the mechanics and structure of how words are put together into phrases and sentences. Examples would be things like subject and predicate and object, dependent and independent clauses, prepositional phrases, subject-verb agreement, etc.
(If I dare to post another response regarding dropped rhotics, that is...)

 

"Lighten Up Morrissey" - Sparks

She won't go out with me, no, she won't go out
'Cause my intellect's paper thin
She won't go out with me, no, she won't go out
Since my intellect's not like him

 

The Doors' Light My Fire: "If I was to say to you...."

 

That's just bad grammar. Not even for the sake of a rhyme.

I dislike... "You know they are a liar" even more.

 

You're right---by the time I got to this end of the thread, I'd forgotten what the original question was!

 

Was listening to some Who yesterday and it actually brought this old thread to mind.

A perfect example of poor grammar used to create a rhyme.

The Who - "Relay"

"Someone disapproves of what you say and do,
I was asked to see what I could really learn you,
Don't believe your eyes, they're telling only lies,
What is done in the first place don't concern you."

Of course it should be "teach", but Pete uses "learn" to rhyme with "concern".

 

Even worse, the lyric states that her legend burned out, which negates the whole point of the song. What they meant to say was "Your candle burned out long ago, your legend never did". Bernie, I'll give you my address for the check...

 

Which is why I just listen to it as, "Your candle burned out long ago. Your legend never did".

 

Great minds. Well, minds, anyway.

 

Wow...you fixed it perfectly, nice work.

 

Sam Cooke's "Cupid" also uses this same "until eternity" nonsense. Ughhh!!

 

It should definitely NOT be "Joy to you and I." Would you say "That brings a lot of joy to I?" Of course not. "You and me" is correct when the personal pronouns are the predicate of a sentence.

 

On the musically brilliant The Beach Boys Love You album, Brian Wilson uses "You and I" in 2 different songs when it should be "You and me" ("I think about you and I" and "I Remember you and I") simply for the sake of the rhyme. Changing the rhyme would have been better. Another song on the album even uses the always inexcusable "HER and I." These are examples of why Brian usually worked with other lyricists.

 

"In France" Zappa/Johnny Guitar Watson...

The girls is all salty
The boys is all sweet
The food ain't too shabby
And they piss in the street

 

"Who is who?,
and what is what?,
and, why is this,
appropiuut?"
----Frank Zappa, "You Are What You Is".

 

Many times I hear something and think, "That's not right"; however, if they sang it grammatically, it wouldn't somehow be rock 'n' roll. Who are we to correct Bon Scott's or Mick Jagger's grammar?

'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain...

 

Welp, I's already done been skooled here so you's late to da partay : Songs That Use Poor Grammar to Create Rhymes

 

Nigel Blackwell is such a stickler that he’s built lyrics around the pronunciation of ‘lackadaisical’ and the spelling of ‘weird’. Even so, the HMHB song, ‘Breaking News’ refers to ‘Operation less pricks’. I suspect it’s more of a solecism than an attempt to improve the scansion, but it’s disappointing nonetheless. He also puts the stress on the wrong syllable when he says ‘controversy’ in ‘The Referee’s Alphabet’. Wonderful song, tho but.

 

Then there's the Sinatra song From Here To Eternity.
I think it means til the end of the world when eternity starts rather than now being part of eternity.