Lines That Make Songs Sound Dated.

"I'm so 2008
You so 2000 and late"

Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow

 

The female voice that says "cruisin' for a bruisin'" in Money from Darkside Of The Moon.

 

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Col. Jackson
Down the mighty Mississip'

 

What do you think is dated about that... The concern about reputation?

 

Attica State, Attica State...

 

"It's like 1993 and it's weird as hell to me..."

"Unemployment's rising fast/The Beatles new record's a gas..."

"How old do you think you're gonna be/In the year 2000."

 

"Wild Thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything groovy"
"I really think you're groovy
Let's go out to a movie
What do ya say now, Elenore can we?"
"Just kicking down the cobble stones, lookin' for fun and Feelin' Groovy"

 

No Reply:
"I tried to telephone
they said you were not home
that's a lie"
The days when you would call a young girl on a landline are long gone.

 

An obvious one: "What lies waiting down the line, at the end of 89?"

The song? "Happy New Year" by ABBA. Just imagine how easily that could have become an even bigger seasonal favourite. Just change a few words.

 

Songs that dated themselves within a year or less (lyrically at least):

Wilson Pickett's Mustang Sally - "I bought you a brand new Mustang, a 1965".
Asia's Heat Of The Moment - "And now you find yourself in '82, the disco hot-spots hold no charm for you."

 

I don't listen to much current music but 'texting' doesn't seem to have caught the imaginations of songwriters.

 

Maybe she forgot her cell phone on the table and her parents or roommates answered.

 

What is wrong with that

 

Nope, sorry. I have a teenage daughter (she's 17) and she does NOT forget her cell phone. That phone is never more than 6 inches away from her!

 

Could someone please define the concept of "dated"?

 

I tried to text your phone
it said you weren't online
that's a lie

 

Not the entire song, not while they're still teaching crap in high school.

 

You know I believe and how!

 

Bonzo goes to bitburg

 

Almost any car song from the surf'n'drag era is dated by references to carburetors, four-on-the-floor and/or other outmoded technology, not that this detracts from the music.

 

Magic Sam: I feel so gay...

 

"When up from the ground came a bubblin' crude."
If he'd had to deal with modern EPA regs Jed would never have had him a ceement pond.

 

Boz Scaggs' Loan Me A Dime...I need to call my old time used-to-be. Dated for this thread, although I love the song. Esp. Duane Allman's playing on it.

.

 

I haven't look all the way through this thread, but here's a dated lyric (the first two lines below) that quickly came to mind from John Stewart's hit "Gold" from 1979:

Well my buddy Jim Bass he's a-workin' pumpin gas
And he makes two fifty for an hour
He's got rhythm in his hands as he's tappin' on the cans
Sings rock and roll in the shower
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to my soul
There's people out there turnin' music into gold

 

Polythene Pam. "Keeps a ten bob note up his nose". It's been 50 pence coin since about 1971