3 of the Most Unhinged Titles From 1970s Songs We Don’t Pay Enough Attention To

These 1970s song titles are outrageous. They don’t fit the mold of typical song titles, which are often simple and understandable without listening to the track. The three titles below, however, are far less expected and harder to pin down. Revisit these songs to remember or discover some of this era’s most adventurous tracks.

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“(Don’t Worry) If There’s Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go” — Curtis Mayfield

This is certainly a song title you’d remember. This song tackles weighty subjects like societal decay and the illusion of moral superiority. “Cat calling / Love balling, fussing and a-cussing / Top billing now is killing / For peace, no one is willing / Kind of make you get that feeling,” the lyrics read.

A song of this magnitude needed an attention-grabbing title. Mayfield dares to speak on racism and other divisions with zero punches pulled. That level of creative bravery is impossible to ignore, especially with a title like this.

“Stink-Foot” — Frank Zappa

When we think of oddball musicians, Frank Zappa is one of the first to come to mind. Several contenders could make this list, but let’s go with “Stink-Foot”. It’s a title you’d expect more from a kid’s parody song than from a respected art rocker. Nevertheless, Zappa sings this track with full earnestness.

“This has got to be the disease for you / Now scientists call this disease, Brohm-a-drosis / But us regular folks, who might wear tennis shoes / or an occasional python boot, / know this exquisite little inconvenience by the name of / stink-foot”, the lyrics read. This song is about Zappa getting a boot stuck on his foot and suffering the smelly consequences. Few rockers could pull something like this off. Zappa was just off-kilter enough to pull off a track like this.

“Old Siam, Sir” — Paul McCartney & Wings

Of those in The Beatles’ orbit, Paul McCartney was the one unafraid to get a little silly. This might not be the most outrageous song title in rock history, but it’s just unexpected enough to draw listeners in.

“In a village in Old Siam, sir / Lived a lady who lost her way / In an effort to find a man, sir / She found herself in the old UK,” the lyrics read. This is a storytelling effort from McCartney. He does those kinds of songs extremely well, as this off-kilter track proves.

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