In the 1980s, a lot of the hit songs were power ballads with deeply emotional lyrics. Or, they were big uptempo, anthemic tunes. But then there are some rock songs with lyrics that don’t make any sense, but we still love them, including these four tunes.
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“She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper
By the time Cyndi Lauper released “She Bop” in 1984, it was on the heels of two No.1 songs. “She Bop” comes after both “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time“. On her freshman She’s So Unusual record, Lauper wrote “She Bop” with Stephen Broughton Lunt, Gary Corbett, and Rick Chertoff.
“She Bop” says, “Do I wanna go out with a lion’s roar? / Yeah, I wanna go south and get me some more / Hey, they say that a stitch in time saves nine / They say I better stop or I’ll go blind / Oop, she bop, she bop / She bop, he bop, a we bop / I bop, you bop, a they bop / Be bop, be bop, a lu bop.”
Lauper later admits that “She Bop” was hard for anyone to understand.
“The Final Countdown” by Europe
Swedish rock band Europe has plenty of hit singles, including “The Final Countdown”. The group’s first No. 1 hit, the odd song is written by lead singer Joey Tempest.
The title track of Europe’s third studio album, “The Final Countdown” says, “We’re headin’ for Venus / And still we stand tall / ‘Cause maybe they’ve seen us / And welcome us all, yeah / With so many light years to go / And things to be found / I’m sure that we all miss her so / It’s the final countdown.”
Tempest drew inspiration from David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and “Starman” when writing “The Final Countdown”.
“I was fascinated with Bowie’s fascination with space and space travel,” Tempest tells Ultimate Classic Rock. “I got really into it myself. So when I was working on the lyrics for ‘The Final Countdown’, I played it probably a hundred times, singing until the right words came.”
“Sussudio” by Phil Collins
On his third solo album, No Jacket Required, Phil Collins includes “Sussudio”. Written by Collins, “Sussudio” is a made-up word, inspired by Collins playing around with a drum machine.
“Sussudio” says, “Now I know that I’m too young / My life has just begun / Sussusudio oh oh / Ooh give me a chance, give me a sign / I’ll show her anytime / Sussusudio oh oh.”
“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” by The Police
On the Police’s third studio album, Zenyatta Mondatta, is “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da“. Written by the group’s lead singer, Sting, the song is reportedly Sting’s attempt to prove that simple lyrics are the best and most impactful.
“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” says, “Poets, priests and politicians / Have words to thank for their positions / Words that scream for your submission / And no one’s jamming their transmission / ‘Cause when their eloquence escapes you / Their logic ties you up and rapes you / Do-do-do-do, do-da-da-da / Is all I want to say to you / Do-do-do-do, do-da-da-da / Their innocence will pull me through.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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