3 Silly Lyrics That Are Smarter Than You Think

Conan O’ Brien has often spoken of the sweet spot between smart and stupid in comedy. In his final late-night show episode, he said, “I have devoted all of my adult life to pursuing this strange, phantom intersection between smart and stupid.” Songwriters occasionally arrive at the intersection between smart and stupid, too. And sometimes, artists use comedy and silly lyrics to both deflect and address painful memories or to explain everyday awkwardness, as heard in the tracks here, which are smarter than you might think.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer

Weezer built its stellar debut atop indie guitar riffs, slacker vibes, geek humor, and heavy metal guitar solos. Rivers Cuomo became as iconic as the songwriters he’d obsessively studied. And his songs became equally famous for witty lyrics and band in-jokes. But “Say It Ain’t So” describes Cuomo’s childhood experience of a family torn apart by alcoholism. Somebody’s Heine may have been crowding his icebox, but it painfully reminded Cuomo of when his father left home.

Somebody’s Heine
Is crowding my icebox
Somebody’s cold one
Is giving me chills
Guess I’ll just close my eyes.

“Can’t Stop” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Anthony Kiedis stuffs many thoughts into his lyrics, and this Red Hot Chili Peppers’ inspirational anthem shows there’s more to his writing than horny tube sock poetry. Kiedis mentions the environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill, who famously lived in a redwood tree for 738 days to save it from being cut down. He then references Charlie Parker by his nickname “Bird,” and the evolution of bebop. It’s about active participation in life, and Kiedis rips through his Funky Monk philosophy over John Frusciante’s banging riff.

Can’t stop the spirits when they need you
Mop tops are happy when they feed you
J. Butterfly is in the treetop
Birds that blow the meaning into bebop.

“Disco 2000” by Pulp

Jarvis Cocker’s writing is the perfect combination of high art meeting the street. In “Disco 2000”, Cocker sings about a girl he’s infatuated with, as are the other boys, as she becomes the first girl at school to “get breasts.” But Cocker and Deborah, with a name that “never suited ya,” remained friends. He later performed “Disco 2000” at her 50^th birthday party. Meanwhile, the Deborah in the song is Deborah Bone, who was awarded an MBE for her work in children’s mental health. She died of bone marrow cancer in 2014 at age 51. Pulp’s hit details the messiness of balancing friendships, infatuation, and the emotional and physical riddles teenagers grapple with.

Oh, we were born within an hour of each other
Our mothers said we could be sister and brother
Your name is Deborah, Deborah
It never suited ya.
And they said that when we grew up
We’d get married and never split up
Oh, we never did it
Although I often thought of it.

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