Hard mode: pre-Teargarden


"Let your body sing" - The Shining Path

Saw the thread title and immediately heard "hear the prairie sound/in a friend called Neil" from Soot and Stars

I'm not sure why that line rankles so much -- and I love the song -- but man oh man do I wince at "a friend called Neil"

Maybe he could've gone with "in my buddddddddddy Neil"

Tarantula's chorus always makes me cringe like no other. Jesus christ, what an uninspired piece of shit.

Pretty much the entirety of the lyrics to Widow Make My Mind, particularly the "Ohs"

we are starz, we we we we we w ew e we wew ew e we wewe

this whole song...
"well who needs this anymore?
c'mon make it so
that when they build their cross of death
you won't build your own

it's time to wake up!
it's time to wake up for good
i can't help you though i should.....
blah blah blah, god and country."
trite shite

Zwan "settle down":
"whatever i can do, i will
'cause i'm good like that"

Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are
Because you are

What if the sun refused to shine?
What if the clouds refused to rain?
What if the wind refused to blow?
What if the seas refused to wave?
What if the world refused to turn?
What if the stars would hesitate?

the last two aren't as bad as the first four.

looking at the Zwan lyrics they are surprisingly not embarrassing. I think Billy was thinking less then and still writing from genuine emotion and intention.

I might be on my own here but I always felt the lyric "and nobody nowhere understands anything about me..." sounded a bit like self-pity or a parody of his lyric-writing.

WHERE IS YOUR POSITIVITY GUYS

I change my nomination to, "and in the eyes of a jackal I say KA-BOOM!"

idk about "worst" but the opening verses to pissant make me laugh

got me a raygun
got me an altitude
can't help feelin' something's wrong
with every one of you


talk revolution
as if it matters now
i don't care anyway
just give me what i want

bye june
i'm going to the moon

bye june
i'm going to the moon

don't wait up

I hope that didn't look like I'm dissing 'Soma'

please don't stop
it's lonely at the top
these lonely days
will they ever stop
this doomsday clock
ticking in my heart

I might be on my own here but I always felt the lyric "and nobody nowhere understands anything about me..." sounded a bit like self-pity or a parody of his lyric-writing.

yeah but when i was 12 i totally got it, man

idk about "worst" but the opening verses to pissant make me laugh

got me a raygun
got me an altitude
can't help feelin' something's wrong
with every one of you


talk revolution
as if it matters now
i don't care anyway
just give me what i want

yeah they are supposed to be silly though

I like all the lyrics from the 1988-2000 period and his solo album so I don't consider any of them the worst. Zeitgeist and Teargarden seem pretty bad.

Poooorcelina, of the oceans blue

Great fucking song but god damn that chorus

"I just want to beeeeeeeeeee mEee!"

mayo is a lovely song but lord almighty xxtreme cringe to tha maxx

ah hell, that's like, the climax of the whole album yo
that's a great lyric and makes the song way better. eh. whatever

yeah they are supposed to be silly though

oh i know - it depends on how you want to define "worst" i guess

Living makes me sick
So sick that I wish I'd die

If I were dead
Would my records sell?


Let all the boys kiss the girls at last


Everyone gather warm your soul

We are stars. We are!

this is a song..
this is a song..

..or..

listen..
listen..
this is..

*skip*

CHICKEN IN MY HEART!
actually, those are great lyrics. ahahaha. chicken in my heart. it works on so many levels.

"I just want to beeeeeeeeeee mEee!"

mayo is a lovely song but lord almighty xxtreme cringe to tha maxx

Uh NO. That's pretty much the best musical climax of any song ever. Mayo is BC's best set of lyrics hands down.

Anything off Gish

come on and feelalo

french movie theme

Saw the thread title and immediately heard "hear the prairie sound/in a friend called Neil" from Soot and Stars

I'm not sure why that line rankles so much -- and I love the song -- but man oh man do I wince at "a friend called Neil"



thought exactly this when i saw the thread title

Heah cums da mornin' man!

Some of you are posting lines that are, goofy or not, pinnacles of the entire Pumpkins catalog

You know who you are and you need to leave now and never come back

LEAVE NOW AND NEVER COME BACK

"So suck me through your saliva screws"
"we share the sea monkey disease"

My Mistake

Since there is not a thread for embarrassing album covers, I'd like to argue that The Future Embrace cover is far more embarrassing than any lyric Corgan has spun.

It's almost certainly the most camp.

Scratched my face with advil hands

And quell my tongue around a bumblebee mouth

^ not sure if you're taking the piss or not..

"scratch my face with anvil hands,
and coil my tongue around a bumblebee mouth"

still not a great set of lines.

Scratched my face with advil hands

And quell my tongue around a bumblebee mouth

those aren't the lyrics. pretty sure corgan didn't rep advil

fuckin lol

"golden era" he says

jimmywink.gif

Read in your owned light
Weep in our light
I missed me

Lover lover let's prevent
We were born as Alaskans

we all want to hold in the everlasting gays

sodomy is such a part of you
Ooooohhh it burns

Since there is not a thread for embarrassing album covers, I'd like to argue that The Future Embrace cover is far more embarrassing than any lyric Corgan has spun.

Zeitgeist would like to have a word with you.

the jackals lick their balls

What if the sun refused to shine?
What if the clouds refused to rain?
What if the wind refused to blow?
What if the seas refused to wave?
What if the world refused to turn?
What if the stars would hesitate?

These lyrics have always rubbed me the wrong way.

Wasn't that song only on Adore because D'arcy campaigned for its inclusion?

I wonder how many adore songs were written while billy was ripped off his face on E.

It is you that I adore
You will always be my whore


just awful. his worst by a longshot. made so much worse by the fact that ava adore is a pretty OK song and he still plays it at almost every show. fuck

He definitely wrote Ava Adore thinking he had the Midas touch. Coming off a world tour as the biggest band in the world will do that.

The solo is pretty cool though

"butter my toast"

The solo is pretty cool though

it fits the song pretty well

I'm ready is sickeningly cringe-worthy. It gets a skip every time I put on TFE, which doesn't happen much.

I'm ready is sickeningly cringe-worthy. It gets a skip every time I put on TFE, which doesn't happen much.
The CameraEye is good

Honey choose my wet dream

"I am special K"

"I am special K"

you are what you eat

"I just want to beeeeeeeeeee mEee!"

mayo is a lovely song but lord almighty xxtreme cringe to tha maxx


fool enough to almost be it
and cool enough to not quite see it

Uh...wut?

fool enough to almost be it
and cool enough to not quite see it

Uh...wut?

... Doomed.

Can you not understand that lyric?

God right on!
Krishna right on!
Mark right on!
Yod he vau he om
Let's ride on!
Right on!
Let's ride on!

*desperately presses the skip button on his MP3 player*

Shitting on any of the lyrics to Mayonaise is sacrilege.

If you have a problem with any of that, then just get the hell outta here.

God right on!
Krishna right on!
Mark right on!
Yod he vau he om
Let's ride on!
Right on!
Let's ride on!

*desperately presses the skip button on his MP3 player*

Thank you.
This song is HORRIBLE and incredibly, it's an album opener :dammit: The "Yes I"s make me laugh every time, I picture a Corgan becoming a rasta in my head.

I cringed when I heard "I of the Mourning" for the first time.

Radio
Play my favorite song
Radio, Radio
Radio, I'm alone
Radio, radio
Please don't go
Radio

(...)

Radio, radio, radio
Radio, radio, radio
Radio, radio, radio
Radio, radio, radio

Yeah that song and A+O's opening lyrics made me skip the songs for the longest times.

I of the Mourning is my favorite melody to worst lyrics ratio of all pumpkins songs.

I like the hooks and the build ups, peaks and valleys, but the lyrics don't do much for me.

Yeah that song and A+O's opening lyrics made me skip the songs for the longest times.

It took me forever to listen to R+S properly because of the immediate vocal thing at the start

I of the Mourning is my favorite melody to worst lyrics ratio of all pumpkins songs.

I like the hooks and the build ups, peaks and valleys, but the lyrics don't do much for me.

I wouldn't have put it better myself! :2thumbsup

I love it musically, and I understand the "alone, listening to the radio" feel, but not what Billy did with it. He went from very wordy to...this song.:eek:

I love I of the mourning, it's one of the few songs on machina that all the repetitiveness didn't ruin the song.

By the way, I hate how most of machina lyrics sound like cheap self-help literature.

I of the Mourning is my favorite melody to worst lyrics ratio of all pumpkins songs.

I like the hooks and the build ups, peaks and valleys, but the lyrics don't do much for me.

plus he mentions caller ID. no thanks!

not a fan of bill's nods to communication technology

Definitely the "Another baby tweezed" lyric in Pox. Thanks preacher-man. :noway:

plus he mentions caller ID. no thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2nc-2llevo&t=2m3s

It's:

"I may seem unafraid
And I may seem unashamed
But I will be Special K"

http://www.specialk.com/content/dam/workarea/assetpushqueue/images/web-raw-approved/eng%20US/81/68/prod_img-198168.jpg

billy was never a great lyricist. of course, there are some lyrically great songs in his works, especially on adore, but I think a lot of his songs have very mediocre and lyrics.. especially from 1992-1996. I think everybody acknowledges that.. often times he just uses very cheap and overused rhymes that anyone could write if they worked hard. it often really brings down the songs, because most of the time, (especially during that 1992-1996 era) the songs were instrumentally amazing..

also, while we're at it, I love i of the mourning, but the chorus is just so repetitive that I often wonder what was going on in his head while he was writing it

how often do you wonder about that

I think everybody acknowledges that..

I think you're wrong. I think Everybody disagrees.

sometimes i feel like I'm on the o-board and everybody blindly worships billy and whatever he's put out

you can't disagree with the fact that every album billy's ever written has some songs with brilliant lyrics and also some songs with awful, or at least completely uninspired lyrics..

go back to 1993, when that critic from the sun times wrote how siamese dream is full of sophmoric lyrics or whatever.. of course he wasn't right to label the whole album as shitty, but on the other hand, siamese dream does have some very uninspired, boring lyrics that don't quite match the level of the music.

A big part of SD is inspired by Billy's childhood / early teen life. Isn't it natural to be a bit juvenile? Yes! Does it mean it is bad? I don't think so.

billy was never a great lyricist. of course, there are some lyrically great songs in his works, especially on adore, but I think a lot of his songs have very mediocre and lyrics.. especially from 1992-1996. I think everybody acknowledges that.. often times he just uses very cheap and overused rhymes that anyone could write if they worked hard. it often really brings down the songs, because most of the time, (especially during that 1992-1996 era) the songs were instrumentally amazing..

also, while we're at it, I love i of the mourning, but the chorus is just so repetitive that I often wonder what was going on in his head while he was writing it

I do not acknowledge that.

sometimes i feel like I'm on the o-board and everybody blindly worships billy and whatever he's put out

you can't disagree with the fact that every album billy's ever written has some songs with brilliant lyrics and also some songs with awful, or at least completely uninspired lyrics..

go back to 1993, when that critic from the sun times wrote how siamese dream is full of sophmoric lyrics or whatever.. of course he wasn't right to label the whole album as shitty, but on the other hand, siamese dream does have some very uninspired, boring lyrics that don't quite match the level of the music.

No, just no. Billy's shitty lyrics started with Shitgeist and so on. His lyrics from 88-00 are so honest and unique, moving and powerful. Nobody writes like him. I guess lyrics that some people view as "strange" or "embarrassing" just don't bother me.

... Doomed.

Can you not understand that lyric?





Nope. It's pretty cryptic. What is the "it" he's referring to? It's all about context.

Is english your first language?

some of you really do sound like you never listened to anything but the smashing pumpkins in your life. get a grip.. yes, a lot of his lyrics are great, but he just uses cheap rhymes and overused lines too much.. and I'm talking about his work before 2000. adore was definitely his peak as a lyricist..
A big part of SD is inspired by Billy's childhood / early teen life. Isn't it natural to be a bit juvenile? Yes! Does it mean it is bad? I don't think so.it doesn't mean that it's brilliant either. I was just saying that in some songs, the lyrics don't quite match the level of the music.

Nope. It's pretty cryptic. What is the "it" he's referring to? It's all about context.

"It" refers to being doomed. He's foolish enough to "almost be" doomed, but "cool enough" to not see it (the fact that he's doomed). Does that help?

Funny enough, I always thought it would refers to being fool / cool. Something like this:


Fool enough to almost, actually, be a fool.
Cool enough to not even realize I am cool.
- Doomed!

june?

God right on!
Krishna right on!
Mark right on!
Yod he vau he om
Let's ride on!
Right on!
Let's ride on!

*desperately presses the skip button on his MP3 player*

I complete agree with this...just sets such a bad tone for the rest of the album...

...I will also add these:

"Let me be something good
Let me prove something real like I should
Let me embrace every single living thing
Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood"
-United States (just terrible).

Funny enough, I always thought it would refers to being fool / cool. Something like this:


Fool enough to almost, actually, be a fool.
Cool enough to not even realize I am cool.
- Doomed!

Exactly, 'it' is popularity.

Probably his most arrogant lyric:

If there is a God
I know she's watching me
She says she likes what she sees...

I complete agree with this...just sets such a bad tone for the rest of the album...

...I will also add these:

"Let me be something good
Let me prove something real like I should
Let me embrace every single living thing
Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood"
-United States (just terrible).

I like the line "Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood."

Too bad it was ruined in production but I def don't think that stanza is anywhere near the worst he's ever written.

Probably his most arrogant lyric:

If there is a God
I know she's watching me
She says she likes what she sees...

The 'she' part is really annoying. Like he's trying to be all progressive or some shit

i totally thought that the first time i heard it

not that long before that there was that song with 'tell me all your thoughts on god, cause i'd really like to meet her' or whatever. counting blue cars?

^Dishwalla, 5 years earlier.

The 'she' part is really annoying. Like he's trying to be all progressive or some shit

I like it. I really like the piano version over the band version.

The 'she' part is really annoying. Like he's trying to be all progressive or some shit

He is just trying to say God could be a He, a She, a It or whatever you want/believe.

I like the line "Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood."

Too bad it was ruined in production but I def don't think that stanza is anywhere near the worst he's ever written.

I still remember hearing the United States from their first show back in 2007 and thinking that the new album was going to be so fucking cool and heavy, and then the album version sounded like it had a pillow over the speakers and Billy substituted his screaming with echoing and oooo-wee-oohs

"Let me be something good
Let me prove something real like I should
Let me embrace every single living thing
Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood"
-United States (just terrible).

I like that part, especially the scream that echoes on.

Tonight, it's all right

Whir yourself around, just to fall back down

Desolation yes.
Hesitation no.
As you might have guessed all is never shown.

She shimmy shakes
The Jimmy Jakes of consequence

:think:

She shimmy shakes
The Jimmy Jakes of consequence

:think:

one of the first SP songs I read the lyrics to while I listened. it was a definite head scratcher.

Also I'm shocked that no one has brought up the Everlasting Gaze acapella rant.

I like that part, especially the scream that echoes on.

So do I, it's quite stoner rock sounding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4cM2Iia_44&t=3m34s = :rofl:

"It" refers to being doomed. He's foolish enough to "almost be" doomed, but "cool enough" to not see it (the fact that he's doomed). Does that help?


Yeah. I guess I never really heard the doomed part.

And she counted the spiders
as they crawled up inside her

ew, Billy.

^ wasn't there some sort of heroin reference in that?

there are several references to cooking, for what that's worth

And she counted the spiders
as they crawled up inside her

ew, Billy.

I dunno, I've always thought that's some of his best imagery.

"we share the same monkey disease" however...

...I will also add these:

"Let me be something good
Let me prove something real like I should
Let me embrace every single living thing
Let me be every single moment I ever misunderstood"
-United States (just terrible).

That's one of the few good moments from Zeigeist.

The whole of "What If?". Can't believe he left the vocals on that one.

"What if Fellini wanted to sing,
What if we all just moved to Rome?"

OK, so the lyrics are not necessarily bad, but more like head scratching, In Hummer (which is in my top 5 favorite SP songs) the line

Life's a bummer
when you're a hummer

ok, so does that mean life can suck for a hummer i.e. literally someones who hums, as in a singer, or artist? Or...? :think:

also, the lines

happiness will make you wonder
will I feel ok?
it scares the disenchanted far away

so, if you're happy, it can make you wonder if it will last. what exactly scares the disenchanted away, and who are the disenchanted, and why?

Maybe I'm just not good at deciphering lyrics, but that has always puzzled the hell out of me.

Life's a bummer
when you're a hummer

ok, so does that mean life can suck for a hummer i.e. literally someones who hums, as in a singer, or artist? Or...? :think:


It means that figuratively. Hummer=someone optimistic. Life's a bummer when you expect the best for everything because it's not


Or maybe it just rhymes nice

has anyone mentioned "recast as child or mystic sage" or "cast into stone or autumn shade"
it is impossible for me to take seriously (or relate to) any lyrics that would make sense following a casting cost on a magic card

i've also always hated "you spy the kidnap kid"

the (shimmy shakes)/(jimmy jakes) of consequence

what the fuck does that even

I always thought Hummer meant someone who hummed under their breath rather than sang. So like they were introverted and shy

That talking thing in Ghost Children is a whole paragraph of stupid

Hummer=someone optimistic

I've never once heard that term used. Interesting, thanks.

Hummer doesn't seem like a real word anymore

That's the 90s for you, abstract lyrics all over the place :D

I always viewed that line as being about the typical introverted music obsessed teenager locked away in their room. Life's a bummer when you're a hummer.

As for:
"happiness will make you wonder
will I feel ok?
it scares the disenchanted far away"

Someone who's been depressed/down for so long will be suspect of something positive like being in love. Pretty self explanatory.

also, the lines

happiness will make you wonder
will I feel ok?
it scares the disenchanted far away

so, if you're happy, it can make you wonder if it will last. what exactly scares the disenchanted away, and who are the disenchanted, and why?

Maybe I'm just not good at deciphering lyrics, but that has always puzzled the hell out of me.

if someone is disenchanted they cannot embrace being happy in the moment because they are too worried about when it will go away

i think

"Sippin teeeeaaa"

Ironically, I actually really like Czarina, but that first line just cracks me up. It feels like a place holder lyric, like when Paul McCartney was writing Yesterday, he used to sing "Scrambled Eggs" instead of "Yesterday" until he knew what the lyrics were

I shouldnt play because i dont' knwo any lyrics he wrote past Machina but


"Living makes me sick..so sick i wish i'd die"


What is this? Trent Reznor?

I hope it was meant to be ironic but i'm not sure Corgan is that familiar with irony.

Well, you have to remember he was down in the belly of the beast when he wrote that.

where he couldn't lie it's true.

Or maybe he means lying down. but someone writing living makes me sick, so sick i'd wish i'd die, sounds like honest lyrics of someone who can't lie. but probably should have. I mean i understand the sentiment, it's just...it's a little lame. i'm sure he could have found some not so clever metaphor to express that sentiment.

best lyric would be "but i aim to please the little girl in sodomy"

But maybe i misheard that one.

where he couldn't lie it's true.

Or maybe he means lying down. but someone writing living makes me sick, so sick i'd wish i'd die, sounds like honest lyrics of someone who can't lie. but probably should have. I mean i understand the sentiment, it's just...it's a little lame. i'm sure he could have found some not so clever metaphor to express that sentiment.

if you want "cryptic metaphors" just listen to gish for fuck's sake
mellon collie is pretty much reknowned for being so raw-nerve lyrically, it's kind of one of the best things it has going for it