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Real Lyrics -> Bad Grammar in Song Lyrics -> ABBA
Song lyrics aren't supposed to be a fountain of perfect english, but on the other hand some are just so atrocious, they need to get called out. We're not looking for sentance fragments or the word ain't since there are too many instances to count.
Bad Grammar in Song Lyrics, ABBA
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ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits album at Amazon.com
ABBA's, "Does Your Mother Know"
The Lyrics:
Well, you can dance with me, honey
If you think it's funny
If you think it's funny
Why:
"Funny" means amusing or hilarious, not fun. Why would somebody think that dancing with anyone would be amusing? Apart from my own inability to dance...
Submitted by: Simon Beck
ABBA's, "Fernando"
The Lyrics:
Since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand
Why:
ABBA's grasp of the English language wasn't perfect in all their songs, even their long-running #1 hits like this one. (Incidentally, it'd make more sense if the lyric went "For many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand.")
Submitted by: Brendan Richards
ABBA's, "Money Money Money"
The Lyrics:
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Why:
Two errors here. Firstly, "funny" can mean either amusing or peculiar, but never "fun", which is clearly the intended meaning here. Secondly, "the rich man's world" is a clumsy and pretentious construct compared with "a rich man's world". Not strictly wrong, but odd. Funny, if you like...
Submitted by: Simon Beck
ABBA's, "The Winner Takes It All"
The Lyrics:
The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice.
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear.
Their minds as cold as ice.
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear.
Why:
I'm pretty sure ABBA meant to say "roll THE dice", which is also correct.
Submitted by: To Renee Keener
ABBA's, "The Winner Takes It All"
The Lyrics:
The gods may throw a dice.
Their minds as cold as ice.
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear.
Their minds as cold as ice.
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear.
Why:
Since the noun "dice" is plural, the singular being "die", the phrase "a dice" cannot be correct; it would need to be "a die" to be correct. But then that wouldn't rhyme with "cold as ice". On can wonder whether the writer(s) of these lyrics were unaware that "dice" as a noun is obligatorily plural, or whether they knew that, but went ahead with "a dice" anyway to facilitate the rhyme.
Submitted by: Renee Keener
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