Solecisms in Fleetwood Mac Songs
 

What are your favorite solecisms (errors in grammar or usage) in Fleetwood Mac songs? Sometimes the colloquialisms "belong" to the song -- rock songs are always loose & they should be loose -- but sometimes the problem just screams: "I'm a problem!"

Sometimes I can't help but feel/That I'm wasting all of my time
-- Christine McVie

Hoping tomorrow will never come/For you & I
-- Christine McVie

And the songbirds are singing/Like they know the score
-- Christine McVie

I cared not for love nor money
-- Stevie Nicks

I can't define love like it should be
-- Stevie Nicks

And if I was a child/And the child was enough
-- Stevie Nicks

Not like we do in L.A.
-- Lindsey Buckingham

As I lay here in the darkness
-- Colin Allen

How I wish I was back in Georgia
-- Bob Welch

She flashed a couple looks my way
-- Bob Welch

You'll be lovin' like your little mother did ... I won't leave you like my father did
-- Danny Kirwan


And for just plain weird:

I want to be inside your heart/That's the place for me
-- Christine McVie

Does Christine prefer kicking back in his ventricles or his atria?
Preferable for the figuration: "I want to be in your heart"

Some of those certainly have jumped out a bit at me from time to time, particularly the "You and I" one... although some of those others seem OK to me :o I always wondered why "Skies The Limit" isn't "Sky's The Limit" which is surely what it's supposed to be :confused:

You know I never noticed that before about "Skies the limit" how weird

Chris

I think You and I is the worst.

Lindsey is always making mistakes like that in interviews! EG "Things left unresolved between she and I". I don't mind though, I can forgive him for it. :xoxo:

What's really weird is this:
"I need to know, I need to know, and if you say you're going to leave then you'd better say so"
??

That's the obvious one. It should be "The Sky's The Limit". This has always annoyed me.

Smile at You: I should have turned away and ran - Just as fast as I can

Planets of the Universe: The earth and the sea and the sky is at rest with the ocean


*crrrrringe*****

to deconstruct lyrics this way would be about as silly as analyzing Beatles or Beach Boys songs.

It's all about the music and the melody for me.

There are very few FM songs that have impressed me lyrics-wise.

Dreams is an exception. I think it's easily one of the best written rock/pop songs.

Sadly, I don't know all the ins and outs of the English language, but the following has always bothered me. Thing is...I don't even know if it is bad grammar. Could someone who is schooled in perfect grammar tell me if the following is wrong?

Songbird: "but most of all, I wish it from myself."


I'm also a bit embarassed because in many of the solecisms David posted, I can't see what's wrong? :confused: yikes.

Either, or, neither nor. I say that one is okay. :shrug:

Inanimate objects always "lay". But what IS the correct way of saying a human postured herself in a supine postition? She lied down?? That doesn't sound right at all. :shrug:

Nothing wrong with that, Ali. We can parse it: "I" is the subjuct, "wish" the verb (here transitive), "it" the direct object of the verb, "from myself" a prepositional phrase that functions adverbially here, modifying the manner of "wish." When a pronoun functions as the object of a preposition in a prepositional phrase ("between me & Stevie," "for you," "under her," "to him & her"), the pronoun should be in the accusative case ("me," "you," "him," "her," "it," "us," "them"). But here there's a reflexive pronoun -- "myself" -- which is perfectly acceptable (grammatically it stands in the same case relation to the preposition as an accusative pronoun does) because "I" precedes it & thus allows it to function emphatically. Christine could just as properly have written "I wish it from me," but that strikes native-English-speaking ears as not quite idiomatic.
My list was boring -- just the usual list of usage-guide blunders: "can't help but" should be either "I can't help feeling" or "I can't but feel." The rest are ordinary: "like" as a conjunction, double negatives ("I cared not for love nor money" should be "I cared not for love or money" -- the "not" applies to both "love" & "money"), wrong verb with the subjunctive ("If I was a child" should be "If I were a child" because the statement is not factual but a wish or a desire), "lay" for "lie" ("As I lay here in the darkness" would be correct only if the statement were in the past tense) & "a couple looks" should be "a couple of looks" because "couple" is a noun, not an adjective, & so requires the preposition.

She lay down. Lay is the past tense of lie.

You lay a brick, an egg, etc.

People lie.

Here are the tech. definitions:

Main Entry: 1lie
Pronunciation: 'lI
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): lay /'lA/; lain /'lAn/; ly·ing /'lI-i[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English licgan; akin to Old High German ligen to lie, Latin lectus bed, Greek lechos
1 a : to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal position : be prostrate : REST, RECLINE b : to assume a horizontal position -- often used with down c archaic : to reside temporarily : stay for the night : LODGE d : to have sexual intercourse -- used with with e : to remain inactive (as in concealment)
2 : to be in a helpless or defenseless state
3 of an inanimate thing : to be or remain in a flat or horizontal position upon a broad support
4 : to have direction : EXTEND
5 a : to occupy a certain relative place or position b : to have a place in relation to something else c : to have an effect through mere presence, weight, or relative position d : to be sustainable or admissible
6 : to remain at anchor or becalmed
7 a : to have place : EXIST b : CONSIST, BELONG
8 : REMAIN; especially : to remain unused, unsought, or uncared for

____________________________________________________________

Main Entry: 1lay
Pronunciation: 'lA
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): laid /'lAd/; lay·ing
Etymology: Middle English leyen, from Old English lecgan; akin to Old English licgan to lie -- more at LIE
transitive senses
1 : to beat or strike down with force
2 a : to put or set down b : to place for rest or sleep; especially : BURY
3 : to bring forth and deposit (an egg)
4 : CALM, ALLAY
5 : BET, WAGER
6 : to press down giving a smooth and even surface
7 a : to dispose or spread over or on a surface b : to set in order or position c : to put (strands) in place and twist to form a rope, hawser, or cable; also : to make by so doing
8 a : to impose as a duty, burden, or punishment b : to put as a burden of reproach c : to advance as an accusation : IMPUTE
9 : to place (something immaterial) on something
10 : PREPARE, CONTRIVE
11 a : to bring against or into contact with something : APPLY b : to prepare or position for action or operation ; also : to adjust (a gun) to the proper direction and elevation
12 : to bring to a specified condition
13 a : ASSERT, ALLEGE b : to submit for examination and judgment
14 sometimes vulgar : to copulate with
intransitive senses
1 : to produce and deposit eggs
2 nonstandard : 1LIE
3 : WAGER, BET
4 dialect : PLAN, PREPARE
5 a : to apply oneself vigorously b : to proceed to a specified place or position on a ship
- lay on the table 1 : to remove (a parliamentary motion) from consideration indefinitely 2 British : to put (as legislation) on the agenda
usage LAY has been used intransitively in the sense of "lie" since the 14th century. The practice was unremarked until around 1770; attempts to correct it have been a fixture of schoolbooks ever since. Generations of teachers and critics have succeeded in taming most literary and learned writing, but intransitive lay persists in familiar speech and is a bit more common in general prose than one might suspect. Much of the problem lies in the confusing similarity of the principal parts of the two words. Another influence may be a folk belief that lie is for people and lay is for things. Some commentators are ready to abandon the distinction, suggesting that lay is on the rise socially. But if it does rise to respectability, it is sure to do so slowly: many people have invested effort in learning to keep lie and lay distinct. Remember that even though many people do use lay for lie, others will judge you unfavorably if you do.

www.merriamwebster.com

What if you lie just before you get laid? :laugh:

Hmm... I have to think about that one. :laugh:

Once again she steals away
Then she reaches out to kiss me
And how she takes my breath away
Pretending that she don’t miss me

should be

Pretending that she doesn't miss me

also, the use of "that" is superfluous, to wit:

Pretending she doesn't miss me

___________________________________________

The word "that" is the most overused word in the English language - though LB's use here is not incorrect.

The overuse of "that" has always bothered me. But I don't pay much attention to solecisms in songs. Although I love grammar, I think music was written this way on purpose and shouldn't be scrutinized.

But it's still fun to point out the little errors. :)

Somehow, when bad grammar is "sung" it seems far less offensive than when it is spoken or written. At least to me. If we picked the bones of every single song there would be nothing left. Wouldn't "Lay Lady Lay" be "Lie Lady Lie"?? Do we want to hear "She Loves, You, YES, YES, YES"? How about "I Have You, Babe"? :shrug: :D

:laugh: I totally agree.

This use of the word 'that' is thoroughly correct in this case, and most others. It's definitely not overuse at all. Over the past century or so, general (spoken) laziness has resulted in the gradual omission from English of this conjunction. In French, Spanish, Portuguese etc, to omit a conjunction linking a subordinate clause is impossible - but English has effectively made it OK to drop it. Certainly in formal writing, it is best not to drop 'that' in this way.

Apart from that, it's important to remember that lyric writers use a big dollop of poetic licence in their work. Grammar gets twisted and warped for the purposes of rhyme and effect, the same as it does in poetry. If you pulled apart Keats or Wordsworth, you'd find similar things. Also, particularly with ostensibly mystical writers like Stevie Nicks, lyrics are written much as someone would speak, especially if that speech were emotional or passionate. The result is the same in lyrics or speech - shady grammar. There's nothing really wrong with it, but some are worse than others.

Absolutely - there's nothing wrong with "she lay down" if it's in the past tense. I think the problem with "Wish You Were Here" is that she's singing in the present tense -

"As I lay here in the darkness, I can't find no peace inside"

There are two grammar errors there, but in the context of a song I'm not sure they matter too much. It should be 'lie' in this case, and probably 'any' instead of 'no', but I like it as it is :p

In fact, three: "I can't find no peace inside" is a double negative. As written, she's in fact saying she can find peace! :laugh:

I agree with the posts above which say somehow twisted grammar errors are easier on the ears when sung (for the most part - there are exceptions!). Poetic license and all that stuff.

It ain't easy
Love ain't easy when it's wrong
Love ain't easy when it's strong


I believe
I believe my time ain't long
I believe
I believe my time ain't long
I ain't gonna leave my baby

My little demon, comin'on down.
My little demon's turnin' me around.
all of my friends keep on tellin'me
that I just ain't the man I used to be.
I really don't like it...ain't nothing I can do.

Give me back my freedom
let me see the daylight
make them stop the bleeding
can't you see it ain't right

We go over and over
We ain't about to leave
Until it's over

Getting ready to go long about two
Almost time to say good-bye
Now wait a minute here now we ain't through

The winds of change
Gonna blow it all away
Ain't it strange

I ain't never missed a woman
Anytime or anyhow
I ain't never missed a woman
Anytime or anyhow
I ain't never missed a woman
Oh, just like the way I miss my baby now


I never realized how many times the MAc had "ain't" in their lyrics until this thread. :eek: There is every more than the ones that I posted.

On Rhiannon LIB

this has always bothered me, but the

"would you stay if she promised to you heaven? would you even try? would you even try? weeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll..I don't think you do"

am I the only one here??
suprisingly...(well..not really, since it's most people's LOL) it's my favorite part of that version. oh well :)

YES!!! It's why I just can't get into that line. I know it's a lot of people's fave, but it just hurts my ears. :sorry:

Okay, how much would the Stone's Satisfaction have SUCKED if Mick had sung "I can't get any satisfaction".

And you guys should never ever listen to a Coctau Twins song. They make it a point to conceal the lyrics in tons of overdubs, echo and broken syllables. LOL!

If there's a causal connection between the first and the latter it is simply smart.

:D

Hmmmm...in most cases you HAVE to lie to get laid. :D

And I can measure any way I want. I like to start at my belly button. ;) :sorry:

Did anybody ever mention "Smile At You" in this thread? This might be the most egregious example of all:

"I should have turned away and ran / As fast as I can."

It's not as though she just committed one grammatical error for the sake of rhyme. Both rhyming words are incorrect, making the whole couplet sound as though it were sung by a four year old playing tag.

:laugh: :laugh:
I think it was mentioned before. That one always annoyed me.

You are not the only one. "I don't think you do what" :laugh: All these years and I don't think I know what she doesn't think he does.

(Syd)

:laugh: Yes. This line makes NO sense whatsoever. Everytime I hear it I think "I don't think YOU WOULD!!!" "WOULD STEVIE!!"

Also speaking of Rhiannon...how about, "would you stay if she promised TO you heaven?" I know I've heard that on a live recording, (was it The Dance?) I don't think it's on the studio version. That has always made me cringe!

That's not incorrect. The "to" isn't necessary there, but it's not wrong.

How about when LB sings "finely found me" in Crystal instead of "Finally found me" :cool:

That's not necessarily incorrect, he's just trying to sound like a hillbilly dear :laugh:.

Yeah, but it's choppy. I don't like it. The "to" is unnecessary. It's hard on my ears.

I know - but it just sounds weird when he does not in that high Calif. voice, lord love him :laugh:

I KNOW! She did say "would" at the AHI Benefit (2000?) but lately it's been "do." So annoying.

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!! I refuse to even sing it this way....and after watching the Lindsay show (Destiny Rules), and he busted Stevie on the tense shift in Thrown Down, how did this make it past him???:lol:

unless you're really bendy