Julian Luckham/Luckham Creative.
“The Horribly Wrong” team confesses to being of “a certain age.” But that means we lived through the golden years of rock n’ roll. Many legendary songwriters didn’t bother with correct grammar. Who was going to correct them? Well, we’ve done it. And we just…we…we just wish we hadn’t.
•“Lay lady lay. Lay across my big brass bed.” (Bob Dylan, “Lay Lady Lay.”)
“Lie lady, lie.”
•“Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone.” (Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”)
“There’s no sunshine while she’s gone.”
•"If they say I never loved you, you know they are a liar." (Doors, “L.A. Woman”)
“If they say I never loved you, they are liars.”
•“I can't get no satisfaction.” (Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction.”)
“I can’t get any satisfaction.”
•“She’s got a ticket to ride, but she don’t care.” (Beatles, “Ticket to Ride.”)
“She has a ticket to ride, and she doesn’t care.”
•“Deeper than any forest primeval, I am in love with you.” (Dan Fogelberg, “Longer.”)
“My love for you is deeper than any primeval forest.”
•“When they said you was high class, well, that was just a lie…” (Elvis Presley, “Hound Dog.”
“When they said you were high class, they lied.”
•”Tell it like it is.” (Aaron Neville.)
“Tell is as it is.”
•”Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack.” (Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart.”)
“Jack: My wife and children live in Baltimore.”
•“I don't know where I'm a gonna go when the volcano blow.” (Jimmy Buffett, “Volcano.”)
“I don’t know where I will go when the volcano erupts.”
•“I'm all right. Don't nobody worry 'bout me. You got to gimme a fight? Why don't you just let me be?” (Kenny Loggins, “I’m All Right.”
“I’m all right. No one should worry. Why must you fight? Just leave me alone.”
•“…he cried out in his anger and his shame, ‘I am leaving, I am leaving,’ but the fighter still remains.” (Simon & Garfunkel, “The Boxer.”)
“…but the fighter remains.”
•”One less bell to answer.” (Fifth Dimension.)
“One fewer bell to answer.”
There must be more. Grammar Police: Send ‘em in!
Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/UABE5QFK-Lk?si=RETg7rn93X7AipJh
Next time: “It’s people!”
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Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong" features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police.” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, menus, TV news graphics, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!