Fact checking in po...
 

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Fact checking in popular songs.

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If Springsteen had sung “Born to rip fans off with over inflated ticket prices while pretending to be a working class hero”, that would have stood up rather better to fact checking than his blabbering on about “last chance power drives” whatever they are.

I can't think of anything in the lyrics of Born To Run that suggests that you have to be working class to be BtR. Yes, the use of 'tramps' conflicts with the idea of needing a meaty engine to Run but I'd guess that tramp doesn't mean what we use it for in the UK. And the 'mansions of glory' bit suggests people of money. Even Jacob Rees Mogg may be Born To Run.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 4:30 pm
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I have not needed or indeed wanted a Shady Lane.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 4:42 pm
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Thunder doesn't only happen when it's raining.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:38 pm
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“The sun ain’t gonna shine any more, the moon ain’t gonna rise in the sky”.

Well, allow me to retort, mr Walker.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:44 pm
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I have no idea where to start with this!  all sorts of claims in there.  somehow I doubt yellowman had 110 girlfriends

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng

Seh if yuh have a paper, yuh must have a pen
And if yuh have a start, yuh must have a end
Seh five plus five, it equal to ten
And if yuh have goat, yuh put dem in a pen
And if yuh have a rooster, yuh must have a hen, now

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng

Jump fe happiness and jump fe joy
Yuh nuh fe call Yellowman nuh bwoy
Lady Ann a yuh so take fe toy
Playgal all dem call him joy
Yuh nuh fe call Yellowman nuh bwoy
Yuh nuh fe call Junjo nuh bwoy
Yuh nuh fe take I and I fe bwoy

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, watch it!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, catch it!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, 'ca

Zero, zero, one, one, nine
'ca Yellowman make yuh feel so fine
Me chat all me lyric, me chat dem in a rhyme
Me nuh eat lime it full of a rhyme
'ca Yellowman him a commit nuh crime, 'ca

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, hey!

Ku Shung Peng, Ku Shu-shu-shung Peng, hey!
Ku Shung Peng, Ku Shu-shu-shung Peng
Seh if yuh have a start, yuh must have a end
Seh if yuh have a paper, yuh pass me the pen
But tell yuh Yellowman have too much girlfriend
'ca nuff a dem a talk bout me nuh have nuh girlfriend
Yuh a idiot bwoy, me have a hundred and ten
Seh all a dem, dem have yellow children
All a dem, dem have yellow children
Some live a Kingston and dung a Maypenn
Nuff a dem a ask me how me have nuff girlfriend, true
Arguments, I have nuff arguments, Lord!
Arguments, I have nuff arguments
Me enter in the house of parliament
Prime minister and his wife haffe keep silent
A true Yellowman a chat intelligent
Dem put me in the court, the judge seh yuh innocent, true
Arguments, I have nuff arguments, 'ca
Sandra should a be fe me girlfriend, hey!
Lady Ann should a be me girlfriend, make a

Zunggu zungguguzungguzeng, hey!
Yuh nuh fe jump fe happy or joy
Yuh nuh fe call Yellowman nuh bwoy
Nuh bother take Junjo fe toy
Me bredda in law them call him U-roy

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, watch it!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng

Yuh leggo violence, yuh smoke ishence
Yuh deal with violence, yuh go dung silence
But tell yuh Yellowman come fe tell dem again
Yuh live a Kingston or yuh live a Maypenn
Seh if yuh have a rooster, yuh must have a hen
And if yuh have a start, yuh must have a end
But watch Yellowman come fe rock dem again, Lord!

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, watch it!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, hey!

Jump fe happiness and jump fe joy
Yuh nuh fe take Yellowman fe bwoy
Yuh nuh fe take Yellowman fe toy

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, watch it!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, hey!

Ku Shung Peng, Ku Shu-shu-shung Peng!
But tell yuh Yellow vibes it sound like FM
The other rest of vibes sound like AM
But tell yuh Yellowman come fe rock dem again
Yuh could a live a Kingston, Mo' Bay or Maypenn, 'ca

Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, hey!
Zungguzungguguzungguzeng, hey!

Nuh fe call Yellowman nuh bwoy
Yuh fe jump fe happiness and jump fe joy

Zunggu zungguguzungguzeng
'ca Yellowman have nuff girlfriend
'ca watch a man me come fe tell dem again
'ca Yellowman come fe mash dem again, Lord!


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:46 pm
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You are all my fact-checking cuz.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:49 pm
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The drugs don't work

You need a better supplier then


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:50 pm
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8 days a week

Didnt a bodybuilding forum get all in a tizz over this?


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:50 pm
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@rustyspanner

Au contraire!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn83cCEpZV0


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:58 pm
winerwalker reacted
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I can’t think of anything in the lyrics of Born To Run that suggests that you have to be working class to be BtR.

I was going to say that Roger Bannister was posh, so I fact checked myself and whilst he did go to a public school his parents were both originally working class, so... Dunno.

Then I was going to say Seb Coe was posh but he went to a secondary modern.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 5:58 pm
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Do they call you mellow yellow? Really?


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:00 pm
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Damn, forgot about them!


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:05 pm
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"I hear that the Emperor of China used to wear iron shoes with ease" Where did you hear that, Robin?

"Even Damnation is poisoned with rainbows" Difficult to prove, Leonard.

Couple of fairly obscure ones, there. Some of you oldies may remember them.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:07 pm
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I bet the street has now been adopted over so many years, and so Bono cannot walk there anymore.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:23 pm
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In other 'Bono' news
Whit a roaster

There never was a Yellow Submarine for them all to live in.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:32 pm
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Three pages in and we've all missed the biggest question.

Does Batman, in fact, smell?


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:41 pm
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Bitterness, money and talc.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:43 pm
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Are African bluebirds migratory?

I think that's the african swallow, mainly to transport coconuts.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 6:49 pm
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The bluebird is a north american bird.  There are other birds that have some blue colouring but they are not Bluebirds - they may be blue birds


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 7:05 pm
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“Sugar in your coffee doesn’t taste quite right,
Feeling the effects for a hundred thousand nights”
273 years Mr Mould. I don’t think the effects will really last that long.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 7:11 pm
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@rustyspanner

No worries mate!

I cant stay mad at you! 🙂


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 7:12 pm
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Diamonds do not shine.

They reflect and they refract...
...but they do NOT effing shine!


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 8:43 pm
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7 days in a week last time I checked.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 8:43 pm
ThePinkster reacted
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Deserts don’t miss the rain, if they did they wouldn’t be deserts!


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 9:19 pm
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(Ha, beaten to it I’ve just seen!)


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 9:23 pm
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The average age of combat soldiers in the Vietnam war was closer to twenty t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t twenty three than n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n nineteen (linky).


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 9:54 pm
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3 am is not, in fact, eternal. 60 seconds later, it's 3:01.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 9:58 pm
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Are dirty pigeons capable of feeling love?

And I'm pretty sure 8bn people aren't holding hands.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:15 pm
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I've just checked, and much to my neighbours consternation the only way to feel the noise most definitely is when it's good and loud


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:17 pm
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Fog on the Tyne is all mine all mine

- is it technically feasible to own weather? I suppose you could bottle a bit of Tyne fog, but claiming all of it sounds as greedy as it is improbable.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:24 pm
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Does Batman, in fact, smell?

Of guano...


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:31 pm
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As far as I can tell, Queen never won any competitions.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:36 pm
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There was that day at the races...


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 10:41 pm
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Whilst yes, I could technically walk 500miles, I would most likely take the car or perhaps the train instead as it would be quicker.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 11:04 pm
 TedC
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Given Sir Brian Mays interests in astrophysics, Queens assertions of the methods of planetary rotation seem even more questionable.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 11:09 pm
trailmonkey reacted
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Whilst it is possible to fly to the moon, playing amongst the stars will require a much longer trip.


 
Posted : 17/03/2023 11:19 pm
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Maybe they were slowly walking down the hall, but faster than cannon and ball.

Could have been staying in the same hotel and didn't want to seem to eager to get to the breakfast buffet, but wanted to get there faster as cannon and ball were notorious for nicking all the sausages!!


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 7:47 am
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It's more likely than the binmen going on a six day bender.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 7:52 am
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Given Sir Brian Mays interests in astrophysics, Queens assertions of the methods of planetary rotation seem even more questionable.

I'm not aware of any peer reviewed challenge to his theorem after all these years, ergo, it remains my working hypothesis.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 7:56 am
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I think Perry Como might have ended up in the burns unit if he was telling the truth.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 8:46 am
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I'd like to know whether Dexy's Midnight Runners song about Eileen was a description or an instruction.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 8:57 am
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a friend with weed is better

Quite possibly true

Jesus was Batman

Very unlikely as appropriately 1900 years or more between reported sightings.

3 am is not, in fact, eternal. 60 seconds later, it’s 3:01.

Mr. Routes I fear that you too need to find a new supplier.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 9:31 am
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I was born in a barrel of butcher knives

Shot in the ass with two colt .45's

I've been slapped by a bear and bit by an eel

I chew up railroad iron, and shit out steel!

I jumped in the ocean and swallowed a whale

Handcuff lightning and throw thunder's ass in jail

Highly implausible. I suspect hyperbole.

And Lisa Stansfield almost certainly didn’t go around the world looking for her baby.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 9:48 am
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From The Equestrian Statue by the Bonzos:

"Once a month, on a Friday, there's a man

With a mop and bucket in his hand

To him it's just another working day

As he whistles while he rubs and scrubs away"

That's no longer the case in these times of council budget cuts 🙂


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 10:27 am
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Did your wife really hoover your head last night? We need photos.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 10:50 am
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I think Perry Como might have ended up in the burns unit if he was telling the truth.

Also, Kings of Leon.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 12:08 pm
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Jesus was Batman

Very unlikely as appropriately 1900 years or more between reported sightings.

Objection! They admit that they're wrong in the next line.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 12:08 pm
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And did those feet,
In ancient times
Walk upon England's mountains green?

No. Next?


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 12:15 pm
 DrJ
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"Wherever I hang my hat, that's my home"

I think you'll find that the conveyancing process is a little more complex than that.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 12:41 pm
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Mr Osbourne has not to my knowledge lined up for a full distance triathlon nor is he solely composed of ferrous metal.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 3:36 pm
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I think Perry Como might have ended up in the burns unit if he was telling the truth.

Also, Kings of Leon.

And Johnny Cash


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 3:46 pm
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And did those feet,
In ancient times
Walk upon England’s mountains green?

No. Next?

There are a number sources which claim that he may have travelled. There a number of “missing years” in the accounts of his life, notably between his early teens and mid to late twenties.

Google Jesus lost years.

Some say India, others claim evidence he may have been to England. I’m sure it’s food for thought. 😀


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 3:59 pm
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Bryan Adams would have been 10 in the summer of '69.

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I should've known we'd never get far

I'm not sure what the age of consent is in Canada, but I'm reasonably sure it's higher than 10.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:19 pm
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AND!

Adams bought his first electric guitar at the age of 12 in Reading, an Italian brand from Gherson, based on a Fender stratocaster.[27] In an interview with music magazine Guitar World, Adams said:

"I bought an imitation Les Paul at a Five and Dime store in Ottawa, Canada, in 1971," Adams recalled. "Before that, I had an imitation Strat which I bought in Reading, England in 1970"

LIES!!!!!


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:23 pm
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Diamonds do not shine.

They reflect and they refract…
…but they do NOT effing shine!

Au contraire - Diamond's a source of very bright x-rays, infrared and ultraviolet light


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:24 pm
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Also, Kings of Leon.

And Johnny Cash

and Jim Morrison's baby. I mean, giving matches to a very young child would surely be a mistake. More likely to damage the pram than the actual night.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:33 pm
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Google Jesus lost years.

He learnt his trade off his dad, typical carpenter/builder....... disappeared off the face of the Earth for a while leaving everyone clueless as to where he was.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:35 pm
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Diamonds do not last forever.

Chemically, graphite is a more stable form of carbon, so a diamond would eventually transform into graphite.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:36 pm
Murray reacted
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Love can build a bridge.

No, it can’t. Steel and concrete are your friends here.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:40 pm
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I’m not sure what the age of consent is in Canada, but I’m reasonably sure it’s higher than 10.

The people from school needn't have been the same age. Could have been teachers or janitors or something.

The song also says the first 'real' six string was bought and the Five and Dime. Now, you might insist that any guitar is 'real' as in not imaginary, but the term has certainly also come to mean something properly suited to its purpose. It's possible that the 'imitation strat' was in fact so rubbish as to be not fit for purpose. I've certainly seen guitars like this.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:40 pm
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Girls do not just want to have fun. They expect all sorts of other stuff that is not fun.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:41 pm
fatface1, IdleJon, spandex_bob and 1 people reacted
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Some say India, others claim evidence he may have been to England.

Supposedly his uncle traded in what is now the UK. But in any case Blake is simply asking a question, which is not an assertion and therefore outside the scope of this thread.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:42 pm
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Does Batman, in fact, smell?

Of course. He may be clean enough to be un-noticeable by human noses but a dog would certainly be able to tell.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:46 pm
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I wonder if Mr Bolan ever found out that driving expensive cars like Rolls Royce's didn't make any difference to his vocals.
Cars weren't really very good for the chap at all as it turned out.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:49 pm
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I'm pretty sure they blasted and dug the embankments and cuts with dynamite and shovels, picks, etc.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:50 pm
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The city probably was built on rock, so it's at least partially correct.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 4:56 pm
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Does Batman, in fact, smell?

You try wearing a head to toe rubber suit and do some vigarous excersise chasing villains around the city.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:00 pm
Murray reacted
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Status Quo did not 'rock all over the world'.
I have it on good authority that they have never played a gig in Antarctica, for example.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:04 pm
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The song also says the first ‘real’ six string was bought and the Five and Dime.

Which he purchased in 1971, the charlatan.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:13 pm
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It's a staple at the South Pole NYE disco, so they have rocked all over the world by proxy.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:15 pm
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There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover

Balderdash. No bluebirds in europe 🙂

Also descibing a sheer chalk cliff into the sea, as a valley, is a bit of a stretch of the imagination.

There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see
There'll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow, when the world is free
The shepherd will tend his sheep
The valley will bloom again
And Jimmy will go to sleep
In his own little room again
There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:27 pm
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Tina Turner sings of someone being 'simply the best, better than anyone, anyone I ever met'

It's clearly a falsehood to assert someone is 'the best' whilst in the next breath, freely admitting that you have not met everyone who ever lived in order to draw such a ludicrous conclusion.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:39 pm
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Jesus was Batman

Does that mean that John Lydon is prophesised to oppose Batman: The Return? Should Ian Brown be worried?


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:44 pm
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I'm travelling at the speed of light

Highly improbable, Mr. Mercury.

I am a sex machine ready to reload like an atom bomb

Also atomic bombs don't work the way you seem to think they do.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 5:48 pm
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Building a city on rock and roll is unlikely to prove a durable and reliable foundation.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:11 pm
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The song also says the first ‘real’ six string was bought and the Five and Dime.

I thought the same, but that being the case then it wasn't the summer of '69 but two years later.

[EDIT: sorry, I see someone else said the same thing]


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:12 pm
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You try wearing a head to toe rubber suit and do some vigarous excersise

I reserve that sort of thing for special occasions.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:15 pm
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Also Bryan adams sings: 'everything I do, I do it for you'.

Well now, what about that classic landrover you drive around in and love so much? Pretty sure you weren't thinking of your wife when you bought that, were you?!


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:28 pm
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Bryan Adams would have been 10 in the summer of ’69.

The song is very famously not about the year 1969. Or have i just explained your joke?


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:37 pm
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The song is very famously not about the year 1969. Or have i just explained your joke?

69'd at the age of ten, what a lad... or is it just another of his many lies.


 
Posted : 18/03/2023 6:41 pm
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