Reader Digest Version Global
Homepage >

Top 10 Songs Where Bad Grammar Sounds Good

When it comes to rock 'n roll lyrics, sometimes using correct English just won't work.

By Sarah Wharton and Paul Silverman
Loading
←
Getty Images
  • 1 of 11

"I Feel Good" by James Brown

Corrected: "I Feel Well"

When right sounds wrong:
I feel well! I knew that I would...
When I hold you in my arms
I know that I can't do any wrong
And when I hold you in my arms
My love won't do you any harm

  • 1 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 2 of 11

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2

Corrected: "I Still Haven't Found for What I'm Looking"

When right sounds wrong:
But I still haven't found for what I'm looking
But I still haven't found for what I'm looking
But I still haven't found for what I'm looking
But I still haven't found for what I'm looking

  • 2 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 3 of 11

"Rocket Man" by Elton John

Corrected: "Rocket Person" (our gender-sensitive choice)

When right sounds wrong:
And I think it's going to be a long, long time
'Til touchdown brings me around again to find
I'm not the person they think I am back home
Oh no, no, no
I'm a rocket person
Rocket person, burning up the fuse up here alone.

  • 3 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 4 of 11

"Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin

Corrected: "Bobby McGee and I"

When right sounds wrong:
You know feeling good was good enough for me
Good enough for my Bobby McGee and I

  • 4 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 5 of 11

"I Can't Get No Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones

Corrected: "I Can't Get Any Satisfaction"

When right sounds wrong:
I can't get any satisfaction
I can't get any satisfaction
Because I try, and I try, and I try, and I try
I can't get any, I can't get any

  • 5 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 6 of 11

"Who You Gonna Call? (Ghostbusters)" by Ray Parker, Jr.

Corrected: "Whom Are You Going to Call? (Ghostbusters)"

When right sounds wrong:
If it's something weird, and it doesn't look good
Whom are you going to call? Ghostbusters!
I'm not afraid of any ghost

  • 6 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 7 of 11

"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

Corrected: "There Is No Sunshine"

When right sounds wrong:
There is no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just isn't a home
Any time she goes away

  • 7 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 8 of 11

"Who Do You Love?" by Bo Diddley

Corrected: "Whom Do You Love?"

When right sounds wrong:
Whom do you love?
Whom do you love?
Whom do you love?
Whom do you love?

  • 8 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 9 of 11

"What's Love Got To Do With It?" by Tina Turner

Corrected: "What's Love Have to Do with It?"

When right sounds wrong:
What's love have to do, have to do with it?
What's love but a second-hand emotion?

  • 9 of 11
←
Getty Images
  • 10 of 11

"Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" by Jerry Lee Lewis

Corrected: "A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On"

When right sounds wrong:
We aren't faking
A whole lot of shaking going on

  • 10 of 11

Your Comments

  • Bethany

    Actual correct grammar on the Janis Joplin song would be “Good enough for my Bobby McGee and me” :) But who’s nitpicking? LOL

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Brianna-Young/100002503657783 Brianna Young

      I… was actually thinking the same thing but was doubting myself for a minute there. Pretty sure “I” should only be used if you take out the other person and would STILL use I. If you take out the other person and use me, I think “me” is correct. In this case, it’s “good enough for Bobby Mcgee and me”. “Good enough for I” doesn’t seem right.

      But yeah, who’s nitpicking? lol

  • sanz

    2, 3, 4, and 9 are not ungrammatical, and most of the others are either dialectical or trivial. This is nothing.

  • Name

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or, as McCartney’s dad tried to get him to sing, yes, yes, yes.

  • http://twitter.com/naylor4x Matthew Naylor

    2 is correct – there is no rule against ending a sentence in a preposition unless you’re speaking Latin.
    3 is correct – political incorrectness does not constitute a grammatical error
    4 is correct – the correction presented is actually an overcorrection. ‘Me’ is the correct form for the first person to take when it’s an object. Try “This isn’t very good for me.” vs. “This isn’t very good for I.” ‘Me’ is clearly correct. Adding another object doesn’t change the case.
    9 is correct – The apostrophe-s is a stand in for has, as in “What has love got to do…”. The ‘got’ is a filler word with no specific function, but is not ungrammatical. The proposed correction is “What has love have to do…”, which doesn’t make sense. “What does love have to do…” would make sense, but ‘What’ and ‘does’ do not contract.

  • Online Content is Getting Wors

    I’m actually mad at myself for taking the time to scroll through this slideshow. Made it half way through.

  • i know a bit

    Actually, “I Feel Good” is correct because James Brown was referring to his emotional state as being “good”, not his physical state of being “well”.
    You could make the comparison with the phrase, “I feel bad”. You wouldn’t say badly, the adverb, because “good” and “bad” are both modifiers of “I”, not “feel”.

  • Don Robinson

    Number three isn’t bad grammar, it’s political correctness. But since the writers are so interested in cultural sensitivity, here’s some other songs that need to be changed:

    Barbara Streisand: Person in Love

    Donna Fargo: Happiest Person in the Whole USA

    Ray Charles: I’ve Got A Person

    And the Doobie Brothers’ Black Water is insensitive. It should be African-American Water