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I’m a word girl. Which means, when it comes to music, I’m a lyrics girl.

Which means some of the most played songs on the radio right now are really getting on my nerves.

Don’t get me wrong. My love of pop music has not diminished, and the latest songs by T-Swift and Baby Brother Jonas are catchy as all get out. And while I don’t let Annalyn listen to these particular tunes, it’s possible I might have cranked them up a time or two after dropping her off at school.

I’m not upset with Taylor Swift for abandoning country music – or even for having the nerve (The Nerve!) to sing a song that isn’t nearly as appropriate for my seven-year-old as “Shake It Off.” I was, admittedly, completely weirded out by Nick Jonas singing about perfuming his chest – but it turns out he actually says he’s PUFFING his chest. So, that’s better (MUCH) – and I wasn’t really upset about that anyway.

No, what I find annoying is Nick and Taylor’s misunderstanding of love – and the way they sing about it in their catchy songs.

In his song, Jealous, Nick Jonas says it’s his “right to be hellish,” because he still gets jealous. Um. His RIGHT to be hellish? Oh, but wait. It’s okay because later he says, “There’s no one else for you ‘c​ause you know I get excited, yeah, when you get jealous, too.”

Okay, I see now. This is equal opportunity crazytown.

Then there’s Taylor Swift’s new song, Blank Space. Though the tune is catchy and the video is gorgeous, the lyrics are…well…ridiculous. She tells the story of a romance beginning and then “going down in flames” when she gets drunk on jealousy, finishing up with the conclusion that, “Boys only want love if it’s torture.”

Um, right.

Actually, the lyrics to the Taylor Swift song are lovely and clever, but their message is awful. And, while I’m pretty sure this song is actually tongue in cheek, on the surface it’s no different than dozens of other songs getting stuck in my head every day.

Artists – or at least their songwriters – seem to think that love is a game and true love is akin to insanity. So we should all just go crazy! Do what it takes to win! Look out for yourself and make sure you protect your rights and your feel-good and get-what-you-want!

Bah. This is ridiculous and get off my lawn, you crazy kids!

I know. I sound like a grumpy old man. But am I the only one who’s noticed the weirdo lyrics in songs lately?

(Don’t even get me started on the vulgar and purely nasty lyrics that should not ever be played between the hours of whenever children wake up to whenever they go to bed. Because wow. Way to use subtlety and clever turns of phrase to get your point across, people . . . except, oh, right, you DIDN’T.)

Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go listen to the oldies station.

(Where they are giving away tickets to a Def Leppard concert, because apparently Def Leppard is “oldies” now. Def Leppard of the infamous, Pour Some Sugar On Me. With those lyrics, yeah, yeah, I know. Hush.)

*********************

Wait, though! Not all lyrics are bad!!! I’m actually over at (in)courage today, talking about a lesson I learned by listening to the lyrics of a totally different song.

I think most of us are pretty unlovable in our own ways. That’s what makes love so incredible, such a miracle. What all my thinking and singing and song lyric rewriting has taught me is that pointing out others’ flaws doesn’t just hurt them and withhold affection from them, it robs me of the gift of grace.

Read the rest at (in)courage, and let’s talk about grace.

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