People of a certain age will fondly recall the television show “Name That Tune,” in which contestants would identify a popular song after hearing only a couple of notes of the melody. Since then, decades have passed, and many songs with incredibly trite lyrics have been written. While no one will base a television game show on that, it’s certainly a phenomenon that’s worth a 15-question quiz for you to take while you pretend you’re working.
Image Credit: iStock/ IPGGutenbergUKLtd.
1. ‘Streetlights, people, livin’ just to find emotion…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
It’s the song everyone refuses to stop listening to no matter what happens! People, seriously, give it up. This song has been infecting our eardrums since 1981.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
2. ‘Once more, you open the door, and you’re here in my heart.’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion
Dion’s hit song from the hit movie “Titanic” hits all the most trite notes like some kind of large vessel hitting an iceberg. AND THERE WAS ROOM FOR JACK ON THE DOOR!!!!!!
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
3. ‘There must be an angel with a smile on her face…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘You’re Beautiful’ by James Blunt
“You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt reminds us to look beyond a song’s chorus. There are plenty of trite lyrics in the verses too.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
4. ‘You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua
Before Margot Robbie came along to make the popular Mattel toy fun for girls and boys of all ages, Aqua was making unlistenable music about the same thing. Stick with the movie.
Image Credit: Aqua/YouTube.
5. ‘There is just one moon and one golden sun…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘It’s a Small World’ by Alan Silvestri
We couldn’t cite a recording artist for this one since it’s sung by animatronic denizens of various foreign countries when you go through the ride of the same name at Disneyworld. To anyone who’s been on that ride, we apologize for re-traumatizing you with that memory.
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
6. ‘No Libra sun, no Halloween…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a musical genius and a national treasure, and even a song this terrible can’t take that away from him. But boy, it comes close. Wonder is responsible for some of the best music ever written, but he should at least have to do 500 hours of community service for this.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
7. ‘You can find love if you search…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Hero’ by Mariah Carey
The only thing that redeems this Mariah Carey selection is the fact that she doesn’t engage in the trademark shrieking that made her a superstar. Also, listening to this song takes a lot less time than sitting through all of “Glitter.”
Image Credit: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons.
8. ‘Lying close to you, feeling your heart beating…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith
Anyone who sat through the punishing two-and-a-half-hour atrocity that was 1998’s “Armageddon” experienced true agony. To make matters worse, this song awaited them at the end of it, as if they hadn’t already suffered enough.
Image Credit: Julio Aprea / Wikimedia Commons.
9. ‘I don’t know what to do and I’m always in the dark…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by Bonnie Tyler
This song was written by Jim Steinman, who wrote similarly overwrought bilge for Meat Loaf and Celine Dion. When he passed in 2021, we lost a true practitioner of overly emotional musical histrionics. Soar high, Jim Steinman!
Image Credit: Amazon.
10. ‘Don’t tell me it’s not worth trying for…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Everything I Do (I Do It for You)’ by Bryan Adams
When it comes to trite lyrics, it’s hard to beat Bryan Adams, whose entire catalog is rife with moronic lyrics about very obvious things, like the fact that knives are sharp and will cut you. We hope the media has finally stopped amplifying comments he’s made in the past that got him in trouble.
Image Credit: Marco Maas / Wikimedia Commons.
11. ‘I know you’re hurt too…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘All Out of Love’ by Air Supply
Boy, the entire recorded works of Air Supply could make its own quiz, rife as it is with trite lyrics that beggar belief. We’ve chosen this one, but it could have been any one of dozens and dozens of other songs instead. FUN FACT: Air Supply’s lineup once included guitarist Mark McEntee of the Divinyls.
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
12. ‘Sometimes, I feel so insecure…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘All by Myself’ by Eric Carmen
If there were a “Free Bird” of schmaltzy 1970s soft rock, Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself” would be an ideal candidate. It’s not just that the lyrics are trite – the song goes on forever, and by the time it’s over you can look in the mirror to see signs of aging.
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
13. ‘Two hearts that beat as one…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Endless Love’ by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
If you guessed Stacey Q, you’re wrong! While her song “Two of Hearts” is certainly no great shakes, ‘Endless Love’ is one of the most treacly and maudlin songs ever written and as the great Roger Ebert once said about the movie “Armageddon,” we feel that “Endless Love” is an assault on “the human desire to be entertained.”
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
14. ‘Are you somewhere feeling lonely…’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Hello’ by Lionel Richie
“Hello” by Lionel Richie is so goofy that it defies the imagination. Having said that, there’s nothing in the entire lyric sheet that’s quite as goofy as the song’s music video, which may require hospitalization after causing uproarious laughter.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
15. ‘I can fly higher than an eagle.’
Image Credit: MediaFeed/iStock/Meranna.
Answer: ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ by Bette Midler
At one point long ago, Bette Midler was a respected singer who dabbled in acting. Then, she became an omnipresent scourge on the mediums of both song and film, reaching her nadir when she recorded a song for a film that she starred in. We still respect her long years of service at Continental Baths.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: RHINO/YouTube.
More from MediaFeed
How many of these ’70s musicians can you name based on just one lyric?
- 10 questions you should never answer if the police pull you over
- 30 awesome things we could do in the ‘70s that today’s kids have missed out on
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
