10 Worst Music Lyrics Of The '80s

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson

Admittedly, the success of Michael Jackson had little to do with the lyrical content of his songs and plenty to do with his all-round talents as a singer and dancer without compare. That being said, this is only one of many tracks where further investigation into the words he is actually singing leaves you more than a little bemused.

The chief witness for the prosecution here is the unforgettably inane, 'You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable, still they hate you, you're a vegetable, you're just a buffet, you're a vegetable'. Although the lines, 'If you can't feed your baby, then don't have a baby, and don't think maybe', are considerably less than poetic.

Whilst on the subject, here are some other Jacko clunkers: 'Whispers at morning, our love is dawning', a terrible pun from Liberian Girl, or how about: 'So they came into the outway, it was a Sunday, what a black day' and 'He came into her apartment, he left bloodstains on the carpet', both from 'Smooth Criminal'. Dude, the crime is in the rhyme!

Contributor

Lifelong music obsessive, regular contributor to US guitar magazines, sometime radio presenter, singer/guitarist in Star Studded Sham, true believer in the power of rock'n'roll and an amp turned up to 11, about to publish first novel, The Bulletproof Truth.