Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?
I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel
So if there's any other way to spell the word
It's fine with me, with me
Why would you speak to me that way?
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain
I always tell the truth
Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?
I climbed to Dharamsala too, I did
I met the highest Lama, his accent sounded fine
To me, to me
Check your handbook, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your boyfriend, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
Check your passport, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your butler, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's through the wall
Why would you tape my conversations?
Show your paintings at the United Nations
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
I've seen those English dramas too, they're cruel
So if there's any other way to spell the word
It's fine with me, with me
Why would you speak to me that way?
Especially when I always said that I
Haven't got the words for you
All your diction dripping with disdain
Through the pain
I always tell the truth
Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?
I climbed to Dharamsala too, I did
I met the highest Lama, his accent sounded fine
To me, to me
Check your handbook, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your boyfriend, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's to the wall
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
Check your passport, it's no trick
Take the chapstick, put it on your lips
Crack a smile, adjust my tie
Know your butler, unlike other guys
Why would you lie about how much coal you have?
Why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Why would you lie about anything at all?
First the window, then it's through the wall
Why would you tape my conversations?
Show your paintings at the United Nations
Lil' Jon, he always tells the truth
Lyrics submitted by carlitalolitax
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An oxford comma is the comma right before the and in a series.
I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel, and coal.
I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel and coal.
In the first example, the amound of coal is not specified, while in the second example there are clearly 50 pounds of coal. By omitting the oxford comma, you can let people think that you have 50 pounds of coal, even if you do not, as the oxford comma is often viewed as optional.
But why would you lie about how much coal you have? why would you lie about something dumb like that?
Gregory, on my word, we'll not carry coals.
also ties into the boyfriend/girlfriend argument
Consider this:
I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel and coal, and 25 pounds of copper.
What does the bit in the middle refer to? Even though the writer has used correct grammar (recognises Oxford Comma), ambiguity remains simply because of "and".
Because I do, too.
Remember hemlock echo - there is a difference between formal education and intelligence. INTELLIGENCE IS ORIGINAL AND CAN BE THE PRODUCT OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T FOLLOW THE RULES!!! Special Ed rocks ...
vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/01/…
from the horses mouth,
the songwriter himself
What is this song about? It's about not giving a fuck about silly, small and ridiculous things (see what i did there? i made a list without using an oxford comma) Anywhats, hoorah to Vampire Weekend hypothetically murdering pretentiousness.
Small and ridiculous became one category, whereas small would be different from ridiculous.
The speaker is telling the girl that she shouldn't care so much about the small rules and standards of modern society (i.e. the Oxford Comma) and that she should be more open to the world (know your butler, don't care about the accent). She should get to know her boyfriend rather than just being with him for the sake of saying she can have a boyfriend.
He is trying to tell her that the proper, more civilized, or high class things are often overrated (the English dramas are cruel) and sticking to them all the time can have a bad effect on you (they make her lie about meaningless things). The lies start out just like a see through window but soon she has built an entire wall of lies around her just to keep up with what she perceives proper society to be.
He wants her to stop correcting people all the time because the people that she thinks are lower than her are actually more honest and genuine than she is.
And brycesw: You're a moron.
"If there's any other way to spell the word..."--The girl tends to correct people on spelling mistakes--the singer realizes that correcting people on unusual spellings is trivial.
"I've seen the English dramas"-- The singer is saying that the girl's exposure to high culture does not make her better than other people.
"Why would you lie about how much coal you have"-- "coal" means "useless possessions", like "coal in your stocking". Why would you lie to make yourself appear better than others?
"...about anything at all"-- Just what it says--Why are you deceitful?
"window, wall, lil' jon"-- I think this is just saying that Lil Jon, in his street-dialect style, is far less pretentious than this girl is.
"tape conversations"--Just another break-up accusation, it's a deceitful and hurtful behavior, and she's a deceitful person
"paintings...united nations"--it's just the sort of thing that a pretentious ivy-league girl would want to do--have her paintings hung in the united nations, oohh look at how sophisticated I am. Right? :)
I don't think John Negroponte is involved in this song in any way, shape, or form. You guys are pulling that out of your ass.