Let Me Finish That For You (3) Quiz

Answer: Undress me anywhere

This song is from the band Aqua and is called 'Barbie Girl'. Aqua was a Danish-Norwegian dance pop group and all four members of the group had a hand in writing the song. They brought the song out in May 1997, and it was a huge hit around the world... with everybody apparently, except Mattel - the makers of the Barbie doll - who took exception to the song and in 2000, filed a lawsuit against MCA Records. The case was ultimately dismissed two years later.

The (really rather catchy) song made it to number one in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland and has had more than one billion views on YouTube.

Let's look at some lyrics:
'I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world/ Life in plastic, it's fantastic/ You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere/ Imagination, life is your creation/Come on, Barbie, let's go party.'

Answer: Will you do the fandango

This, of course, is from Queen's extremely popular song, 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Rather interestingly, 'Bohemian Rhapsody', which was a hit in December 1975, was the first song to ever get to number one in the UK twice - with exactly the same version. (It reached number one again in 1991 after the death of Freddie Mercury.)

Freddie once admitted that the song was actually three different songs that he'd written, which he ultimately compiled into one. The opera section of the song apparently took three full weeks to record, while the video was shot in just four hours. Amazingly, while the song (according to Forbes) was the world's most streamed song in 2018, in the U.S. it never reached number one.

Here are a few of the lyrics:
'I see a little silhouetto of a man/
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?/ Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me/ (Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro, magnifico/ But I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me/
He's just a poor boy from a poor family/ Spare him his life from this monstrosity.'

Answer: Everything you own in a box to the left

Beyonce, the famous U.S. singer, bought us these lyrics in the song 'Irreplaceable.' The song, which was released in April 2006, stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks and this made it the most successful single of the year in the U.S in that year. Amazingly, it was also the best selling song in the U.S. in 2007 as well. It also made it to number one in Australia, NZ, Hungary and Ireland, and reached number four in the UK.

Let's have a look at some of the lyrics:
'To the left, to the left/To the left, to the left/ (mmmmmm)/ To the left, to the left/
Everything you own in the box to the left/In the closet that's my stuff/ Yes, if I bought it, please don't touch/ And keep talking that mess that's fine.'

Answer: My one desire

Backstreet Boys, the U.S boy band, brought these lyrics to the world in their song 'I Want it That Way'. The song was released in 1999, and became the Backstreet Boy's signature song. It hit number one in some 25 countries including the UK. It peaked at number six in the U.S. The song was also nominated for three Grammy Awards. In 2021, the music video surpassed one billion views on YouTube.

If you listen to all the lyrics, you might notice they don't make a great deal of grammatical sense. This was because the song was co-written by Max Martin - a Swede who wasn't, at the time, very familiar with the English language.

Here are some of the lyrics:
'You are my fire/ The one desire/Believe when I say/ I want it that way/ But we are two worlds apart/ Can't reach to your heart/ When you say/ That I want it that way/ Tell me why/
Ain't nothin' but a heartache/Tell me why/ Ain't nothin' but a mistake/ Tell me why/I never wanna hear you say/ I want it that way.'

Answer: Cool wind in my hair

Who could ever forget these lyrics are to 'Hotel California' by Eagles? The song was released way back in 1976. In terms of the inspiration, one of the writers of the song, Don Henley, said in an interview: 'everyone wants to know what this song means. I know, it's so boring. It's a song about the dark underbelly of the American Dream, and about excess in America which was something we knew about.'

In 1977, the song won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and it has gone Platinum in several countries, including the U.S., the UK, Japan, Denmark and Italy. The New Zealanders in particular must love the song - it went 7x Platinum there.

Some lyrics are below:
'On a dark desert highway/ Cool wind in my hair/ Warm smell of colitas/ Rising up through the air/Up ahead in the distance/ I saw a shimmering light/ My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim/ I had to stop for the night.'

Answer: But I get up again

Chumbawamba, a British band that described itself as 'a collective dedicated to the destruction of the government of the United Kingdom', bought us these lyrics in the song 'Tubthumping'. Released in 1997, the song was Chumbawamba's biggest hit and became somewhat of an anthem. It reached number one in several countries including Australia, NZ, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, and number two in the UK. On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 it peaked at number six.

If you ever wondered what a tubthumper is, it is British slang for a politician.

Some of the lyrics are as follows:
'He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink/ He drinks a Lager drink, he drinks a Cider drink/ He sings the songs that remind him of the good times/ He sings the songs that remind him of the better times/ (Oh Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy)/ I get knocked down, but I get up again/ You are never gonna keep me down.'

Answer: Darling, can't you hear me

You may be dead if you haven't heard 'S.O.S' by the Swedish band ABBA! Another golden oldie, the song was released in 1975. If you want some utter trivia, this is the only Top 20 song in history (as at 2023) whereby the title of the song (S.O.S) and the band (ABBA) are both palindromes. (Well, I did warn you!)

Again, while the song had a fair bit of success, coming in at number one in Australia, Belgium, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and West Germany, and number six in the UK, it has definitely stood the test of time.

Incidentally, Pete Townshend - arguably one of the greatest guitarists in history, has repeatedly said that '"SOS" is one of the best pop songs ever written'.

Let's look at some lyrics:
'So, when you're near me, darling/ Can't you hear me, S.O.S.?/ The love you gave me/ Nothing else can save me, S.O.S/ When you're gone/ How can I even try to go on?/ When you're gone/ Though I try, how can I carry on?'

Answer: I've come to talk to you again

Simon and Garfunkel, the American music duo, gave us these lyrics in the iconic song 'The Sound of Silence'. One of my favourite songs of all time, it was released in 1964 and was written by Paul Simon.

While it reached the top ten in many countries when it was released, it has enjoyed enduring success, with many notable people doing modern covers, including Pentatonix, Disturbia and Dan Vasc. BMI named 'The Sound of Silence' as the 18th most-performed song of the 20th century in 1999. It was also ranked Number 156 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

I know the lyrics by heart, but for those of you not familiar with them, here are a few:
'Hello darkness, my old friend/ I've come to talk with you again/ Because a vision softly creeping/ Left its seeds while I was sleeping/ And the vision that was planted in my brain/ Still remains/ Within the sound of silence.'

Answer: Hold your breath and count to ten

'Skyfall' was, of course, by the hugely popular English singer, Adele. It was recorded for the James Bond movie of the same name.

Released in 2012, the song topped the charts in eleven countries, including Lebanon and South Korea, and peaked at number two in the UK and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. With sales of 7.2 million copies worldwide, it was one of the best selling digital singles of all time as at 2023.

The song was also the first Bond theme to win five important awards: the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Brit Award for British Single, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song, and the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Daniel Craig, the star of the movie, admitted during an interview with Yahoo movies that he cried when he first heard the song.

Let's have a look at some lyrics:
'This is the end/ Hold your breath and count to ten/ Feel the Earth move and then/ Hear my heart burst again/ For this is the end/ I've drowned and dreamt this moment/ So overdue, I owe them/ Swept away, I'm stolen.'

Answer: Listen to Iron Maiden, baby

These lyrics hail from the song 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus, an American band that formed in 1995 in New York. While the song was a huge hit, some might struggle to remember the band name. This is probably because 'Teenage Dirtbag' was, by far, Wheatus' biggest hit.

The song took some four years to write according to the writer and lead singer, Brendan B Brown. The inspiration was a bit gloomy, being that it was inspired by a gruesome murder that took place behind Brown's house in Northport, New York when he was ten. The murderer was determined to be Ricky Kasso, a boy who was later revealed to have been wearing an AC/DC t-shirt at the time of the murder. This prompted a huge panic in the local community, and gave rise to speculation about links between rock music and Satanism.

Brown has been quoted as saying: 'Just because I like AC/DC doesn't mean I'm a devil worshipper, and you're an idiot.' The song, which was released in 2000, went 3x Platinum in Australia and the UK, and Platinum in four other countries.

Let's look at some of the lyrics:
'And he brings a gun to school/ And he'd simply kick my ass if he knew the truth/ He lives on my block/ And he drives an IROC/But he doesn't know who I am/ And he doesn't give a damn about me/ Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby/ Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby/ Listen to Iron Maiden, baby, with me, ooh.'