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80s Behind the Lyrics IV Trivia Quiz

Sure you know your lyrics, but do you know what they mean? Take this quiz and learn about the words, phrases, and ideas contained in the lyrics of your favorite 80s tunes.

A multiple-choice quiz by umpire63. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
umpire63

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
132,878

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
2020

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The Traveling Wilburys sang, "She was dark and discreet, she was light on her feet/ We went up to her room and she lowered the boom...I asked her to marry me she smiled and pulled out a knife/ The party's just beginning she said, it's your money or you life," in their song "Last Night." What is the term for a prostitute who robs a man(usually with the help of her pimp) after picking him up in a bar?

Hint

Murphy Artist

Pimp Artist

Pick-up Thief

Con Girl

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Jackson Browne sings, "Among the human beings/ In their designer jeans
/Am I the only one who hears the screams/ And the strangled cries of Lawyers In Love." If those lawyers' jeans in the 80's had an image of a horse's head on the pocket, what brand would they be?
Hint

Jordache

Vanderbilt

Sassoon

Levi's

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In his song "Leningrad", Billy Joel sings, "Viktor was born in the spring of '44/ And never saw his father anymore/ A child of sacrifice, a child of war/ Another son who never had a father after Leningrad." Leningrad was named for Vladimir Lenin after the Bolshevik revolution. However, after glasnost, it went through a name change. What is the name of Leningrad today?
Hint

Moscow

St. Petersburg

Minsk

Petrograd

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. In the same song, Joel sings of his childhood, "I was born in '49/ A cold war kid in McCarthy time." For what state was Joseph McCarthy a senator?
Hint

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Michigan

Iowa

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Question 5 of 10

5. In "Lonely Ol' Night", John Mellencamp sings, "Radio playing softly some singer's sad sad song/ He's singing about standing in the shadows of love/ I guess he feels awfully alone." What group originally recorded "Standing in the Shadows of Love"?
Hint

The Platters

The Jackson 5

The Coasters

The Four Tops

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Aerosmith sings about "Love in an Elevator." What company is the world's largest manufacturer of elevators? Hint

McCallister Elevator Co.

Montgomery Elevator Co.

Otis Elevator Co.

Schindler Elevator Co.

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Sting sang, "Love is the Seventh Wave." What is the theory behind this statement? Hint

Meditation on love takes one to the seventh level of Kundalini

Love is the strongest wave in the Tantric belief system

Surfers believe the seventh wave is the strongest and best for surfing

Love creates heightened brain wave patterns

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Styx, in their weirdness, sang, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,/ Mata ah-oo hima de/ Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,/ Himitsu wo shiri tai." What does "Himitsu wo shiri tai" translate to in English?
Hint

I want to know your secret

Thank you very much

Until we meet again

Thank you, but no

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. In "My Hometown", Bruce Springsteen sings, "In `65 tension was running high at my high school/ There was a lot of fights between the black and white/There was nothing you could do." The action in this stanza would have taken place before the Civil Rights Act was passed.

True

False

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Duran Duran loved the lunar light when they sang, "I light my torch and wave it for the/ New moon on Monday/ And a firedance through the night/ I stayed the cold day with a lonely satellite." But under what conditions is the moon "new"?
Hint

The moon sits directly between the sun and earth

The moon sits directly to the right of the earth

The earth sits directly between the sun and moon

The earth sits directly to the left of the moon

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Murphy Artist

The hooker takes the man to her room, where she drugs him or her accomplice mugs him and takes all the poor man's money. It's an almost foolproof method of robbery because the "customer" is too embarassed to report it. Don't know if Tom Petty, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, or Roy Orbison--the members of the Wilburys--ever encountered a Murphy artist in real life.

2. Jackson Browne sings, "Among the human beings/ In their designer jeans /Am I the only one who hears the screams/ And the strangled cries of Lawyers In Love." If those lawyers' jeans in the 80's had an image of a horse's head on the pocket, what brand would they be?

Answer: Jordache

In the 80's you had to have the Jordache Look! Though the Jordache brand does not hold the reputation it did in the 80's, we can remember when we wanted the Jordache look.

Answer: St. Petersburg

It's back to the original name! Founded in 1703, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd from 1914-1924 because many Russians thought St. Petersburg sounded too German. In '24 the name was changed to Leningrad in honor of the recently deceased Vladimir Lenin, who had led the Bolshevik revolution that deposed Czar Nicholas II.

In 1991, after the period of Glasnost, the name was changed back to the original.

4. In the same song, Joel sings of his childhood, "I was born in '49/ A cold war kid in McCarthy time." For what state was Joseph McCarthy a senator?

Answer: Wisconsin

McCarthy sought Communists anywhere he could find them, and when he couldn't find them, he made them up. His power peaked from 1950-1954, but he accused several Army members of Communist ties, and President Eisenhower protected his old employer. McCarthy fell from grace and died in 1957 of alcohol-induced cirrhosis.

Answer: The Four Tops

"Don't you see me standing in the shadow of love/ Just tryin' my best to get ready for the heartaches to come." The Four Tops took this tune to #6 on the charts in 1967 behind the vocals of Levi Stubbs. The B-side of the 45 was the hit "Reach Out I'll Be There." The Jackson 5 did a cover of this song.

6. Aerosmith sings about "Love in an Elevator." What company is the world's largest manufacturer of elevators?

Answer: Otis Elevator Co.

Elisha Graves Otis invented the world's first safety elevator in 1852 and installed the first passenger elevator in New York in 1857. After his death in 1861, his sons, Charles and Norton, created Otis Brothers & Co. I wonder if Otis ever thought his invention would be used for the purpose Steven Tyler sings about.

7. Sting sang, "Love is the Seventh Wave." What is the theory behind this statement?

Answer: Surfers believe the seventh wave is the strongest and best for surfing

Sting wrote this song in Barbados where the surfers told him this tale while he was recording in Eddy Grant's ("Electric Avenue") studio. From the "Fields of Gold" album, 1985.

8. Styx, in their weirdness, sang, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,/ Mata ah-oo hima de/ Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,/ Himitsu wo shiri tai." What does "Himitsu wo shiri tai" translate to in English?

Answer: I want to know your secret

This album was the demise of a great band. For the record, Mata ah-oo hima de means "until we meet again", and Domo arigato means "thank you very much."

Answer: False

The US Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also required employers to provide equal employment opportunities. The song emphasizes the fact that passing a law sometimes doesn't mean that wrongs get righted.

Answer: The moon sits directly between the sun and earth

The members of Duran Duran would need a torch during a new moon because the sun's light doesn't reflect off the moon toward the earth; ergo, you have no moonlight during a new moon. When the earth sits directly between the sun and moon, it's a full moon. The other options are quarter moons.

Source: Author umpire63

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
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