Memorable Lyrics Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Stranglers

"Golden Brown" the beautifully melodic offering from Punk band The Stranglers is apparently about the use of heroin. Unusual fact about this song is that it is written in 7/4 timing.

Answer: Come Together

From the album "Abbey Road" which was the last studio album recorded by The Beatles, even though it was released before "Let It Be". Other notable lines, "He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker" and "He got juju eyeball, he shoot Coca-Cola". Great stuff! Also covered by Aerosmith on their 1978 live album "Bootleg".

Answer: Mamas and the Papas

From the sixties' classic "California Dreamin'". Also covered by the Beach Boys. Other connection between the two bands: Wilson Phillips, who had a hit in 1990 with "Hold On", comprised the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips from the Mamas and the Papas (Chynna) and the daughters of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (Carnie and Wendy).

Answer: Mistral Wind

Heart were formed in Seattle, long before it was fashionable to come from the 'Capital of Grunge', and are fronted by Canadian sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. "Mistral Wind" was from their fourth and, in my opinion, much underrated album "Dog and Butterfly".

Answer: Tori Amos

From "Crucify" the first release from her excellent debut album "Little Earthquakes". Born in North Carolina, the daughter of a Methodist minister, this red-headed singer-songwriter has often been compared to Laura Nyro and Kate Bush.

Answer: Faith No More

"Midlife Crisis", the anthem for thirty-somethings from their 1992 album "Angel Dust". Probably best known for their uncharacteristic cover of Lionel Ritchie's "Easy", this sadly now defunct San Francisco band were one of the first groups to experiment with the fusion of rap and hard rock now popularized by bands such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.

Answer: Crowded House

Crowded House were formed in 1985 by New Zealander Neil Finn from the remnants of his elder brother Tim's band Split Enz. Tim then joined the band for their 1991 album "Woodface" which spawned the hit "Weather With You" which reached #7 in the UK and helped earn the brothers each an OBE for services to NZ music. For the record, Tim and Neil's sister used to live in Mount Pleasant Road, Auckland, but not at no.57.

Answer: Babooshka

Discovered by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd who funded her first demo tape which led to her being signed by EMI at the age of just 16. "Babooshka" (derived from 'Babushka' a Russian term for a grandmother) is the story of a women who sets out to test her husband's fidelity by sending him love letters.

The song has an ironic twist to it though for when she arranges to meet him in disguise, he does indeed fall for her, but only because she seems to possess the same qualities and characteristics that attracted him to his wife in the first place before she became the bitter paranoid woman that felt the need to try to trick her husband. Sad, hey? A bit like Rupert Holmes' "Pina Colada Song" but without the happy ending!

Answer: Mirror in the Bathroom

"Mirror in the Bathroom" was a UK hit for the Beat in 1980 and was later used on the soundtrack for "Grosse Point Blank". The band from Birmingham were known as the English Beat in the US to avoid confusion with the Los Angeles band of the same name. "Mirror Man" was by the Human League, "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson from his "Bad" album and "Mirror Song" from Live's 1991 album "Mental Jewelry".

Answer: Stevie Nicks

"Edge of Seventeen" from Stevie's first, and arguably finest, solo album "Bella Donna" in 1981 was inspired by Tom Petty's wife, Jane, whose strong southern accent made the word "age" sound like "edge". It is Stevie's dedication to two Johns - John Lennon, who was murdered in December 1980 and her uncle John who passed away shortly afterwards.

Her duet with Tom Petty from the same album, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Answer: Dark Side of the Moon

"... the time has come, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say" are the closing lines to "Time" from Pink Floyd's 1973 masterpiece "Dark Side of the Moon". A typically dark and gloomy commentary by Roger Waters on the futility and inevitability of life. Renowned for their elaborate stage shows, Pink Floyd remain one of the most enduring of all progressive rock bands, having been around since 1965.

Answer: Seal

Who else could have used the word 'fractal' in a song?! "Crazy" was the first solo release off his self-titled debut album in 1991. Born Sealhenry Samuel in London in 1963 to Nigerian and Brazilian parents, his unique blend of soul, pop, dance and rock, with more than just a touch of real humanity, has earned this artist a huge following worldwide.

In 1994 he won a Grammy for "Kiss From a Rose" which was used on the soundtrack for the movie "Batman Forever".

Answer: Don't Stand So Close to Me

Originally from their 1980 album "Zenyatta Mondatta", the song is about a student-teacher infatuation. Gordon Sumner, a.k.a. Sting, was himself a teacher before forming the Police in 1977, his nickname coming from his habit of wearing striped pullovers. Re-recorded in 1986 for the "Singles Collection" but as a much slower version; Sting claimed he had always been unhappy with the original.

The book in question is of course "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, twice made into a movie, with Humbert Humbert, the villain of the piece, being played by James Mason in the 1962 original and by Jeremy Irons in the 1997 remake.

Answer: The Cult

"Edie (Ciao Baby)" is based upon the life of Edie Sedgwick, one of Andy Warhol's Superstars in the mid-sixties. She is also supposed to have been the inspiration for "Femme Fatale" by Velvet Underground as well as Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" and "Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat".

However, she was heavily drug-dependant and this eventually took its toll. She died in 1971 at the age of just 28 following a series of hospitalizations. The Warhol film "Ciao! Manhattan" is a documentary of her life and was Ian Astbury's inspiration for writing this beautiful rock ballad from the Cult's 1989 album "Sonic Temple".

Answer: Hotel California

A relatively easy one to end off with. The 1976 classic from the Eagles' album of the same name is a euphemism for drug addiction. Originally the backing band for Linda Ronstadt, they went on to become on of the most successful groups of the seventies with hits such as "Desperado", "One of These Nights" and "Heartache Tonight". Don Henley, the drummer and vocalist on "Hotel California" had hits as a solo artist with "Dirty Laundry" and "Boys of Summer".

Thank you for playing my quiz. I hope you had as much enjoyment playing it as I did compiling it.