I’m not going to claim that they were artists, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the group Loverboy. They were one of the first groups that Jeff and I really liked. We bought all of their albums, knew all of their songs, and, at one point, we even tried to dress like Mike Reno (and here).

Mike Reno

To this day, I feel a rush when a Loverboy song comes on the radio. Just the other day I cranked the radio to:

Turn Me Loose
by Loverboy

I was born to run,
I was born to dream,

The craziest boy you ever seen,
I gotta do It my way,
Or no way at all.

And I was here to please,
I’m even on knees
Makin love to whoever I please,
I gotta do it my way,
Or no way at all.

And then you came around,
Tried to tie me down,
I was such a clown,
You had to have it your way,
Or no way at all.

Well I’ve had all I can take,
I can’t take it no more,
I’m gonna pack my bags and fly……baby,

Or no way at all.

So why don’t you turn me lose,
Turn me loose,
Turn me loose,
I gotta do it my way,
Or no way at all.

Why don’t you turn me lose,
Turn me loose,

Turn me loose,
I gotta do it my way,
I wanna fly.

I’m here to please,
I’m even on my knees,
Makin love to whoever I please,
I gotta do it my way,
I gotta do it my way,

And when you came around,
You Tried to tie me down,
I was such a clown,
You had to have it your way,
Well I’m sayin no way,

So why don’t you turn me lose,
Turn me loose,
Turn me loose,

I gotta do it my way,
Or no way at all.

Why don’t you turn me loose,
Turn me loose,
Turn me loose,
I gotta do it my way,
I wanna fly.

Repeat

Turn me loose,

Repeat.

The grammar error in this song grates on my nerves like you wouldn’t believe. I hate it. I’ve always hated it. Didn’t somebody during the production of this record have the sense to pull out Strunk and White? (I should point out that I don’t mind the colloquial “craziest boy you ever seen” — that doesn’t bother me for some reason.)

Comments


On 25 April 2003 (07:43 AM),
jeff said:

Grammar errors usually bother me, but I didn’t even notice the whoever/whomever error (until JD pointed it out to me). The lose/loose error is what I noticed (which JD is now changing).

The Loverboy song reminds me of an even better song by another Canadian band from the ’80s:

On The Loose by Saga

One day you feel quite stable
The next you’re comin’ off the wall
But I think you should warn me
If you start heading for a fall

I see the problem start
I watch the tension grow
I see you keeping it to yourself
And then instead of reaching conclusions
I see you reaching for something else

No one can stop you now
Tonight you’re on the loose
No one to tell you how
Tonight you’re on the loose

I see no harm or danger in escaping

If the method suits the style
We put the mind on idle
And let the others take it for awhile
When the pace is too fast
And I think I won’t last
You know where I’ll be found

I’ll be standing here beside myself
Getting ready for the final round

No one can stop you now
Tonight you’re on the loose
No one to tell you how

Tonight you’re on the loose

The time we feel most stable
Is the time we’re comin’ off the wall
And there’s every indication
We may be heading for a fall

So let the problems start
And let the tension grow
We’ll be keeping it to ourselves
And while they’re busy reaching their conclusions
We’ll be reaching for something else

No one can stop you now
Tonight you’re on the loose
No one to tell you how
Tonight you’re on the loose



On 28 April 2003 (10:07 AM),
Paul said:

J.D.,

Re: Grammar. Haven’t you noticed that poor grammar is ok in popular music? It’s the one place where double negatives are the norm. I bet that if we could “correct” these things it would ruin the song(s). I can’t think of any good examples but there are oodles.



On 28 April 2003 (10:49 AM),
Drew said:

get this guy off the top page!

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