I have a bit of a pet peeve to share…

Ambiguity has its place in music.  It has its place in many places (how’s that for ambiguous).

Songs like (sorry for these weird examples) Michelle Branch’s Everywhere and Matchbox Twenty’s 3AM seem like they could be about relationships with significant others, when in reality hers is about her grandmother and Rob Thomas’ song is about his mom.

But then you’ve got obvious ambiguity.  And by that, I mean songs that use that.  Here are some songs that go out of their way to make it clear that they don’t want to be clear.

• Hall and Oates’ I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Clothes shopping together.

• Meatloaf’s I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Change his name, or stop eating so much of his name.

• Dean Martin’s Ain’t That a Kick in the Head 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Syphilis.

• The Ting Tings’ That’s Not My Name 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Anything but Katie White… that’s her name.

• Elton John’s I Don’t Want To Go On With You Like That 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Some type of feather or shoe?

• Genesis’ That’s All 

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: All that.

• Lit’s My Own Worst Enemy (for the line, “I didn’t mean to call you that.”)

MY GUESS OF WHAT THAT IS: Slut.