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A ruling on the use of 'sticks and stones'

  • June 14, 2019
  • Peter Robinson

Two songs, both out today, use a very familiar lyrical idea. On Matoma's Bruised Not Broken, Kiana Ledé sings that "sticks and stones might break my bones"; in Taylor Swift's You Need To Calm Down she notes that "snakes and stones never broke my bones".

The Taylor Swift one's just better, isn't it? It takes the phrase and chucks in 'snakes' to bring it into Taylor's world, then puts the whole thing into the past tense. In general terms I'd happily live the rest of my life never hearing any sticks and stones reference in another song*, but pop law clearly states that if you're going to use a cliché**, you have to put a twist on it. No twist, no list(en). Rules are rules. 

* This abso­lutely also applies to any deploy­ment of the "love is a drug" metaphor
** Particularly a cliché that's based on total nonsense — the "words will never hurt me" part of the whole sticks and stones idea is, clearly, absolute bullshit

  • Matoma
  • taylor swift
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The Taylor Swift video is As Expected

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  • 1
    Congratulations to Charli XCX and Lorde: winners of the 2024 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • 2
    The 2024 Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • 3
    The 2023 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • 4
    Fine, let's do a Substack then.
  • 5
    The 2022 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist
  • 6
    2021 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Laura Mvula wins
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