THE SONG: Bruce Springsteen, "Glory Days"
THE LYRIC: "He could throw that speed ball by you / make you look like a fool"
THE VERDICT: Bruce, we hate to bring this up, because we think you're great and everything, and it might sound a little nitpicky and all, but it's just that . . . um . . . well, a fastball is what Roger Clemens throws. A speedball is what John Belushi took to kill himself. Unless you were trying to make a prophetic comment about Doc Gooden's career, in which case you did a great job.
I've never been a fan of rock lyrics. Even at their most sublime, they rarely qualify as stand-alone poetry. But as Muddy Waters told Mick Jagger (I paraphrase, unable to find the quote), the lyrics and vocals are just another instrument in the mix; albeit probably the most important one. Most rock is repetitive and monotonous without it. It doesn't matter so much what someone is singing, as long as someone is singing.
Having said that, some lyrics deserve to be singled out for their consummate stupidity. A Hall of Lame, if you will. Warning: Language.