the meaning of 'sell a contradiction'

S

stenka25

Senior Member
South Korea, Han-gul
There is the following sentence in the song, Karma Chameleon.

What I want to know is what is the meaning of 'sell a contradiction'?
Can you tell me?


If I listen to your lies would you say
I'm a man without conviction
I'm a man who doesn't know
How to sell a contradiction
 
    • stenka25 said:
    There is the following sentence in the song, Karma Chameleon.

    What I want to know is what is the meaning of 'sell a contradiction'?
    Can you tell me?


    If I listen to your lies would you say
    I'm a man without conviction
    I'm a man who doesn't know
    How to sell a contradiction
    Click to expand...

    To sell a contradiction would probably mean to convince someone of the rightness of something even though it is a contradiction with something else.

    You'll note that I said "probably", Stenka. Now, I'll give you my spiel about pop music... don't use it to learn English.;) The lyrics to music (especially pop music) are written so that they are accomodated in the tempo, meter and mood of the song. In this case, the writer had to find a word that rhymes with "conviction" - she/he chose "contradiction" - it's that simple. Pop music is rife with bad grammar and sometimes incomprehensible word groupings and, in many cases, your guess would be as good anybody else's.
     
    I should warn you that lyrics by Boy George and America just plain don't make any sense. They are poet expressions tossed together for an impression and sound.

    The probably sense of this, if any, is that the speaker is a shallow sort, incapable of subtle or conflicting emotions or beliefs.

    But be careful with this stuff, as dimcl says. Songs are great for learning Spanish, but full of trouble in English. It's worth asking people if certain groups's lyrics make sense. Some do, some down. America sings about "alligator lizards in the air"...no attempt to make sense at all. Karma Chameleon has almost no literal significance. Pretty song, though. And I love "Mistake Number Three"...but don't try to learn English from it :)
     
    Thanks, Dimci.
    Thanks, Snorkelbum.
    I'll keep in mind what you advised me about song lyrics.

    Thanks again.
     
    to sell a contradiction means to persuade or induce (someone) to believea statement or proposition (words) that contradicts or denies another or itself and is logically incongruous.
     
    Karma is the good or bad emotions felt to be generated by someone or something. A chameleon is a changeable, fickle, or inconstant person. Jon is a Karma Chameleon. His good and bad emotions constantly change which makes him unpredictable to George hence "he comes and goes".
     
    Last edited:
    Jacob King said:
    simply boy george dosent know how to tell convincing lies
    Click to expand...

    Bearing in mind the relationship that existed between John Moss and Boy George. JM was able "to sell the contradiction" of not being gay, and would most likely have preferred that BG could do likewise. So in retrospect the lyrics can be seen as quite meaningful.
     
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