Ten Best Unanswered (Perhaps Unanswerable) Questions in Music

Listed alphabetically by the first word, since I wouldn't know how to rank them.

  • "Could You Be Loved?" (Bob Marley and the Wailers)
  • "Do you love me?" (The Contours)
  • "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" (Culture Club)
  • "How many MCs must get dissed before somebody says don't (blank) with Kris?" (Boogie Down Productions, "My Philosophy")(Note: the [blank] is actually in the song)
  • "Is a dream that don't come true a lie or is it something worse?" (Bruce Springsteen, "The River")
  • "Should I stay or should I go?" (The Clash)
  • "What's Love Got to Do With It?" (Tina Turner)
  • "When Will I Be Loved" (Linda Ronstadt, among others)
  • "Why must I be a teenager in love?" (Dion and the Belmonts, "Teenager in Love")
  • "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" (The Shirelles) (OK, there were a few answer records, but none as famous as the original)

    (Note: Robyn Hitchcock sort-of answered the Monotones' question of "Who wrote the Book of Love" ["Book of Love", 1958] in his song "Freeze" from 1989's Queen Elvis):

    "I know who wrote the book of love
    It was an idiot
    It was a fool
    A slobbering fool with a speech defect and a shakin' hand
    And he wrote my name
    Next to yours
    But it should have been David Byrne or somebody"

    Note 2.: "Who Put the Bomp" has been "answered" by both Jan and Dean and by Frankie Lymon when they covered the song, with both acts claiming that they "put the bomp."

    Honorable mentions:

  • "What is wrong with me?" (Nirvana, "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter")
  • "What's my name?" (The Clash; also asked by DMX, Rihanna and Snoop Dogg)
  • "What you gonna do when everybody's insane?" (Heart, "Crazy On You")
  • "Who can it be now?" (Men at Work)
  • "Who can you trust when everyone's a crook?" (Queensr˙che, "Revolution Calling")
  • "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers)