I’ve been listening to a lot of Vampire Weekend lately. I don’t know, but maybe the Prep Rock just fits my idea of summer – days on Cape Cod, popped collar polos, bleeding madras sports coats. My trip to the Hamptons coincided with this re-discovery, so it was nice to get that WASP-Y prep rock blasting through my ears.

I love highly literate music. When Jeff Tweedy quotes Henry Miller during “Ashes of American Flags” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, I fell in love with Wilco. The double and triple meanings of the poetry in hip hop music has always made it something I’ve loved. Vampire Weekend’s “Oxford Comma” always makes me laugh because of this.

The song’s chorus asks, “Why would you lie about how much coal you have?”

Well, lying about how much coal you have can easily be done through the omission of an oxford comma.

An oxford comma is the comma right before the ‘and’ in a series.

I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel, and coal.
I have 100 pounds of iron, 50 pounds of steel and coal.

See the difference?  The “optional” comma allows for misinterpretation of what the writer is saying.   “But why would you lie about how much coal you have? Why would you lie about something dumb like that?”

Okay, I’m a bit of a nerd because of this, but I can’t help it.