On the way home this evening, SWV's song, "Downtown" played on my iPod. I recalled back to when this song was released and how naive I was to the metaphor. I was like, "she needs to go on a shopping spree to get in the mood to make love?!?". Then I finally really listened to the lyrics and had a big "ohhhh" (pun intended) moment. After that song, the word fairly innocuous word "downtown" now had a sexual connotation.
I started to think of other songs that either changed the meaning of some word or phrases or added new ones to our vernacular. Here's a few I thought of off the top of my head.
Cyndi Lauper's "She Bops"
I was about 10 years old when this came out. Little did I know that she was referring to a little "self-love". I just thought it was a strange little dance. Apparently, that is what Cyndi wanted us little kiddies to think it was about.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax"
Ok, these lyrics were a bit more, um, way more obvious. But, again at ten, what did I know? It wasn't until I heard this song again in my early twenties I wondered how could have my mother allowed me to listen to such music??
Blackstreet's "Booty Call"
Actually, the first time I ever heard the term "booty call" was in Bill Bellamy's comedy stand-up act ("ladies, if a brother calls you at 2am, is that or is that not a booty call?").
R. Kelly's "Down Low"
I'm sure R. Kelly's thought with this phrase was to keep a secret. Fairly innocuous, no innuendo there. However, this term has taken on a whole new meaning with straight identified black males, who occasionally like to take it in the tail pipe and don't want anyone to know.
I may add some more if I think of them. Any songs come to your mind?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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8 comments:
Evelyn Champagne King's Love Come Down
The first time I heard this song I was in elementary school. Everyone was singing it. I used to bop my head to it. Not knowing what she meant at the time. Years later I thought to myself... OH... She is talking about her juices flowing (cumming).
Another lyric I didn't understand until about a year later was a Prince song named Little Red Corvette. The line "a pocket full of horses." I thought, at the time, that they were talking about horse power for the car. Instead, condoms, Trojans to be exact.
I think I pretty much got most of the sexual innuendoes I heard as a filthy-minded child.
But I do recall, before I had any knowledge of sex, around the age of 3 or 4 hearing Olivia Newton John's Physical and wanting to watch the music video but my mom wouldn't let me. She said it wasn't for children. So I asked 'why? Is is scary?' I remember being really stumped on why I couldn't watch it.
@UT: Thanks for stopping through. You gave me two more songs to listen to differently! I never paid enough attention to the lyrics of either song to realize that there was so much sex involved. I'm so naive!!
See, that's what music misses these days, a little creative sexual seduction. Now, it's just "get butt-naked" or "I Want Your Sex".
@TGFPH: I remember that video. It actually confused me at the time, because before I saw the video, I thought that she was talking about something nasty, at least nasty to me in my 8 year old mind. Especially at the end when she says "let's get animal, animal". But since i thought that videos back then represented what the song was about, I saw the video and changed my mind. I thought, oh they're just working out. LOL.
Why did I just see booty call the other day. I forgot how funny that movie was.
it's so obvious now but as a kid had no idea about salt and peppers "push it" just knew my parent's didn't want me hearing it.
How about Bob Marley's "Stir it Up" -- I was so entranced by the melody as a youth that I had no idea what he was stirring until many years later.
Go 'head, Bobby -- stir it up good
Oh, and I forgot about that other reggee song- "Girl, I'm gonna make you sweat" (I don't know the actual title). Have you heard those lyrics? Bad news.
@Cat: I had never heard that song before, so I looked it up on youtube. That is so crass!!! They certainly didn't leave much to the imagination!!
My husband wanted to add "Encore" by Cheryl Lynn to the list.
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