hello folks.
could anyone shed some lighton the lyrics of the song “Crimson and Clover” which, i think, was done by Tommy James and the Shondells.
(Never mind what a Shondell is.)
Thank you, crinkle
I’m not sure what you meant by “shed light.”
You can find the lyrics here. That’s about all the insight i have to offer.
Hi crinkle,and welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board. You might want to take a moment and read the board descriptions, and browse through About This Message Board. This question is more suited to the Cafe Society forum, and I’m sure one of our ever-helpful moderators will be along shortly to move it. 
I think the OP has more to do with what the heck does “crimson and clover” have to do with the rest of the lyrics? Just because it rhymes “love her” and “over”? Or is there a more sinister meaning like evil lyrics when playing the record backwards.
hehe…I said record~
“revolC dna nosmirC”
Ooooo…that is evil!
I’ll move this to our salon for art and stuff, Cafe Society.
Off to Cafe Society.
DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator
I think it’s about someone like John Hinckley, who ends up killing people in an attempt to win the heart of a woman he is too frightened to woo directly. He shoots them on a field of clover, hence the title. The obsessive, dreamlike nature of the conclusion means the went into a dissociative state during the killings, focused completely on how beautiful the color combinations looked to the exclusion of all else.
My interpretation of the lyrics:
“See that girl over there? I don’t know her very well, but I think she’s hot, and because I’m too spineless to actually TALK to her or anything, I just fantasize a lot about boinking her repeatedly.”
Well, there’s a type of clover called crimson clover. Not sure if that has anything to do with the song though.
Tommy James and the Shondells were part of the first rock concert I ever went to, as backup to the Buckinghams and the Beach Boys. Yes, the girls screamed all through the evening.
Ah, 1967.
What’s a Shondell? It’s kinda like a Rhondell or a Standell, but not quite.
I think it’s pretty the song itself is about a sexual fantasy. Given the era the song was written in, I’d be willing to believe “crimson and clover” is a sexual euphemism. The singer is talking about taking a girl’s virginity, causing her to bleed slighly. As for clover. . . .who nows? Maybe they’re doing “it” in a field, mayber it just rhymes with “over and over,” etc.
I meant, “I think it’s pretty clear the song is about a sexual fantasy”!
I think the “Crimson and Clover” lyric is just rhythmic nonsense, and the “over and over” is poking slight fun at at the lyrics.
The circumstantial evidence I have for this is that Tommy James was inspired to write “Mony Mony” by the lit-up “MONY” on the MONY building in New York.