Upon reading the thread about Toby Wing, I dragged out my copy of the “Guys and Dolls” soundtrack. (I’m such a good little Pavlovian mutt; I also got out my Ramones Greatest Hits when I heard about Joey Ramone.) Anyway, I was listening to the title song, and I suddenly realized…
From the female POV, this is a great song! These guys are complaining about the same stuff that brings joy to a woman’s heart!
Think about it:
"When you see a guy/Reach for stars in the sky/You can bet that he’s doing it for some doll…"
Hell yeah! You want your man to be ambitious!
"When you meet a gent/Payin’ all kinds of rent/For a flat that could flatten the Taj Mahal/Call it sad, call it funny/But it’s better than even money/That the guy’s only doing it for some doll!"
Hey, you get a nice apartment, he gets steady tail. You both get what you pay for!
"When a lazy slob/Takes a good steady job/And he smells from Vitalis and Barbasol/Call it dumb, call it clever/Ah, but you can give odds forever/That the guy’s only doing it for some doll!"
Wow, she must put a lot of pressure on him, to get him to work and bathe!
Fact is, there are women who, one could say, “use” men…but it’s still the guy’s decision to comply. After all, they’re not being promised anything they don’t get! I just listened to this song a few times, imagining three women singing it, gleefully congratulating themselves for having these effects on their men.
(Although I don’t condone the “mug/Lately outta the jug/And he’s still lifting platinum folderol”. I’d never encourage my man to do anything illegal, let alone continue to do so after having been caught once. But the rest of it is terrific!)