# "it's like murder she wrote once I get you out of them clothes" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942 "2009-12-20T11:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/1 "2009-12-20T11:22:31Z")
Despite everything, I can’t help but enjoy “Ignition (remix)”. R. Kelly is a [suspicious character](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Kelly#Child_pornography_trial) and his lyrics can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but that song at least has a great hook and r’n’b rhythm. That said, I can’t wrap my head around these lyrics: > [@](#): > > It’s like ‘Murder, she wrote’, once I get you out of them clothes I mean… Yes. This is R. Kelly, not [R. Proust.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV_N7i-95Nk)Still, what is this I’m hearing? It’s like “Murder she wrote” once R. Kelly gets the girl “out of them clothes”? I don’t know about you, but to me ‘Murder she wrote’ is what old ladies watch on sunday afternoons together with scones and tea. Judging from R. Kelly overall, I’d assume that he’s a bit less innocent than that. Rather “Freakazoid” or “American Gladiators”. Perhaps even “Fear Factor”. So, from what I can gather, the lyrics have something to do with either of the following: a.) “Murder, she wrote” is stranger than I recall. Maybe Angela Lansbury in particular. b.) The lyrics are a metaphor for something intricately kinky that I’m too European and too non-R. Kelly to grasp. If so, I apologize in advance. c.) R. Kelly is crazy. Enlighten me, message board. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/2 "2009-12-20T11:34:45Z")
> [@](#): > > now its like murder she wrote > once i get you out them clothes > privacy is on the door > still they can hear you screamin more The three lines that follow explain the line in question. He is saying that once he gets started she is going to be screaming like someone who is being murdered. Not sure if there is anything else I may be missing but that is at least the main idea. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/3 "2009-12-20T11:40:21Z")
Lil Wayne confused the hell out of me with “3 Peat”. At one point he says _You cannot see me Like Hitler it’s the New Orleans nightmare._ And I’m like what the hell. Why is New Orleans afraid of Hitler? But as I listed a little closer I realized I was focusing on the wrong thing. “Cannot see me like Hitler” is pronounced “Can Nazi me like Hitler” and the part about New Orleans is the next line. Why he wants to be Nazi’d is anybody’s guess. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/4 "2009-12-20T12:31:16Z")
> [@Frosted\_Glass](#): > > The three lines that follow explain the line in question. He is saying that once he gets started she is going to be screaming like someone who is being murdered. Not sure if there is anything else I may be missing but that is at least the main idea. Well that would make sense if the words “she wrote” were not there. But for most of us “murder she wrote” refers to a very staid TV show, with very little screaming or overt violence (yes there were murders to be solved, but they mostly took place “offstage”), and where most of the characters were elderly and decidedly unsexy. If he is trying to suggest hot sex he is way off. Maybe it is just very carelessly written. He meant “it’s like murder” but the scansion demanded a couple of extra syllables and he just slotted in the pre-existing phrase that came to mind without thinking about its connotations. Some musicians care a lot more about the music than about the words. I am not very familiar with R. Kelly’s lyrics. Is he usually a meticulous wordsmith, or not? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/5 "2009-12-20T16:09:31Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > But for most of us “murder she wrote” refers to a very staid TV show […] where most of the characters were elderly and decidedly unsexy. If he is trying to suggest hot sex he is way off. I remember having pretty much these exact same thoughts in the early nineties, when Chaka Demus’ dancehall hit [_Murder, She Wrote_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-av7F1JBmj4) charted. (Youtube link.) R. Kelly’s line makes\* slightly \*more sense as a namecheck of this tune than a direct reference to Angela Lansbury’s detective show. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/6 "2009-12-20T16:18:13Z")
I think R is using “Murder, She Wrote”, but he actually means “That’s all she wrote”. As in ‘once I get you out of those close, it’s on, and there is no stopping it’. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/7 "2009-12-20T16:32:38Z")
I think it’s just supposed to be like, oh cool, he name dropped a TV show. Even though it doesn’t make that much sense. We are talking about the same genre where rhyming “Louis Vuitton don” and “Louis Vuitton mom” is intricate wordplay. And “she got a white friend look like Michael Jackson” is like knock one out of the park poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/8 "2009-12-20T17:00:36Z")
I’m guessing that R. Kelly has never \*seen \*Murder She Wrote, and thinks it is more gruesome that it actually was. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/9 "2009-12-20T17:43:16Z")
> [@Pashnish\_Ewing](#): > > I think R is using “Murder, She Wrote”, but he actually means “That’s all she wrote”. As in ‘once I get you out of those close, it’s on, and there is no stopping it’. I think he meant it in a “case closed” way, as in a done deal. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/10 "2009-12-20T18:12:38Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I think he meant it in a “case closed” way, as in a done deal. A valise, then? ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/11 "2009-12-20T20:52:28Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Well that would make sense if the words “she wrote” were not there. But for most of us “murder she wrote” refers to a very staid TV show, with very little screaming or overt violence (yes there were murders to be solved, but they mostly took place “offstage”), and where most of the characters were elderly and decidedly unsexy. If he is trying to suggest hot sex he is way off. That actually makes a lot more sense (if he’s that clever). Knowing that they killed people offstage gives a much better explanation of the whole “privacy is on the door, still they can hear you screaming more” part. Hes “killing it” (having amazing sex) offstage behind a “do not disturb” sign. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/12 "2009-12-20T21:09:14Z")
Oh, and it’s very predictable. Whenever Jessica Fletcher is in town, there is a murder. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/13 "2009-12-20T22:15:21Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > (yes there were murders to be solved, but they mostly took place “offstage”) The murder would be offstage, but at the end of the episode, Jessica would reveal the sequence of events as she had deduced them and as I recall _that_ would be shown, with Jessica narrating: [recreation is shown] Jessica: “…and after you planted Miss Brown’s glove in the freezer to throw suspicion on her, you sneaked into Mister Green’s bedroom and shot him.” [cut to drawing-room revelation scene] Murderer: “But how could I? James saw me at the boathouse at the time of the murder.” [cut back to recreation] Jessica: “James saw what he wanted to see, since he was eager for yet another romantic encounter, but when the figure in the dark coat waved him off, he assumed this wasn’t a good time. But that wasn’t you, it was your accomplice, Miss White.” ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/14 "2009-12-20T22:22:18Z")
I add this for the possible benefit of non-native English speakers. I don’t have any great insight, but I think the word “like” here is used in the slang sense of “like, y’know” rather than just meaning “it is similar to the television show.” So more of a “And you’ll be all ‘Murder She Wrote’ once I …” The slang “like” often describes not exactly what someone would say, but what they were thinking/ feeling phrased as a more extreme version of what they actually said. “The professor said we’d have a pop quiz today, so I was like, ‘just shoot me now.’” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/15 "2009-12-20T23:15:41Z")
It’s a bit disturbing to describe a romantic encounter like Murder, She Wrote, though, no? What’s he going to do…exactly? Pee on her? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/16 "2009-12-20T23:24:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > It’s a bit disturbing to describe a romantic encounter like Murder, She Wrote, though, no? What’s he going to do…exactly? Pee on her? It depends… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/17 "2009-12-21T00:01:46Z")
Maybe because once he gets her clothes off, he’s going to thoroughly investigate her body. Or else he’s stuck in the closet with Angela Lansbury. One or the other. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/18 "2009-12-21T00:53:23Z")
Maybe R. Kelly just likes [Angela Lansbury](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OQmEa5OKyOI/R9y1ktqRWyI/AAAAAAAACqo/Z2NGNWYoh-g/s1600-h/AngelaLansburyLowFat06.jpg). I think “Murder She Wrote” is supposed to make the sentiment sound more playful than plain “murder.” Why R. Kelly would be concerned with anyone’s delicate sensibilities at this point, I do not know, but overall I like the lyric, it’s snappy. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/19 "2009-12-21T01:35:06Z")
As a long-time rap and R&B fan who has oft been exposed to comical and sometimes nonsensical lyrics, I find it amusing how deeply all of you are trying to analyze this particular line. I think **Frosted Glass** has it correct, by the way. I suspect that any attempt to analyze it beyond that is putting far more thought into it than R. Kelly ever did. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942/20 "2009-12-21T04:18:04Z")
Still though, I’ve heard more obviously charming things than comparing your love making to a murder scene. It’s one of those things that should make a girl re-concider things. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-like-murder-she-wrote-once-i-get-you-out-of-them-clothes/521942.md?page=2)