# "It's now or never": Skeevy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227 "2020-07-24T15:59:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Paxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paxx)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/1 "2020-07-24T15:59:35Z")
> It’s now or never, > Come hold me tight > Kiss me my darling, > Be mine tonight > Tomorrow will be too late, > It’s now or never > My love won’t wait. Why is tomorrow too late? Why does it have to be now? The woman might be willing but why the insistence on “now”? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/2 "2020-07-24T16:02:35Z")
Maybe he’s shipping out to a war zone tomorrow. Or maybe just moving to some other state for a job. Sometimes it’s the last chance to do something, that’s not skeevy. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/3 "2020-07-24T16:13:31Z")
From the song he says “For who knows when we’ll meet again this way”. So maybe it’s a two-ships-passing-in-the-night situation. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/4 "2020-07-24T16:17:28Z")
I’d go with the stereotypical stand-by: He’s desperate to get laid, so he’s offering an ultimatum in the hopes that the woman will recognize his undeniable wonderfulness, come to her senses, and just get on with the screwing! 😮 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/5 "2020-07-24T17:17:28Z")
Haha, I bet that works out really well for him! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/6 "2020-07-24T17:21:23Z")
It probably did, for Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/7 "2020-07-24T17:21:49Z")
It could be that he’s saying, “I’m horny right now, and if you won’t do something about it, I’m done with you,” which, yeah, is pretty skeevy. But I agree the line _For who knows when we’ll meet again this way_ suggests there are circumstances beyond their control that will keep them apart come tomorrow. Or he’s just saying that to get her to give in. Their situation is not explicitly spelled out in the lyrics, so I suppose it’s a bit of a Rorschach. The tragic doomed romance angle makes for a better song, so I’m going with that. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/8 "2020-07-24T17:47:54Z")
Maybe there’s only so much time before the Viagra wears off. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/9 "2020-07-24T18:51:41Z")
Lots and lots of love songs, and poetry for that matter, have the theme of "Let’s screw like bunnies right this very moment, without waiting for anything or thinking about the future at all. Compare “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”, and “Had we but world enough and time”, or “What is love? Not hereafter”. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/10 "2020-07-24T18:59:28Z")
Maybe he is telling her he going after her sister or best friend tomorrow because they are easy and next on his list. Or he is going to prison and his preferences are going to do a 180 turn. ---
**Author:** ![Paxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Paxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paxx)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/11 "2020-07-24T20:06:36Z")
There’s no indication that he’s off to war, to prison or to a new job, and even if there was, it is manipulative to insist on something now. The world won’t end if they defer having sex. Also, if there was a benign explanation, why doesn’t she just agree and enjoy it? Why the ultimatum? > [@Wheelz](#): > > “I’m horny right now, and if you won’t do something about it, I’m done with you,” which, yeah, is pretty skeevy. Seems to me to be the simplest explanation. The year was 1960. Many men interpreted “No” as “Keep trying”. It was part of the “games people play”. The ultimatum was part of the game. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/12 "2020-07-24T22:09:05Z")
> [@Paxx](#): > > There’s no indication that he’s off to war, to prison or to a new job, and even if there was, it is manipulative to insist on something now. The world won’t end if they defer having sex. Also, if there was a benign explanation, why doesn’t she just agree and enjoy it? Why the ultimatum? There’s no indication of any reason so why do you go to something skeevy? It’s not an ultimatum if time is actually of the essence, which is the most common reason people say something like that. If it was an ultimatum it would be something like “Either we do this now or it’s over between us.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/13 "2020-07-24T22:46:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Lots and lots of love songs, and poetry for that matter, have the theme of "Let’s screw like bunnies right this very moment, without waiting for anything or thinking about the future at all. Compare “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”, and “Had we but world enough and time”, or “What is love? Not hereafter”. That’s true, but it’s also true that many popular lyrics simply reflect the human condition and the culture of the times, and what many lyrics of that era reflected were the urges of hormone-crazed male teenagers. Older male here, but I can imagine that one natural reaction of a young girl (or any woman, really) in that circumstance would be to get the hell out of there. And if aforementioned hormone-crazed male had a problem with that, in the woman’s situation I’d provide a nice punch in the face, or failing that, a good swift kick in the balls. > [@Paxx](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > “I’m horny right now, and if you won’t do something about it, I’m done with you,” which, yeah, is pretty skeevy. > > Seems to me to be the simplest explanation. The year was 1960. Many men interpreted “No” as “Keep trying”. It was part of the “games people play”. The ultimatum was part of the game. Eggs-actly. And this is part of the reason we have the #MeToo movement, with both its good and its bad (extreme) aspects. It’s essentially because there are so many hormone-crazed assholes around with zero ethics, reason, or rationality. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/14 "2020-07-24T23:07:37Z")
If you think Presley’s version is skeevy, you would definitely have problems with the original Italian lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/15 "2020-07-24T23:20:27Z")
The Uber just showed up. So you comin’ or ain’t ya? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/16 "2020-07-24T23:23:18Z")
First they came for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, and I said nothing. Then…😃 I wouldn’t make too much of “it’s now or never”. You can read into it what you want; maybe “be mine tonight” just means that he wants a commitment of her love in an ethereal sense (yeah, right). Anyway, it’s not like’s he’s threatening her with anything more than the potential loss of his wonderful self. \*always thought the Elvis version was a drippy song. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/17 "2020-07-24T23:43:00Z")
Because I’m busy all day tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/18 "2020-07-25T05:19:03Z")
To me, clearly he’s horny as all get-out and he wants her _right now_. Another song, Midnight Rendezvous by The Babys, here are some purposefully-selected excerpts from those lyrics — _Driving faster than you want me to_ _Can’t help myself when I’m alone with you_ _Cause baby can’t you see_ _We need to spend some time alone_ _We need to see some dreams come true_ _I want to feel me touching you_ _We need a midnight rendezvous_ (and at the very end…) _All I really want to do_ _Oh I really want to fuck you_ . There’s nothing subtle about that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/19 "2020-07-25T12:51:00Z")
To be clear, I’m not saying that it’s not skeevy. I’m saying that skeeviness of this sort has been around for a very long time, and that it’s probably inherent to humanity (or at least, to the subset of humanity that writes “love” poetry). We should probably try to work against this part of our nature. But it’s going to be very difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227/20 "2020-07-25T13:27:44Z")
Boston gives us this gem: _You, you and I girl_ _We can share a life together_ _It’s now or never_ _And tomorrow may be too late_ Well, which is it young fella? If it’s now or never, what do you mean “may”? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-now-or-never-skeevy/916227.md?page=2)