The song itself doesn’t have to be about transgenders* (Although it can be), it only has to make mention of one.
Lola- Kinks
Dude walks like a lady- Aerosmith
Funky cold Medina- Tone Loc
*I hope I’m using that term right. Either Transgender or Transvestite.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
The song is Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
I suppose “Sweet Transvestite” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show qualifies…
And the Kinks’ “sequel” to Lola, Destroyer counts too.
:smack:
“Jojo was a man who thought he was a woman…” – Get Back, by those Beatles fellows
Either rock fans were much more open-minded than I gave them credit for, or they really didn’t listen to the lyrics in Dude (Looks Like a Lady). The band members were more concerned about offending the gay community than stirring up a backlash from homophobic listeners. Great song.
I’ll nominate Crush With Eyeliner by R.E.M…
“Angry Inch”, Hedwig And The Angry Inch
“Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face/and in the evening she’s a singer in the band.” Inadvertent – McCartney got Desmond and Molly mixed up – but they liked it and left it in.
The musical La Cage au Folles has plenty of them, including “We Are What We Are,” “La Cage au Folles” and “I Am What I Am.”
I’m sure Kinky Boots also has them.
“Something’s Wrong” by K’s Choice is inadvertently transphobic.
“When you’re mistaking planes for Venus, something’s wrong. When your girlfriend’s got a penis, something’s wrong.”
Most of these—or all of them— have nothing to do with the actual lives of the vast majority of trans people and are creations of cisgender songwriters looking to exploit some cheap sensationalism at the expense of trans people. Not a valid impression of real trans persons among the lot of them.
There’s only one song on this theme I could recommend: “I’m Not a Fucking Drag Queen”
Vito Russo’s book The Celluloid Closet quotes a Bessie Smith song with the lyrics…
“There are just two things I can’t understand /
A mannish-actin’ woman /
And a skippin’, limpin’ woman-actin’ man.”
Don’t know the name of the song however.
Charles Aznavour’s What Makes A Man, a song about a drag queen lounge singer.
Aznavour has said he prefers Liza Minnelli’s cover of the song. (Not a joke, he said that.)
[QUOTE=Shakes]
The song itself doesn’t have to be about transgenders* (Although it can be), it only has to make mention of one.
[/QUOTE]
The OP isn’t asking for songs about the actual lives of anyone.
I assume “Lord Anthony” by Belle & Sebastian is about the life of a young man who either grew up to be a transvestite, drag queen, or was transgender.
Tony, you’re a bit of a mess
Melted Toblerone under your dress
And if the boys could see you they would pass you right bye
Blue mascara running over your eye
Squirrel Nut Zippers’ “Danny Diamond” is definitely about a drag queen. Usually when they preformed it live, the lyrics would be “she” all the way through until the last line, “He was a star.”
If the thread title had been, “Songs that offer a valid and accurate representation of the transgender experience, from the trans point of view,” you’d have a point.
I think that the place of transgender people within our society, and the struggles they face in a world where many people sensationalize their lives, are important issues.
But can we just name some goddamn songs here for a few minutes?
Anyhoo…
My contribution is “Candy Says” by the Velvet Underground. It’s a song about a real person. To be honest, while the song wasn’t written by a trans person, i really don’t think the lyrics are “cheap sensationalism at the expense of trans people.”
Apparently, Candy Darling was also one of inspirations behind “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Rebel Rebel by David Bowie (“not sure if you’re a boy or a girl” sort of qualifies for this thread.)
The Dukes of Stratosphear (aka XTC): Have You Seen Jackie?
(“Jackie couldn’t decide if he was a girl Or if she was a boy”)
A transvestite (literally, a cross-dresser) is a man who (at least occasionally) dresses as a woman (or maybe vice-versa, though the word isn’t used that way as commonly). Beyond that, the word implies nothing about the person’s sexuality, gender identity, etc.
If you’re including songs about transvestites, there’s The Kinks’ “Out of the Wardrobe” (lyrics here; songs here on You Tube). (As the YouTube comments indicate, some may find this song offensive; though I’m personally undecided whether they should, given a proper reading with the proper ironic distance. Still, IMHO it’s not one of their better songs.)
“Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner…”
Somebody Told Me - The Killers
Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
Laid - James
Dressed me up in womens’ clothes
Messed around with gender roles
Line my eyes and call me pretty
(…and the video further spells things out…)