I heard Escape (The Pina Colada song) yesterday and all I could think was, “WTF?” Everyone and their uncle has heard it, but to sum up:
A man is bored with his girlfriend (or maybe wife. He refers to her as “my old lady”) and finds a personal ad in the paper that catches his eye (This was the '70’s, youngsters. No internet). He responds to the ad and arranges a meeting the next day. The woman from the ad shows up, and it is his “old lady”!
What is both of their responses to this sure and certain knowledge that both of them are at the very least attempted philanderers? The laugh and say, “Oh. It’s you.”
Huh? There’s no way this scene doesn’t end with, “You cheating bastard!” “Me? You cheating bitch!”
This brought to mind another song. Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? Every time that song comes on, my first reaction is, “Well…yeah.”
Any other songs that just puzzle you as to the mindset of the writer?
In the song Big Girls Don’t Cry there’s a line where he says, “Told my girl we had to break up. Thought that she would call my bluff.” And she dumps him. So didn’t she call his bluff? Or would calling his bluff be saying “Oh, honey, you don’t really mean that” ?
I can never decide.
And anyway, what was he hoping to accomplish in the first place?
Okay, no. That one is a paragon of clarity compared to The Reflex, by Duran Duran:
What. The. Fuck…were they smoking? And where can I get some of that shit? The words all seem like they should make sense, but nothing in it ultimately does. It’s like word salad with a good rhythm.
I’ve heard explanations, but I still have a “WTF?” reaction to the alleged fact that “the lights went out in Georgia” when they “hung an innocent man.” Were they using one of those high-wattage electric gallows?
The ultimate “WTF?” song for me has always been Elton John’s “Solar Prestige A Gammon.” And I quote (this is the second verse; you can find the whole thing here ):
Solar prestige a gammon
Kool kar kyrie kay salmon
Hair ring molassis abounding
Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin
I have no idea what he’s talking about, and haven’t since I first heard the song back around 1975. If anybody can enlighten me, I’d be most appreciative.
Oh, that one makes sense. He’s cheating on his girl (okay, probably boy) friend and feels bad 'cause he got caught. The song takes place as they’re dancing their last dance and he knows it’s over, because the rumor mill has ratted him out. He’s begging his SO to not leave him, but he knows it’s not working and he’s about to be single again.
I think she was supposed to break down in tears, to force him to change his mind. But she didn’t, then, but did later. I think the bluff was that he cared less about the relationship than she did, but she called it by pretending to not be hurt.
What did it accomplish? Practice for psychological abuse? I understand it, but it’s still a WTF song to me.
[Tom Servo]" And since 80% of the people in this country live in a landlocked state, how would they even know if they like making love at midnight in the dunes on the cape?"[/TS]
In Missing by Everything but the Girl , I never quite understood if the line “I miss you like the deserts miss the rain” is supposed to be sarcastic or not. I mean, do deserts *really * miss the rain?
Well, I always thought it was about a guy with a girlfriend who wouldn’t have sex with him, but then the girl’s mother did.
Of course, why Morrisey would sing a song about having sex with a woman is beyond me. Maybe it’s in character. Or “girl” means “boy” because it’s opposite day.
Or maybe it’s about how he met a drag queen with a giant unit.
