# Songs with hidden/double entendre meanings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691 "2005-12-15T04:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/21 "2005-12-15T13:42:26Z")
I always like to point out the double meanings of the Byrd’s **Chestnut Mare**. Just about everyone thinks it’s about a man riding a wild horse, but no one has picked up on the line “She’ll be just like a wife.” (In what way?) Then, going back, you’ll find: > [@](#): > > I take this chance and I jump up on her > Damned if I don’t land right on top of her > Well she takes off, runnin’ up on to that ridge > Higher than I’ve ever been before Later she’s spooked by “a sidewinder, all coiled and ready to strike” and “jumps off the edge.” The two of them are flying. They land with a splash. That’s when he loses his hold. But “he’s going to ride her again some day.” Tell me that’s really about a horse. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/22 "2005-12-15T13:48:47Z")
Mick Jagger…ya gotta love this guy: “Once upon a time I was your little rooster / But now I’m just one of your cocks.” Hmmm…for the life of me I can’t figure out what he \*means! \* ---
**Author:** ![circus\_electrique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@circus\_electrique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/circus_electrique)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/23 "2005-12-15T14:01:53Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Anyone who’s familiar with the effects of LSD will probably be reminded of them if they attempt to read James Joyce’s _Finnegans Wake_, too-- and you don’t have to resort to acrostics to find the “L.S.D.” It’s right there in [Book I](http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Xo3axCnePXUJ:eldar.cz/myf/txt/joyce_-_finnegans_wake_v1.0.txt):Now, you may argue that at the time Joyce was writing, “L.S.D.” was more commonly used as slang for “money,” (“pounds, shillings, and pence,”)… [etc.] **Larry Mudd** , your being a smart ass proves little more than your ability to be a smart ass. If you’ve got a decent argument, let’s hear it. If you’re going to be smart ass, how about you confine it to about a paragraph? ---
**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 15, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/24 "2005-12-15T14:13:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This is a joke, right? Can’t slip one past you. It was the bit about LSD doing weird stuff with time, right? 😉 > [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Finnegan’s Wake** was published in 1939. The first known LSD _trip_ was in 1953, and the name didn’t hit the public consciousness until much later. “Finnegan’s Wake” is an old traditional song. _Finnegans Wake_ (no apostrophe) was published in '39. The first LSD _trip_ was in 1943, and by 1950 pretty much anybody who was interested could lay ahold of some, if they knew that it existed. Al Hubbard had quiet little LSD culture going here in Vancouver for a full decade before he brought the Word to Tim Leary in 1960. So neener-neener. Silly Americans and your Johnny-come-lately acidheads. “Hey, Uncle Sam, let’s go fight the Axis.” “Go away kid, y’bother me. We’re eatin’ hot-dogs and playin’ baseball here.” “Ooh! Ooh! Uncle Sam, I’ve got some wicked blotter over here! This is far out. You’re gonna be trippin’.” “Get outta here with that. We got plenty of Miller. Champagne of Beer.” “I think you’ll like this. We’re gonna call it ‘psychedelic.’” “Yeah, like that’ll catch on. Now scram!” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/25 "2005-12-15T14:18:20Z")
> [@](#): > > The first LSD trip was in 1943, and by 1950 pretty much anybody who was interested could lay ahold of some, if they knew that it existed. _1953_ according to my sources, although it was synthesized earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/26 "2005-12-15T14:25:15Z")
> [@SleepyDuck](#): > > Let’s not forget “Turning Japanese”, to continue the masturbation theme (Or am I the only one doing it? 🙂 ). VH1 had a show on last year that gave the stories behind certain songs. The author of this song says it’s about the confusing feelings of being in love. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/27 "2005-12-15T14:28:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > _1953_ according to my sources, although it was synthesized earlier. The first acid trip took place the very day it was synthesized, when Dr. Hofmann accidentally dosed himself in the laboratory. This was April 16, 1943, according to Hofmann’s book _LSD: My Problem Child_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/28 "2005-12-15T14:34:05Z")
> [@](#): > > The first acid trip took place the very day it was synthesized, when Dr. Hofmann accidentally dosed himself in the laboratory. This was April 16, 1943, according to Hofmann’s book LSD: My Problem Child. Hmm – I just looked up other sources on the 'net, and they agree with the 1943 trip, but still say it was first synthesized in _1938_, so it’s five years between discovery and trip. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/29 "2005-12-15T14:37:30Z")
Joey Levine, who used to sing with the Ohio Express, says practically all of their Sixties bubblegum hits (“Yummy Yummy Yummy,” “Chewy Chewy.” et al.) were thinly disguised sexual metaphors. He was little more thana kid himself at the time, and his audience was mostly 12 or 13 year old girls, so you couldn’t be explicit… but LEvine says food was simply the most convenient metaphor for sex that the Ohio Express could get away with. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/30 "2005-12-15T14:39:13Z")
As for Van Halen’s “Panama,” the song itself is about a vintage car. David Lee ROth says he once read a column by a rock critic who said Van Halen was a lightweight band that never sang about anything but cars and girls… which made Roth think, “Cars? We’ve NEVER done a song about cars. So, maybe we should write one now.” So, he wrote a song about a car… and filled it with sexual innuendo and double entendres. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/31 "2005-12-15T14:50:13Z")
I don’t think that when Robert PLant sings “squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg” that he’s actually talking about the citrus fruit. Oh. . .and, every AC/DC song ever written. They’re entire songwriting style is based on it. “Big Balls” would be the easiest example. _Some balls are held for charity And some for fancy dress But when they’re held for pleasure, They’re the balls that I like best._ Big Gun, Heatseaker, Hard as a Rock, Beating Around the Bush, etc. And, YES, I am making a distinction between their double entendre songs, and their single-entendre songs. . .Let Me Put My Love Into You, Cover You In Oil, You Shook Me All Night Long, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/32 "2005-12-15T14:56:45Z")
Next thing I know you guys are going to be telling me that Led Zepplin’s “The Lemon Song” is not about citrus fruit. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/33 "2005-12-15T14:58:06Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > I don’t think that when Robert PLant sings “squeeze my lemon till the juice runs down my leg” that he’s actually talking about the citrus fruit. As Og is my witness, this hadn’t been posted when I responded. Get outta my brain, **Trunk**. ---
**Author:** ![johncole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@johncole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johncole)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/34 "2005-12-15T15:06:52Z")
Back to the Beatles… Norwegian Wood = Knowing She Would source: John Lennon in interview ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/35 "2005-12-15T15:16:41Z")
Brand New Key, by Melanie Oh, I’ve got a brand new pair of roller skates You’ve got a brand new key I think that we should get together and Try 'em out to see :dubious: ---
**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 15, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/36 "2005-12-15T16:11:10Z")
> [@circus electrique](#): > > **Larry Mudd** , your being a smart ass proves little more than your ability to be a smart ass. If you’ve got a decent argument, let’s hear it. If you’re going to be smart ass, how about you confine it to about a paragraph? I don’t need to prove that I’m a smart-ass – that’s a matter of record. As for the argument, I apologise for its length, but I think if you’ll examine it you’ll see that it _is_ a decent argument that the letters “LSD” can appear entirely coincidentally in a work that contains surreal imagery _without_ authorial intent. If “LSD” appears several times in a text that makes frequent references to other intoxicants and altered states of mind, and is in fact _much_ more analogous to a psychedelic experience than “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and yet the provenance of that text effectively rules out the possibility of of a _deliberate_ reference to the drug, then it may be easier to accept that the L.S.D. in the title of the Beatles song really is just from Julian, with no authorial intent. Yes, it could have been shorter, but my editor knocks off after 1:00am. Sorry, but it’s a pet peeve of mine when people say “Of course it’s about _drugs_… it’s weird!” without much to support the argument. I’ve heard the same assertion about _MacArthur Park_. > [@](#): > > “Why do you think it’s about LSD?” > > “Like, MacArthur Park is _melting_. It’s obvious!” > > “It _appears_ to be melting, because he’s crying in the rain. It’s about a serious relationship that’s ended.” > > “But the cake, man! The icing is, like, _running down_. Things melt when you’re on acid, dude.” > > “It’s a metaphor. The cake was sweet and delicate. It was neglected and now it’s ruined. The cake stands is a metaphor for a ruined relationship. It’s a crap metaphor, but that’s what it is. You’ve listened to the rest of the lyrics and can place it in context, right?” > > “Come on! It’s about 'cid, man. It’s _obvious_.” Wilson Brian Key somehow convinced an entire generation that _A Bridge Over Troubled Water_ is about heroin. Because “silvergirl” is street slang for “syringe.” (Overlook that there has _never_ been any record of it being used this way before he made the declaration.) And heroin is comforting, especially when things look bleak. Come on man, it’s _obvious!_ :smack: Re: “The Lemon Song” Plant & Page lifted that from Robert Johnson. You can pretty much count on anything remotely edible mentioned in a blues song to be sexual euphemism. Lemons, jelly-rolls, butter & egg, ham-hocks, whatever. My favourite blues double-entendre is Junior Wells’ _She Wants to Sell My Monkey_, which is about a guy who’s hooked up with a business-minded girl: > [@](#): > > He used to be hers, but she gave him to me > Why she wants to sell him I just can’t see > She wants to sell my monkey > She wants to sell my monkey > She wants to sell my monkey > But you know that just won’t do ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/37 "2005-12-15T17:17:19Z")
I know Peter, Paul and Mary consistently denied that _Puff the Magic Dragon_ was about marijuana, but I’m not buyin’ it. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/38 "2005-12-15T17:28:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is about tripping on LSD (as recently confirmed by Sr. Paul.) First they make him a Knight, now they’ve made him a nun? Where will it end? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/39 "2005-12-15T17:51:56Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > First they make him a Knight, now they’ve made him a nun? Where will it end? What’s funny is that the poster choose to abbreviate “Sir” in the first place. . .not noticing (?) that when he removed the “i” he burden himself with an additional keystroke to put in the “.” ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691/40 "2005-12-15T18:25:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’ve heard rumours that Van Halen’s “Panama” is actually “Enema” and that’s what Diamond Dave is actually singing… “Enema…Enema-a-a-a-a-a.” > > What do you think? I thought I made that up as a song parody way back when I was in high school and it first came out. _Well I’m running a little hot tonight I can barely see my toes from the heat comin’ off Reach down between my legs and ease the tube out… Fleet’s flowin’, pressure’s growin’ Right behind me? Best get clear now. Got the feeling, bowels reelin’ Sphincter’s poppin, ain’t no stoppin’ now_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-hidden-double-entendre-meanings/335691.md?page=3)