# "Teen-aged Dirtbag"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933 "2000-10-06T06:23:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/1 "2000-10-06T06:23:36Z")
Am I hearing this song right? Is the singer a lesbian lusting after the title character? Or has my imagination gotten the better of me…again? ---
**Author:** ![Ankh\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Ankh\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ankh_Too)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/2 "2000-10-06T06:27:39Z")
Not having herad the song to which you refer, I’m going to have to guess. I think you were possibly listening to The Who’s **Baba O’Reily** : > [@](#): > > Don’t cry > Don’t raise your eye > It’s only teenage wasteland But it’s just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/3 "2000-10-06T06:32:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ankh\_Too \* > \*\*Not having herad the song to which you refer, I’m going to have to guess. I think you were possibly listening to The Who’s **Baba O’Reily** : > > > [@](#): > > > > Don’t cry > > Don’t raise your eye > > It’s only teenage wasteland > > But it’s just a guess. > > \*\* No, no, NO! I know **The Who** …and this ain’t **The Who**! ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/4 "2000-10-06T06:46:49Z")
Yes, it’s “Teenage Dirtbag.” I’m pretty sure the singer is a guy, though. The band is Wheatus. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/5 "2000-10-06T06:52:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Punoqllads \* > \*\*Yes, it’s “Teenage Dirtbag.” I’m pretty sure the singer is a guy, though. The band is Wheatus. \*\* You’re absolutely right…I’d have never guessed the singer was a guy, but according to the band’s website, they’re all guys! 'Course, if you hadn’t told me the band’s _name_, I’d still be in the dark… ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2000, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/6 "2000-10-06T10:31:48Z")
That song is one of my wife’s favorites. She said it reminded her of a time when I told her she probably wouldn’t have liked me at all back in high school… ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/7 "2000-10-07T21:24:57Z")
That my first thought about the song, too. I thought it was pretty for bringing up homosexuality… then I checked out the band’s webpage. It’s still pretty good anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Skribbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Skribbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skribbler)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/8 "2000-10-07T22:01:58Z")
I still recall a song from the early 70s, where the line was ‘racked out like a duce in the middle of the night’ meaning a hot rod engine. Most of us thought it said ‘wrapped up like a douche in the middle of the night!’ No, I can’t recall the song name or band. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/9 "2000-10-07T22:41:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skribbler \* > \*\*I still recall a song from the early 70s, where the line was ‘racked out like a duce in the middle of the night’ meaning a hot rod engine. Most of us thought it said ‘wrapped up like a douche in the middle of the night!’ > > No, I can’t recall the song name or band. \*\* Well, it was originally Bruce Springstein who did _Blinded by the Light_, but the most popular version is Manfred Mann’s. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/10 "2000-10-08T00:20:43Z")
Did somebody mention _Blinded by the Light_ and garbled lyrics? Cool! A chance to pimp for the Boss. Both Bosses, actually. **Cecil Adams** on [In “Blinded by the Light,” what exactly is the lyric following the title phrase?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_148.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teen-aged-dirtbag/35933/11 "2000-10-08T00:29:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skribbler \* > \*\*I still recall a song from the early 70s, where the line was ‘racked out like a duce in the middle of the night’ meaning a hot rod engine. Most of us thought it said ‘wrapped up like a douche in the middle of the night!’ > > No, I can’t recall the song name or band. \*\* It appears that you still don’t have the line right. I’ve always heard the correct line is: “And she was blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light” I got this from [http://www.cyberwhiz.com/theboss/lyrics/blinded.htm](http://www.cyberwhiz.com/theboss/lyrics/blinded.htm) Before I found out what the real lyrics were I always heard it like you did initially. I just caught your post, **manhattan** when I was previewing. I believe it was in the Straight Dope column where I first heard the correct lyrics and your link just jogged my memory. Thanks!