I thought of it at the time as a little bit of a joke. Some guys just goofing around to make a patische of a pop song. That was before Flo & Eddie became, well, Flo & Eddie. Which definitely makes it seem more likely to just be a “salute to bad pop songs”.
You must have listened to the version without the lyric “I’m a man, and so is Lola.”
We’ve done this before (debated whether “Lola” leaves it ambiguous). The lyric is actually “I’m glad I’m a man, and so’s Lola,” which could indeed be taken in more than one way.
Totally creepy. The guy is not singing in a sweet, cheerful way. It’s a subversion of a bubblegum love song.
If any mention of ‘you make me happy’/‘complete’/‘we were meant to be together’ makes a song ‘creepy,’ then is ANY love song not creepy?
Any romantic book or movie?
Anyone in love?
–
It only became creepy when they turned it into a Golden Grahams jingle. Fucking General Mills. Keep your predatory ‘drop of honey’ away from me, you twisted freaks!!
Read the lyrics to the Turtle’s song Eleanor.
They seem to specialize in “happy, pop songs” that are very vaguely creepy.
WHo knew the Turtles ditty would be a rorchach test… Is the girl singer in the SOS band song stalking the guy when she says. “here’s my number and a dime… you can call me anytime…” Or is she being a hussy like my mom implied…
TO me its so obvious its a teenage crush song… Geez i think all the PSA episodes on Stalking has fucked all of us up…
BTW nobody better say anything bad about “Midnight Confessions” by the Grass Roots… will fight then…
Mindless bubblegum pap about puppy love.
“Elenore” (not “Eleanor”) was taken from the satirical Battle of the Bands album, a concept album in which the Turtles adopted a different band persona for each track. They did a psychedelic song as the Atomic Enchilada; a country song as the Quad City Ramblers, a surf song as the Cross Fires–their actual pre-Turtles identity–etc. “Elenore” was credited to the band’s real names (Howie, Mark, Johny, Jim & Al), and was written as a direct parody of “Happy Together” in response to record company pressure to repeat their biggest hit. (“Elenore” was actually written by the Turtles; “Happy Together” had been the work of an outside songwriting team.) “Elenore” works pretty well as a genuine sappy pop song, with only the infamous “You’re my pride and joy etcetera” line giving the game away.