# Wash your mouth out with soap or I didn't know it was about "that"! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647 "2005-08-18T20:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/61 "2005-08-19T14:09:53Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > _I’m a joker > I’m a smoker > I’m a midnight toker_ When I was 15 I thought the song “Smokin’” by Boston was basicly slang for being really good at music. :smack: Choice lines: Smokin’. Smokin’. Keep on tokin’. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/62 "2005-08-19T14:20:34Z")
I must admit, “Sugar Walls” had me scratching my head for a couple days, even though I was 14 when I first heard it, and it should have been obvious. “That’s the place where all good children go”? What is this, a gingerbread house or something? “Temperatures rise inside my sugar walls”? I’m thinking, jeez, that sounds like a big sticky mess. And I was right. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/63 "2005-08-19T14:42:32Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I’m thinking, jeez, that sounds like a big sticky mess. And I was right. You’ve been a real card lately, I’ve noticed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![arjee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@arjee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arjee)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/64 "2005-08-19T14:51:46Z")
Geez, reading this thread makes me realize just how naive I really am…! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/65 "2005-08-19T14:59:52Z")
I can’t recall having _ever_ heard “Brand New Key” in my life until a couple years ago, when my friend put it on a mix CD for me. I remember turning to her in the car and saying “Wow … _that’s_ dirty.” I never thought that about “Margaritaville,” either (and I thank Og I never did 😉 )… but I was pretty sure I grasped the meaning of “Why Don’t We Get Drunk And Screw?” And I was highly disappointed when VH1 disabused me of the notion that “Turning Japanese” is about masturbation. It’s not. I still have “She Bop” to fall back on. 🙂 I found an old Cyndi Lauper tape I hadn’t listened to since the mid-80’s, and while trying to remember the words to the song, the light dawned. Is it bad that I like that song even more, now? Elvis Presley’s “One Night” is clearly about sex … but if you’ve ever heard the takes that _didn’t_ get used, with the original lyrics “one night of _sin_” … hoo boy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/66 "2005-08-19T15:10:26Z")
“She Bop”?! Oh. My. God. :smack: I’m 30, for the record. Does that make me the oldest naive person here? (Prior to this, it was “Physical”, which I thought was about working out, and “Relax”, which…I dunno. I guess I tried not to think about it too much. But I know I spent a lot of time singing those two very, very loudly, and can only imagine the strained abdominals my parents must have gotten from holding in the laughter.) ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/67 "2005-08-19T15:19:43Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > (Prior to this, it was “Physical”, which I thought was about working out) When I was in … first grade, I suppose, a friend and I did a little exercise routine in our school talent show to this song. Imagine my belated mortification when I realized what it really meant. And I’m surprised you didn’t know “She Bop!” You, the woman who suggested “O Come All Ye Faithful” as a Beltane song? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/68 "2005-08-19T15:21:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > “She Bop”?! > > Oh. My. God. > > :smack: > > I’m 30, for the record. Does that make me the oldest naive person here? 33 checking in to second the “Oh. My. God.” Consider a tiny piece of ignorance fought, people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/69 "2005-08-19T15:21:49Z")
Ok, I’m really having a hard time swallowing the idea that **Margaritville** is about someone needing to get his salad tossed. I really thought it was about a guy drowning his sorrows in drink because he’s alone and realizing _finally_ that he’s got to stop blaming others for the shit he’s in and take a look at himself. Am I really that naïve? If the song is really about rimming, then so be it. However, you have no idea how squicked I will be if this is true. When I was young my cousin (he lived with us), my mom, and I used to dance to it and sing it at the top of our lungs. He recently came to town for my mom’s 60th birthday and we resurrected our tradition. Og help me. Please don’t tell me I used to dance with my mother and cousin to a song about rim-jobs. \ Regarding **Third Eye Blind** , their name I always took as referring to the “middle eye” in the forehead in Buddhist teachings not a guy’s “one-eyed willie” Speaking of one-eyed willie. I was watching **The Goonies** the other day after not seeing it since I was about 12 and just about sprayed beer all over the tube when the referred to the pirate that buried the treasure as “One-Eyed Willie” This is a kid’s movie! Come on! Really? The directors had to know. I couldn’t stop laughing every time one of the kids said “One-Eyed Willie” \ ---
**Author:** ![nameless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/70 "2005-08-19T17:19:09Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > Regarding **Third Eye Blind** , their name I always took as referring to the “middle eye” in the forehead in Buddhist teachings not a guy’s “one-eyed willie” I concur. Their original album art was a guy holding the center of his forehead as if he had been struck blind in the third eye… [Link!](http://images.amazon.com/images/G/covers/B/00/000/2HO/B000002HOK.l.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/71 "2005-08-19T17:27:21Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > And I was highly disappointed when VH1 disabused me of the notion that “Turning Japanese” is about masturbation. It’s not. I still choose to believe it is. It makes much more sense that way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/72 "2005-08-19T17:29:10Z")
> [@nameless](#): > > I concur. Their original album art was a guy holding the center of his forehead as if he had been struck blind in the third eye… > > [Link!](http://images.amazon.com/images/G/covers/B/00/000/2HO/B000002HOK.l.gif) Thanks for the link. I just checked it out. Having never seen the cover before I hold my theory to be fact. The “3b” on the cover looks strikingly similar to the “Ohm” symbol. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/73 "2005-08-19T17:31:49Z")
So what DOES “Turning Japanese” mean in the song then if it’s not masturbation? It’s so much funnier to think it’s about self pleasure. It really is. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/74 "2005-08-19T17:35:52Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > So what DOES “Turning Japanese” mean in the song then if it’s not masturbation? According to VH1’s [_True Spin_](http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/true_spin/69735/episode.jhtml), it’s simply about being so in love that you’re barely yourself. But come on. I’m with **Nutty Bunny**. Much more fun–not to mention more coherent–to think otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![biscuitsandgravy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@biscuitsandgravy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biscuitsandgravy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/75 "2005-08-19T17:55:58Z")
Not quite the same, but it was only recently that I found out that the original lyrics to Tutti Frutti were NOT “tutti frutti, all rooty” but “Tutti Frutti, good booty, if it don’t fit, don’t force it.” ---
**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:** [August 19, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/76 "2005-08-19T18:37:10Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > Ok, I’m really having a hard time swallowing the idea that **Margaritville** is about someone needing to get his salad tossed. Sigh. _Margaritaville_ is unambiguously about an alchoholic depression that a guy goes through after alienating the people closest to him. **Indyellen** said that she didn’t get the significance of the “shaker of salt” for a long time, and **Anaamika** said that she still didn’t, and asked for an explanation. I improvised the dirtiest thing I could manage as a wheeze, before suggesting that **Indyellen** simply didn’t make the Margarita -\> cocktail connection, and therefore didn’t understand why the guy needed salt. The first interpretation was not meant (or expected) to be considered as a plausibility. Now, however, I suspect that at some point in the future I’ll be sitting in a bar and _Margaritaville_ will come on, and somebody will look disgusted and say “I can’t believe they play that song on the radio! It’s about rimjobs, you know.” Get back in that damned bottle, genie! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/77 "2005-08-19T18:39:00Z")
I always knew Margaritaville was about kissing the chocolate starfish. I thought everybody knew that! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/78 "2005-08-19T18:39:08Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > The first interpretation was not meant (or expected) to be considered as a plausibility. I got the joke, but I have to say I _love_ the explanation. I’m willing to start telling everyone I know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/79 "2005-08-19T18:54:22Z")
> [@Grelby](#): > > I never mentioned this little epiphany to anyone. I wasn’t sure I could handle the mockery. Speaking of mockery, a friend of mine was convinced for years that the like “What’s love but a second hand emotion” was actually “What’s love but a second hand in motion.” Much mockery ensued. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/80 "2005-08-19T21:56:14Z")
> [@St\_Ides](#): > > **Semi-Charmed Life** by Third Eye Blind. > > It gets played on the “light rock” station around here all the time… You know, the one that’s always happy songs, so that the people don’t get depressed. All the people around me seem to think it’s a nice, clean, upbeat song… > > It’s about getting really high on many different things, and his woman OD’ing… Or at least, that’s the impression I get from the lyrics. > > I guess he just sings too fast… It’s pretty much about blowjobs and crystal meth. Choice lines: _she comes round and she goes down on me_ \*Doing crystal myth Will lift you up until you break \* \*Those little red panties, They pass the test, Slide up around the belly, Face down on the mattress \* That last part there was cut out for American radio, but played on most Canadian radio stations, for some reason. IIRC, even the band was suprised by the song’s Top 40 radio play, considering the subject matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647.md?page=5)