# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/81 "2005-08-19T22:34:59Z")
In my opinion **The Rolling Stones** got away with a LOT, considering the era and the fact that they were pretty blatant about it. Consider: _Let’s Spend the Night Together Have You Seen Your Mother Baby? Brown Sugar Honky Tonk Women_ None of which are exactly clean, are they? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/82 "2005-08-19T23:12:35Z")
I _love_ \*\*Larry Mudd[/'b]'s improvised "explanation of “margaritaville”. I think we’re in at the birth of a new urban legend here, folks.🙂 (I can’t always _hear_ the lyrics to songs quite clearly enough, so this is a very educational fun thread. And I think I’ll study some of the music of the moment so that I can giggle when I hear my brother’s kids sing current stuff. Oh yes I will.) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/83 "2005-08-19T23:25:01Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > I went to a private Baptist school as a kid, and we once went to an assembly about the e-e-evils of rock and roll in which Afternoon Delight was cited as a prime example. I shit you not. (A couple of others I remember being named in that assembly: Lies, by Fleetwood Mac, and My Sweet Lord, by the Beatles.) Until that day, I thought it was a song about skyrockets. Umm, I went to a private Baptist school and attended the same assembly, I’m sure. They also went on about how sinful _Stairway to Heaven_ was because it suggests you can buy your way to heaven. We were also told that the name of the rock group **KISS** stood for **K** ings **I** n **S** atan’s **S** ervice. Could we have gone to the same school? (Mine was in San Jose, CA) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/84 "2005-08-19T23:26:50Z")
Should we start taking bets on how long it takes before **Larry** ’s “Margaritaville” story ends up on Snopes? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/85 "2005-08-19T23:41:22Z")
It was a long, long, looong time before it hit me that this lyric from **Blondie** was a deliberate double entendre: “I’ll give you some head…and shoulders to cry on…” ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/86 "2005-08-19T23:50:30Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > In my opinion **The Rolling Stones** got away with a LOT, considering the era and the fact that they were pretty blatant about it. > > Consider: > \*Let’s Spend the Night Together Well, in the USA, the Stones were forced to change the line to [“Let’s spend some time together”](http://www.thefileroom.org/html/249.html) when the group appeared on the variety show hosted by Ed Sullivan. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/87 "2005-08-19T23:57:48Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > We were also told that the name of the rock group **KISS** stood for **K** ings **I** n **S** atan’s **S** ervice. I went to a public high school in Ohio, where it was “common knowledge” that the band’s name was an acronym for “ **Knights** in Satan’s Service”. I guess “Kings” (as contrasted with Jesus Christ, the King of Kings) would have been seen as especially scandalous by the faculty of a religious institution. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/88 "2005-08-20T00:27:39Z")
You might be the folks who can help me out with this. A few months ago there was a song in regular airplay on the pop/rock radio statins that I thought was really tuneful, but as I listened more closely to it, I noticed that the lyrics were REALLY dirty, though they didn’t use any crude language IIRC. The lead vocalist was male, and he had a repeated refrain about “I like the way you” which was followed by a description of the nasty, sexy things she does. The guy, IIRC, was wanting to dump her but was having trouble with it because of all the hot monkey sex. Anybody have any idea what I’m on about? ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/89 "2005-08-20T00:49:38Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > 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! I’m sorry I’ve been too busy to respond to this, **Larry** …but I _love_ your “explanation”. 😉 Oh, and BTW, the reason I didn’t make the Margarita -\> cocktail connection is that I was probably 10 or 12 & my parent’s didn’t drink cocktails. (Unless a gin & tonic _really_ counts as a cocktail.) And yes, I expect that will show up on Snopes or somewhere eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/90 "2005-08-20T00:51:46Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > You might be the folks who can help me out with this. A few months ago there was a song in regular airplay on the pop/rock radio statins that I thought was really tuneful, but as I listened more closely to it, I noticed that the lyrics were REALLY dirty, though they didn’t use any crude language IIRC. The lead vocalist was male, and he had a repeated refrain about “I like the way you” which was followed by a description of the nasty, sexy things she does. The guy, IIRC, was wanting to dump her but was having trouble with it because of all the hot monkey sex. Anybody have any idea what I’m on about? I suspect you’re talking about [Figured You Out](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nickelback/figuredyouout.html) by Nickelback. And yes, he’s wanting to dump her because she’s a coke addict (“I hate the powder on your nose”) but does love the kinky sex. Hope this helps! ---
**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 20, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/91 "2005-08-20T01:06:02Z")
Thanks for all the love, folks. > [@Sternvogel](#): > > I went to a public high school in Ohio, where it was “common knowledge” that the band’s name was an acronym for “ **Knights** in Satan’s Service”. That one’s actually true. See, KISS modeled their whole schtick after the original “Knights in Satan’s Service,” the Knights Templar. Their [makeup](http://www.kissdominion.com/NWMAKUP.JPG) references Templar symbols – for instance, the pentagram is the sigil of Baphomet, their satanic idol – and Baphomet was represented as a cat-headed god. Both the name of the band and Gene Simmons’ signature tongue reference an aspect of the Templar initiation ritual, the _Oscolum Infame_, in which entrants had to kiss established members, right on the… Ow! Ow! Okay, okay. I apologize for repeating ancient and hysterical [slanders](http://www.templarhistory.com/accuse.html) against the Knights Templar, but you should _never_ encourage the class clown. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/92 "2005-08-20T02:36:09Z")
> [@Aholibah](#): > > 33 checking in to second the “Oh. My. God.” Consider a tiny piece of ignorance fought, people. May I openly laugh at you? from the [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cyndi-lauper/35200.html): > [@Cyndi Lauper](#): > > We-hell-i see them every night in tight blue jeans– > In the pages of a blue boy magazine > Hey I’ve been thinking of a new sensation > I’m picking up–good vibration– > Oop–she bop– I can see you missing this – maybe. But, the following verse: > [@Cyndi Lauper](#): > > Do I wanna go out with a lion’s roar > **Huh, yea, I wanna go south n get me some more** > Hey, they say that a stitch in time saves nine > **They say I better stop–or I’ll go blind** > Oop–she bop–she bop :dubious: And a double :dubious: to **nameless** cause I just don’t see it. The lyrics are [here](http://www.paroles.net/texte/25383/artis/2607), and it seems like a huge stretch to say that it has anything to do with fellatio. I would agree that it’s about a lover, but not about anything physical. It’s like those people who saw a pregnancy in her [Secret](http://www.mad-eyes.net/disco/bs/secret.htm), which is about her rediscovery of God. She really has been spiritual most of her life, and I have no problem thinking of her comparing having found someone who reminds her of angels and heaven and all that. My :smack: moment is in Fleming & John’s [Sadder Day](http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=81519), which I had previously thought was about a breakup or a loss of friendship but realized was actually about suicide. I was listening to it one day, and I actually gasped when I realized it. Very strange feeling. The key verse: > [@Fleming & John](#): > > What about the day you took me to Skatetown USA > It was raining and there wasn’t anywhere we could play > We skated backwards as we held on to each other’s hands > Made up choreographer to K.C. and the Sunshine Band > You got tired and said you couldn’t sleep last night > You stayed up praying for everybody you know’s souls > Then you got misty eyed when you said you weren’t afraid to die but you were scared of being alone ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/93 "2005-08-20T03:04:52Z")
For a while, I didn’t realize what _Billy Idol_ was singing about in **Dancing With Myself** ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/94 "2005-08-20T03:50:40Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > I suspect you’re talking about [Figured You Out](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nickelback/figuredyouout.html) by Nickelback. And yes, he’s wanting to dump her because she’s a coke addict (“I hate the powder on your nose”) but does love the kinky sex. > > Hope this helps! That’s it! Thanks very much! ---
**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 20, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/95 "2005-08-20T03:57:36Z")
Ooh! Loverboy’s _Lovin’ Every Minute of It_. One of the earlier examples of the Ode to the Vibrator: > [@](#): > > I’m not a man or a machine > I’m just something in between > I’m all love, a dynamo > So push the button and watch me go > > You want me to come alive > Just flick the switch into overdrive > You and me can let it be > Ready… aim… fire! Hey, while we’re on the subject of solo-fantasy type songs, here’s another opportunity to convince y’all I’m a secret ass-freak: Frank Sinatra’s _I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter._ > [@](#): > > I’m gonna sit right down > and write myself a letter, babe > and make believe it came from you > I’m gonna write words so sweet > They’re gonna knock me off my feet > A lotta kisses on the bottom, I’ll be glad I’ve got 'em… For the record, I think that might be unintentional, but damn if it don’t sound _funny._ Or Roy Orbison’s _Workin’ for the Man_: > [@](#): > > Hey, now, you better listen to me, every one of you > We’ve got a lotta lotta lotta lotta work to do. > Forget about your women and that water can. > Today, you’re working for the man. > > Well pick up your feet > We’ve got a deadline to meet > I’m gonna see you make it on time. > Oh, don’t relax, I want elbows and backs > > I wanta see every body from behind. > Because you’re working for the man. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/96 "2005-08-20T11:32:58Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > May I openly laugh at you? > > from the [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cyndi-lauper/35200.html): > I can see you missing this – maybe. But, the following verse: > :dubious: Well, yes. Hence the :smack: . I’m not disputing it, it’s clear as day. But I haven’t spent much of the last 20 years contemplating Cyndi Lauper lyrics, either. And it just sounds like nonsense lyrics to a 10 year old. Probably the best example of what the OP was talking about - I knew all the lyrics by heart, I loved to sing it, but I had no idea what the lyrics were _about_. I was a kid. Just like today’s kids are singing along to Eminem or Missy without knowing the meaning of the words they’re singing. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/97 "2005-08-20T12:23:29Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > 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.” Oh damn! I forwarded this to VH1 the other day when you made the first post and a new “Behind the Music” is already in production! :eek: ---
**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 20, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/98 "2005-08-20T12:45:44Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Umm, I went to a private Baptist school and attended the same assembly, I’m sure. They also went on about how sinful _Stairway to Heaven_ was because it suggests you can buy your way to heaven. We were also told that the name of the rock group **KISS** stood for **K** ings **I** n **S** atan’s **S** ervice. > > Could we have gone to the same school? (Mine was in San Jose, CA) Sadly, it seems there was more than one private Baptist school trying to turn little children against good music…mine was in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/99 "2005-08-20T13:52:04Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > When I see a 6 year old singing Eminem or Missy Elliot, I inwardly cringe. Does that kid even know what he’s saying? And then I think back on the songs I used to belt when I was a wee little one. And I mean belt out because I loved to sing and I always sang extra loud. Still do. A memory from a slumber-party in my childhood. One of the girls had brought along a 45 of Elton John’s latest hit, _Island Girl_, which we played several times over. Picture, if you will, a half-dozen or so 8- and 9-year-old girls bouncing around a fru-fru frilly pink bedroom, loudly and cheerfully singing these lyrics: “She’s black as coal, but she burns like fire And she wraps herself around you like a well-worn tyre. You feel her nails scratch your back just like a rake. He one more gone, he one more john Who make the mistake.” We hadn’t a clue what this song was about. ---
**Author:** ![AmbushBug](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ambushbug/32/4600_2.png) [@AmbushBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmbushBug)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647/100 "2005-08-20T17:17:02Z")
> [@nameless](#): > > I literally almost **came to blows** with someone who loved the song “Like a Prayer” by Madonna and _would not_, under any circumstances, believe that it was **about fellatio**. I am a good friend. :dubious: (Bolding mine) You sound like a _very_ good friend 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wash-your-mouth-out-with-soap-or-i-didnt-know-it-was-about-that/317647.md?page=6)