We have a new puppy, and we’ve named her Lola*. My next door neighbor, who’s about 80, says “I’ve been racing cars for 35 years–I know what a Lola is.”
I don’t. What is a “Lola” if you’ve been racing cars for 35 years?
*She was a showgirl
British sports racing, Can-Am, & prototype cars of the 60s and 70s. Builder Eric Broadley’s Lola GT of 1963 http://blake.prohosting.com/horacer/brp/lola.html resulted in his being hired by Ford to help design the first Ford GT, which has been revived in profile form as Ford’s top sports car.
So is the puppy a boy or a girl?
Oh, and I don’t know how to break this to you but it’s better you learn now rather when your date is winding down, but Lola wasn’t a showgirl. I’m not the world’s most masculine man, but I know what I am and what I am is a man, and so is Lola.
She was, but that was thirty years ago when they used to have a show.
(Yes, anyone who’s significantly less than 80 years old is going to think of the Kinks and/or Barry Manilow whenever they hear the name Lola.)
It’s a type of racing chassis, used especially in Champ Car and IRL race cars. Michael Andretti had one in his car when he raced.
Lola the puppy is a girl, a Black & Tan Coonhound. Her dad was a National Grand Champion, so the “showgirl” part just sort of seemed right. We also sing L-O-L-A regularly, and I have “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets”–sung by Aretha!–on CD.
Thanks for the car info!
Minor Hijack
I was always under the impression it’s “…but I know what I am, in the bed I’m a man, an so is lola…” Have I been wrong all along?
url=http://kinks.it.rit.edu/cgi-bin/MusicSearch.cgi?song=regular/lola/song-lola]Yes, but don’t worry, so was dropzone.
The line goes…
Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man
but I know what I am, and I’m glad I’m a man
and so is Lola.
It is one of the great ambiguous lines in rock. It can be read as 1) I am glad that I am a man and Lola is glad that I am a man OR 2) I’m a man and Lola is a man. Of course, just listening to the rest of the song sort of clears up the ambiguity but it is still a great line.
Criminy…one missed bracket and the whole thing goes to hell.
Don’t mind me, just padding my post count.
Pretty much any auto racing fan of F2, F3, Champcar, Indy, or or American LeMans is going to think of a race car builder. 
From a bumper sticker back in the days of Can-Am “Lola puts out”
Given that the song is based around ambiguity, I guess no one will be concerned over a missed word or two. Now that that’s cleared up, I’m off to the wild side.
Harumph! Just because you found a website with the wrong lyrics doesn’t mean I’m wrong. For instance, http://www.lyricsdomain.com/11/kinks/lola.html says it’s “Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man, but I know what I am and that I’m a man, so is Lola,” and I think we can all agree that’s wrong.
I’ll admit that I seem to remember noticing in a recent listen that your lyric is right.
Can we get back to the discussion of the Lola T70 Mk III coupe as the most beautiful car ever?
Just a little nitpick: Race cars of the type Lola makes don’t have a chassis the way street cars do. They consist of a carbon fiber tub with aero components, side pods, etc., the sum of which is referred to as the “chassis.” The chassis is therefore the whole car, minus the engine, wheels, and tires, which are usually supplied by other manufacturers.
So Michael didn’t have a Lola in his car, his car was a Lola.
I beg to differ. Have you heard Madness’ cover of it? The singer drops the “I’m glad” from the last line, which removes all ambiguity, and blows what had been a pretty good interpretation of the song (Surprisingly, it works very well as a ska tune). That’s right, the last lines are “I’m a man, and so is Lola”. Totally different feel.
From Kinks Kronicles track 8.
Well I’m not the worlds most masuline man
But I know what I am and in bed I’m a man and sos Lola
No, no, Lola is a jumbo freezie-type treat
No, I haven’t. Is it recorded and available somewhere? (Or are you thinking of Bad Manners’s cover?)
gazpacho and Joey P, I think you’re mishearing it. I’ve always heard “I’m glad I’m a man”—on the Kinks Kronikles and elsewhere—and the lyrics on the official site back this up (see Ol’Gaffer’s refixed link).
I’m sure the Original Poster finds all this fascinating. 