I thought the black guy in the video was a saint, not Jesus? (Well, and also the guy from the beginning of the video, and also that guy from Brother from Another Planet*.)
Then that pundit was an idiot.
How anyone could reduce the song to “blow jobs” is beyond me. It is in fact possible for Madonna to be on her knees without having a cock in her mouth.
Anyway, the real meaning of “Like a Prayer” is “how I got Pepsi to pay me millions of dollars without actually having to work for them.” The song was licensed for use in a series of Pepsi commercials (only one of which was filmed) and after the controversy broke (as Madonna knew it would) Pepsi canceled the deal and Madonna got to keep the payout.
Cite?
Count me in to the not-about-blow-jobs crowd–at least not exclusively. I, too, think it’s more of just about the passion of sex, in general, using religious imagery. It’d be a bit odd if kneeling imagery weren’t included in this song, given Madonna’s Catholic background. So that part may or may not be concerning blow jobs–to be honest, I never thought of it that way before this thread. But the song is about more than that.
Further note. The way I’ve always parsed the line “I’m down on my knees/I want to take you there” as her being down on her knees, praying, begging, to have sex with this guy. You know like, “I’m down on my knees/I’m beggin you please…”
That sense of being down on your knees.
It’s absolutely about blowjobs. Just like Tom Waits’ Waltzing Matilda (Three Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) is about getting really drunk and taking the passive role with some rough trade in Denmark.
Yes, this is sarcasm.
Chalk up another vote for “not specifically about BJ’s”. Intense, wild passion, yes – she feels like flying, like she’s in a dream w/o beginning or end, like she’s falling, she feel s the power. The “knees” thing is not the ONLY thing there is.
And chalk up another vote for that the figure was NOT a “black Jesus”, just a black saint. I was flabbergasted the first time I read that there were people who thought that was supposed to be a Jesus.
I’ve got nothing to add here except I used to know the brother of the guy that wrote that song for Madonna. Patrick Leonard’s younger brother Charlie used to go to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and lived down the hall from me when he was a freshman. He even met her once.
I don’t have his e-mail address, so I can’t ask him if it’s about blowjobs.
Sorry.
Wasn’t Prince involved in the production of this song? He’s a big sex + god guy.
I think it’s about rimming. Why? Isn’t it obvious?
Per the liner notes, the production facilty was Paisley Park but the producers are listed as Madonna and Patrick Leonard.
Prince co-wrote, co-produced and has an uncredited vocal on “Love Song” from the same album.
Well, she could be with another woman occasionally and have a facefull instead of a mouthfull.
Seriously, the woman referred to in the OP really reached there!
Also, many people did think it was supposed to be a black JC but the controversy was more that she was romancing him than that he was black. Anyway, it really was supposed to be an actual black saint.
The video story- she sees this white gang knife a girl, the cops pick up a black guy for it, she goes to church & prays, the black saint image comes to life & gives her the courage to do the right thing & turn in the white gang. I think the burning crosses were supposed to represent racism.
The stupid part- the video ends with everyone coming out as a curtain call with all this having been a play.