# ZZ top I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 3, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625 "2020-11-03T06:52:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/1 "2020-11-03T06:52:54Z")
Ok, one of the lyrics bothers me: _I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back_ _They sportin’ I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back They sportin’ short dresses, wearin’ spike-heel shoes They smokin’ Lucky Strikes, and wearing nylons too, wearin’ spike-heel shoes_ Ok, I get short dresses, spike-heel shoes and nylons too, all considered sexy to many, but Lucky Strikes? Why that brand of ciggie? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/12BbI-kmrpI/hqdefault.jpg "ZZ Top - I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12BbI-kmrpI) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/2 "2020-11-03T08:38:53Z")
It’s toasted. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKcneQ6N50Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKcneQ6N50Q) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/3 "2020-11-03T12:42:56Z")
It means they’re fans of Jack Benny’s radio program, and nothing is sexier than a good sense of humour. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/4 "2020-11-03T12:47:21Z")
LSMFT (which my Dad used to say stood for “Loose Straps Mean Floppy Titties”) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/5 "2020-11-03T13:00:54Z")
It’s a well-known brand, so listeners would easily understand the reference. Beyond that, like most oddball lyrics, it probably doesn’t actually have any particular meaning; the lyricist probably just thought those sounds flowed well with the surrounding sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/6 "2020-11-03T13:40:56Z")
Woman smoking cigs has been sexy for quite some time. When ZZ Top wrote the song Luckies were still a popular brand. Also a woman smoking a Lucky sends a message that you might get lucky. [![](https://www.pixtury.com/photos/DDC554DBC31-6909642585AD65B48621D2/1.jpg) ](https://www.pixtury.com/photos/DDC554DBC31-6909642585AD65B48621D2/1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/7 "2020-11-03T13:49:53Z")
Luckies were unfiltered, like Camels, right? Does that make any difference? My guess is it just fit the rhythm of the lyrics the best. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/8 "2020-11-03T13:55:06Z")
My take is Lucky Strikes are unfiltered, as Shoeless mentioned, and that makes the ladies “badass”. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/9 "2020-11-03T14:15:02Z")
Or… they were smoking them with a cigarette holder and that makes them “classy”? Maybe classy _and_ badass, like James Bond! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/10 "2020-11-03T14:26:36Z")
I’m guessing it was image- I keep substituting other cigarette brands into the song and while they all work as far as the rhythm of the song goes, most others have associations that seem weird. I mean, " _They smokin’ Kools, and wearing nylons too, wearin’ spike-heel shoes_" or " _They smokin’ Marlboros, and wearing nylons too, wearin’ spike-heel shoes_" connote something entirely different than Lucky Strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/11 "2020-11-03T14:33:30Z")
Just as it’s not Morleys. Twice the tar and 1/3 more evil. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/12 "2020-11-03T14:35:54Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > My take is Lucky Strikes are unfiltered, as Shoeless mentioned, and that makes the ladies “badass”. I agree. Because they were unfiltered, they were what tough guys (and gals) would smoke. My father, who was a WWII navy veteran, smoked those and Camels (also unfiltered). The name, which harkens back to Golf Rush days, also evokes toughness. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/13 "2020-11-03T14:44:06Z")
Looks like they had filtered versions in the 80’s. [![](https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rolling-Stone-1987-small-1200x1480.jpg) ](https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rolling-Stone-1987-small-1200x1480.jpg) In any case, I think ZZ Top purposely used the Lucky Strike brand not just because it rhymed, but because who doesn’t want to get lucky. It was the smart choice to convey the image of a sexy girl. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/14 "2020-11-03T14:47:34Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Looks like they had filtered versions in the 80’s., By then, most brands were coming out with filtered versions, but that wasn’t Luckies’ image up to then. If there was a reason for mentioning that brand, that was it. The image also suggests they were marketing to tough girls, in trying to get them to take up filters. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/15 "2020-11-03T16:30:43Z")
I’m having more of a problem with the nylons. “Nylons” doesn’t sound very good and certainly doesn’t make me think “sexy”. _Maybe_ stockings but nylons??? Makes me think of support hose. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/16 "2020-11-03T16:47:47Z")
That’s more of a different era thing. When this song came out in the late 70’s stockings had the connotation of sultry fishnet type stockings used by prostitutes and slutty girls or the type wore by school girls (not sexy). Nylons were commonly used by women when they dressed up and wore short dresses, it was higher class. Today women just wear tiny panties or thongs (or nothing) under a dress to be sexy. Progress, very nice! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/17 "2020-11-03T16:50:19Z")
[https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/gettyimages-542357177-1573079124.jpg?crop=0.855xw:1.00xh;0.0272xw,0&resize=480:](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/gettyimages-542357177-1573079124.jpg?crop=0.855xw:1.00xh;0.0272xw,0&resize=480:)\* That’s sexy! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/18 "2020-11-03T16:53:57Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > My take is Lucky Strikes are unfiltered, as Shoeless mentioned, and that makes the ladies “badass”. This. Lucky Strikes had an image of being a cigarette that tough guys smoked. They weren’t considered to be a cigarette for ladies. A non-tobacco equivalent would be saying one woman was drinking whiskey shots while all of the other women were drinking glasses of wine. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zz-top-im-bad-im-nationwide/924625/19 "2020-11-03T16:56:03Z")
More like this. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/MD-15-20mmHg-Women-s-Compression-Pantyhose-Medical-Quality-Ladies-Support-Stocking-NudeS/132091260](https://www.walmart.com/ip/MD-15-20mmHg-Women-s-Compression-Pantyhose-Medical-Quality-Ladies-Support-Stocking-NudeS/132091260) They hid cellulite and were a pain to get off.