Gulley called me the other morning and she had been on the phone with our friend Stephanie. Steph had called to see if Gulley had seen Fergie earlier that morning on the Today show. Gulley said that no she hadn’t and wondered to herself if Fergie was promoting a new book about Weight Watchers or being the Duchess of York, when she realized that the Fergie that Steph was talking about was Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. In her defense it is NOT easy to stay current and trendy when you’re a mama. It takes some work, especially when you spend most of your time in the car listening to Veggie Tales and the like.
Anyway, Steph was calling to talk about Fergie’s song called London Bridge. Her question was what exactly does one mean when they say “my London Bridge is falling down”. Is it dirty or could someone say something like “I can’t wear skinny jeans because my London Bridge is quickly succumbing to gravitational forces beyond my control?” Do any of y’all know the answer?
I downloaded the song on iTunes and after giving careful consideration to the lyrics I can safely say I have no idea what Fergie is talking about so I’m going to refrain from discussing my London Bridge in public and I’d advise y’all to do the same.
All this talk about musical lyrics made me think about songs that I have loved and songs that I have completely misunderstood. When I was in Junior High, my dad would take me to his friend’s music store and I could pick out any cassette tape that I wanted. My musical tastes ranged from Def Leppard’s Pyromania to Mac Davis’ Oh Lord it’s Hard to be Humble to Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler. I wish I were kidding, especially about Mac Davis.
I remember singing Lucille at the top of my lungs. “You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille, 400 children and a crop in the field” and even in my 9 year old reasoning thinking well no wonder she left, my goodness 400 children. I’d leave too if someone made me have 400 children and harvest crops in the field. Have some decency.
Another misunderstood favorite of mine was Billy Joel singing It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me. Remember the line, “how about a pair of pink sidewinders and a bright orange pair of pants”? Yes, a BRIGHT orange pair of pants makes much more sense than a FRIED orange pair of pants. I won’t embarrass myself by telling you how long I sang it my way. It NEVER even occurred to me to wonder what exactly a fried orange pair of pants would look like.
I also spent many years in college singing along to Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places except instead of singing “I’m not big on social graces, think I’ll slip on down to the Oasis…”, I was singing (and not quietly may I add), “I’m not big on sausage gravy, think I’ll slip on down to the Oasis…” I can’t really explain what I thought gravy preferences had to do with going to the Oasis. I wish I could.
So how about y’all? Any song lyrics that took you years to figure out? I am willing to bet it’s not just me and if it is, make something up.