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#Post#: 15750--------------------------------------------------
11 Obscure References in Classic Songs—Explained!
DIR By: Mac
Date: January 13, 2013, 11:55 am
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[glow=red,2,300]11 Obscure References in Classic
Songs—Explained![/glow]
Hell, I didn't even know some of the words, let alone the
reference.
--- Quote ---
> We've all heard these classic pop and rock hits a thousand
times. But even if you know all the words, do you know what they
were about?
>
> [size=12pt]1. "You’re So Vain," Carly Simon
>
> “You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself
gavotte.”
>
> The gavotte is a French folk dance that was popular in the
late 16th century. It was somewhat majestic and pose-y, long
before vogueing came into … well, vogue. Simon has stated in
interviews that she pictured the character in her song making a
dramatic entrance, one hand raised and the other on his hip,
much like those elegant pantaloon-wearing Baroque folks did back
in the day.
>
> 2. "The Joker," The Steve Miller Band
>
> “Some people call me Maurice, ‘cause I speak of the pompatus
of love.”
>
> “Pompatus” is, indeed, a made-up word, but Mr. Miller didn’t
exactly coin it. He has admitted in the past to have been
influenced by a 1954 doo-wop hit by the Medallions called “The
Letter.” Written by Vernon Green, the song contains the line “Oh
my darling, let me whisper sweet words of pizmotality and
discuss the puppetutes of love.” According to Green, he’d made
up the word “puppetutes” to describe his fantasy paper-doll, or
puppet-like, girl. In a “’scuse me while I kiss this guy”
moment, Miller transposed “puppetutes” into “pompatus.”
>
> 3, 4, and 5. "Down Under," Men at Work
>
> “Traveling in a fried-out Kombi” ... “He just smiled and gave
me a vegemite sandwich” ... “Where beer does flow and men
chunder”
>
> This tune is full of Australian slang, which is what made much
of it indecipherable to those of us above the Equator. A “Kombi”
is what is officially called a Volkswagen Type 2 in Oz, but the
nickname comes from its German moniker: Kombinationskraftwagen.
Americans know it better as a VW Microbus.
>
> Vegemite is an Aussie favorite—a spreadable paste made from
brewer’s yeast, vegetables, wheat, and some assorted spices.
They slather it on toast, hide it inside pastries, and layer it
between slices of bread to make a delectable sandwich.
>
> Chunder is what a lot of folks do after consuming too much
beer, or other alcohol, or spoiled food, or during a bout of the
flu. In other words, el barfo.
>
> 6. "Surfin’ USA," The Beach Boys
>
> “You'd see 'em wearin' their baggies, Huarache sandals, too”
>
> “Baggies” were the boxer-style bathing suits preferred by
surfer dudes over the traditional Speedo-type form-fitting
model. The extra fabric helped to prevent surfboard wax from
painfully ripping out upper-leg hair when the surfer rose from a
sitting to a standing position. Huarache is a type of woven
leather sandal, one that’s actually closer to a shoe than a
sandal. One that, I cringe to report, my Dad used to wear with
socks (“Support plus absorption equals comfort.”)
>
> 7. "Jailhouse Rock," Elvis Presley
>
> “The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang”
>
> Thanks to its proximity to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Detroit
was an important stop on the Underground Booze Railroad during
Prohibition. Liquor, legal in Canada, was smuggled across the
Ambassador Bridge or even driven in Model Ts across the frozen
Detroit River during the winter, where it then generally ended
up in the hands of the notorious Purple Gang. What Al Capone and
his gang were to Chicago, Sammie Cohen, the Bernstein brothers,
and the rest of the Purples were to Detroit. The Purple Gang
started out as a pipeline for Canadian whiskey to Capone, but
eventually a turf war ensued.
>
> 8. "Hotel California," The Eagles
>
> “Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air”
>
> According to the Eagles’ then-manager, “colitas” was explained
to Don Henley and Glenn Frey as literally meaning “little buds”
by their Mexican-American road manager, and further as Spanish
slang for “marijuana.”
>
> 9 and 10. "Bohemian Rhapsody," Queen
>
> “Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?” ...
“Bismillah! No!”
>
> Scaramouche is a traditional clown character featured in
Italian commedia dell'arte. He is a stock character in Punch and
Judy shows and often gets his head knocked off of his shoulders
by Punch. The fandango is a lively couples dance usually
accompanied by guitars, hand claps and castanets.
>
> "Bismillah" is an Arabic word that means "in the name of God."
It is used at the head of almost every chapter in the Holy
Quran.
>
> 11. "I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)," The Proclaimers
>
> “And if I haver, yeah I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the
man who's havering to you.”
>
> Thanks to the thick Scottish accents of Charlie and Craig
Reid, “haver” actually sounds like “heaver,” which makes one
think of chundering (see above). However, in Scotland and
northern England, to haver is simply to talk nonsense or babble.
> [/size]
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 16044--------------------------------------------------
Re: 11 Obscure References in Classic Songs—Explained!
DIR By: Chiprocks1
Date: January 20, 2013, 3:56 pm
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Nice find. Even with the explanation in my face, I STILL don't
know what "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?”
... “Bismillah! No!” is!! Haha.
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