Deliberate Ambiguity

Sugar Me by Linsey de Paul

Lynsey de Paul is a famous songwriter that you've never heard of.  In fact, I spent a bunch of time today wondering who she was because a search for "Sugar me" lyrics -def -leppard came up with a page that misspelled her name as "Linsey de Paul," which sent me down a spiraling rabbit hole.  Examples like this prove why search often sucks.  Someday, I'll be able to ask a simple question like "Who sang Sugar Me?" and get what I want.

Whatever is this song about?  Unfortunately, the carefully-chosen lyrics are brief and don't offer a clear story.  When I first heard it, my friend suggested that "Sugar Me" is a blatant sexual reference to a certain white substance.  But why not "sugar" as a kiss?  Or cocaine?  My guess is that it refers to the sexual act in general, cf. "Pour some sugar on me".  One might think that the verses would offer some help, but one would be wrong.  The female says that "One for you and one for me" is equal to three.  Unless she and her beau are going after the same individual, I count four people.  When our heroine claims to be a "go-between," that only adds to the evidence that this song is about a salacious bisexual tryst.

But these infidelities don't phase her.  Seconds after her lament, she begins pining to be saved and sugared.  Note an interesting double entendre in "Gotta get my candy free," which could be interpreted as "I want free and plentiful sugar" or "I want to free my candy" (what her "candy" might refer to, I leave as an exercise to the reader).  The second verse is a reminder of the numbers theme in the first: one isn't enough and three is too many.   

"Sugar Me" Lyrics, by Lynsey de Paul

One for and one for me
But one and one and one
Pardon me - comes to three
Looking sweet and all the while
Hid behind the smile was saccharine
I'm a go-between

Refrain
Save me, save me!
Baby, baby, sugar me
Gotta get my candy free
Sugar me by day
Sugar me by my baby, baby, sugar me
Sugar me by day
Sugar me by night

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

Count me in from one to two
But nothing more or less will do
Just me and you
Honey sweet and harmony
Will melt away the bitter memory
It's gotta be

(refrain 2x)

tags technorati : linsey de paul sugar me lyrics

Gem Sweater by Leslie and the LY's

My old blog had a tradition of doing "Song of da Week" (SodW).  Though it often ended up as "Song of da Month", I'm going to try it again.  I decree this week's song to be Gem Sweater, by Leslie and the LY's.

Leslie Hall is a white, slightly-overweight-and-luvin'-it, gold-stretch-pants-wearing, gem-sweater-wearing rapper from Iowa who made some funky videos and is becoming an Internet sensation.  Trying to box her into any usual classification completely fails.  Is she white trash trying to become an R&B star?  Is she a performance artist with her finger on the pulse of the Internet trying to get her 15-minutes?  Is she pretending to be white trash to make a quick buck?  Is she a brilliant musician that will change the face of music forever?  Is this just a bunch of crap that I like only because it's so different than everything else that's out there?  I have a sincere hope that artists like Kelly and Leslie are the Impressionists of commercialized music.  Technology gives them the tools to create their art; and they need to break all of the rules of the former era to find originality.  Mmmm.

I've downloaded both of Leslie's albums (Door Man's Daughter and Gold Pants) and I heartily recommend them.  Hell, I don't need to tell you that "Only in my Dreams" is a piano ballad worthy of Elton John or that "Shazam I'm Glamorous" is absolutely fabulous.   Once you see the video, you'll be poking around iTunes, too!

Lyrics: Keeper of the Gem Sweater by Leslie

Keeper of the Gems I am
With power to rock your body as I jam
Can you feel me flowing inside your skull?
I have a razor ball of lightning striking your mind
Flowing at all times
Wear your Gem Sweater
Wear your Gem Sweater (Night or day you must run away)
From the people who disagree with my Gem-ology
I'm shizzling, dazzling, dreaming the night away
When I walk in a room when I start to dazzle
Dreams will come true when I start to razzle
As they dream of me now.
Now again they flow
People, watching people wear gem sweaters
It feels so much better!
Gem Sweater
(Well, wear your) Gem Sweater
(Wear your) Gem Sweater
(Wear your) Gem Sweater
Day or night, night and day
When you're riding your bike all the way
You crave to touch (woo!)
You want to hold it so much
You yean.  You burn with desire
My pants are on fire
You wish you could them.  You mold them.
Gem gem gem gem gem gem gem gem sweater (You see me now I'm like a fireball)
Gem gem gem gem gem gem gem gem sweater (With these shoulderpads I have the strength to destroy villages homes and crops)
They're coming back.  They want your baby (the little junior gems, the little junior gems)
You'd better put them on you lovely ladies, and wear your
Gem sweater!
(Wear your) Gem sweater
You must believe

(Translator's Note: these lyrics were transcribed from "Gem Sweater Revisited" on Door Man's Daughter.  The lyrics to the popular YouTube video are slightly different.