Subtly Suggestive Lyrics - Pre 70s

[[Co...]]

The video posted by @[re...] got me thinking about all those older recordings with suggestive lyrics. I do not mean explicit lyrics, which tend to be more modern.* I am talking about recordings that would have got your grandparents hot and bothered, but they probably would not have even acknowledged the double entendre.

* Please do not post recordings with explicit lyrics.

I'll kick off with Come On-A My House, the version by Julie London. The original version by Rosemary Clooney was innocent enough (I think), but a change in tempo and instrumentation, a breathy rendition, and hey presto, instant filth.

Rosemary Clooney's version:

I know which version I prefer.

For a bit of background:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_On-a_My_House

https://www.foreversaroyan.com/the-fascinating-journey-of-come-on-a-my-house

[[Ro...]]

"Why Don't We Do It In the Road?" - The Beatles

 

[[Ro...]]

"Penny Lane" - The Beatles

 

[[re...]]

Well @[Co...], when I saw this post I fully expected to find some songs by that punk group called Filth. But this is even better.
I actually didn't notice anything suggestive about that Peggy Lee number. Maybe that's because I'm so young and innocent; more likely because I'm so old and jaded. But there are one or two that even I understood:

 

[[re...]]

Oh, and by the way, @[Co...]...

 

[[Co...]]

Hmm. Most of these are not really very subtle. To the point where there they are almost explicit. What have I done!?

I'm going to edit the title.

[[Co...]]

14 minutes ago, [[r...] said:

Oh, and by the way, @[Co...]...

Well, thank you @[re...] Very thoughtful of you to include the Chipmuck's version.

[[re...]]

@[Co...]
As the Wikipedia article explains, that song was written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian, aka David Seville, creator of the Chipmunks. So naturally, I wondered whether Bagdasarian ever had his Chipmunks perform his song. Seek and ye shall find - on YouTube, at least. You can see Bagdasarian's name, and not David Seville, in the credits of that clip - although the Ross Bagdasarian in those credits may actually be the son of the Ross Bagdasarian who wrote the song, since Janice Karman, whose name also appears in the credits, was married to Ross Bagdasarian Jr. But one wonders whether they understood the subtle suggestions in that song, and how many other subtle suggestions they might have included in other Chipmunks cartoons - which I grew up watching.

No wonder I'm so jaded.

 

[[Co...]]

This is the kind of speed I had in mind.

As an aside, my other half thought Pull up to the Bumper was a song about cars. True story.

[[re...]]

15 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

This is the kind of speed I had in mind.

As an aside, my other half thought Pull up to the Bumper was a song about cars. True story.

Hmmm... your other half must not have been very familiar with Grace Jones - and I'm not trying to be suggestive there. I have seen Grace Jones in concert. I have seen her bumper. It has nothing in common with a car.

So is that the same April Stevens who sang with her brother Nino Tempo? I mean, I did like Deep Purple but some of their songs verged on creepy, you know, considering...

[[re...]]

Apparently this song contains some esoteric reference,
which Hamburgers and other Germans would understand:

 

[[Co...]]

7 minutes ago, [[r...] said:

Hmmm... your other half must not have been very familiar with Grace Jones - and I'm not trying to be suggestive there. I have seen Grace Jones in concert. I have seen her bumper. It has nothing in common with a car.

So is that the same April Stevens who sang with her brother Nino Tempo? I mean, I did like Deep Purple but some of their songs verged on creepy, you know, considering...

That's her.

Another suggestive song from April Stevens -  but this one (to more modern eyes) is more funny than sexy. 

[[Ro...]]

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones

 

[[Co...]]

10 minutes ago, [[r...] said:

Apparently this song contains some esoteric reference,
which Hamburgers and other Germans would understand:

It seems that quite a lot of Beetles songs contain hidden sexual references (re: @[Ro...]'s post). I think they were usually penned by McCartney, the mucky devil.

[[re...]]

16 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

That's her.

Another suggestive song from April Stevens -  but this one (to more modern eyes) is more funny than sexy. 

I bet that song title was a reference to this very famous commercial:

That might make that song seem just a bit less silly, in the cultural
context - which was pure commercial trash culture, of course.
By the way, that growling kitten is Barbara Feldon, who afterwards
achieved fame as Agent 99 on Get Smart.

[[Co...]]

@[re...] The growl is pretty funny.

[[Na...]]

4 hours ago, [[R...] said:

"Penny Lane" - The Beatles

That one is pretty subtle.

[[be...]]

 

[[Ro...]]

"The End" - The Doors

 

[[re...]]

... and her suggestions improved with age. Here she is at age 86:

Alberta Hunter  1895-1984

 

 

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by [re...]

[[Co...]]

13 hours ago, [[r...] said:

... and her suggestions improved with age. Here she is at age 86:

Alberta Hunter  1895-1984

That's the kind of stuff I was driving at! Good find, @[re...].

[[re...]]

Cc'è la luna n menzu ô mari

This song is about as suggestive as it gets, and not so subtle ..

You might recognize it from The Godfather:

Actually, that scene is pretty authentic, as this song was often sung
at Sicilian wedding receptions. That's jazz singer Morgana King in her
first acting role as Carmela Corleone, Don Vito's wife and the mother
of the bride. She gets the song's innuendos, but she's far too proper
a lady to act them out with such vulgar gestures as the old man uses.

There are actually several versions of the song, in several dialects.
Here's an English translation of the Sicilian version, abridged a bit
for space, omitting all but the first instance of the refrain:

There's a moon in the middle of the sea:
Mother I must get married !
My daughter, who should I get for you?
Mother I leave it up to you.
 
If I get you the barber
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his razor in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll razor you oh my daughter.

(refrain)
Oh mama, fried cod fish!
Oh mama, fried cod fish!
My daughter, who should I get for you?
Mother I leave it up to you.

If I get you the carpenter
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his plane in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll plane you oh my daughter.
...
If I get you the shoemaker
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his hammer in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll hammer you oh my daughter.
...
If I get you the farmer
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his plough in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll plough you oh my daughter.
...
If I get you the butcher
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his sausage in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll sausage you oh my daughter.
...
If I get you the fisherman
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his fish in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll fish you oh my daughter.
...
If I get you the gardener
he will come and he will go,
but he'll always hold his cucumber in his hands...
If he likes the idea
he'll cucumber you oh my daughter.

Here's a pdf file with both the Sicilian lyrics
and the English translation - because
obviously, you'll want to learn it and sing it
at every wedding reception from now on:

Luna mezzo mare.pdf

Edited October 4, 2023 by [re...]

[[re...]]

  The subtle suggestion of 1963
seems a creepy threat since 1987

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by [re...]