Comments on: Music Urban Legends Revealed #10

By: OM

OM — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:15:33 +0000

…And Brian missed a major point about *why* Roger Daltry stuttered “F-f-f-fade away”; it was used instead of the original “Fuck off!” Note that in “Quadrophenia”, Jimmy, Chalky and Dave are pretty much aware of what The Who were wanting to say in this song, but the censors of the day wouldn’t allow for it. Then again, The Who got even with “Who Are You”, as there’s a “aw, who the fuck are you?” inserted in the song that’s very *rarely* edited out of the on-air versions played over the radio, and even then most of the stations who get caught beeping/blanking out the “fuck” usually get enough complaints from their audience that they don’t bother pulling that stunt again.

By: Darren Ellis

Darren Ellis — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:52:49 +0000

Incidentally, your Who lyrics are just a little wrong. It isn’t “why don’t you JUST f-f-f-f-fade away”. It is “why don’t you ALL f-f-f-f-fade away”. A very minor point.

By: Rob Allen

Rob Allen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:08:28 +0000

Never heard that about Johnny B. Goode before, but I have heard that Berry’s song “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man” was widely understood to mean “Brown-Skinned Handsome Man”.

By: onion3000

onion3000 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:48:03 +0000

With respect to Ron, I was told many years ago that ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ really was a reference to anal sex, and that the ‘Brown Eye’ in the title… um… I’ve said too much, haven’t I?

By: FunkyGreenJerusalem

FunkyGreenJerusalem — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:26:34 +0000

I’ve heard the stutter in ‘Talking Bout My Generation’ is in there as a reference to speed use – the popular pills at the time amped you up, and so someone on them would stutter a little when talking, and so that was in ther as a bit of a wink – they mentioned it in a way that if you were in the know, you’d get it, and if not, it would just pass you by.

By: Dan Felty

Dan Felty — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:50:23 +0000

Here’s an alternate version of the story from the Peel Slowly and See box set, written by David Fricke:

“‘I was in the bar with Delmore one night,’ Reed recalls. ‘He was very drunk, and I was getting ready to try and get him home. He said to me that when he dies and goes to another world better than this one, he would be watching me. He threatened to haunt me if I didn’t really try to write well and never sell out. And he said to me, ‘You know, if anybody can haunt you, I can.’ I really took that seriously.’ When the first Velvet Underground album was finally released in 1967, the song ‘European Son’ bore the subtitle ‘to Delmore Schwartz.’”

By: John Harter

John Harter — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:51:03 +0000

I thought Domino was about convincing your girlfriend for anal

Dont want to discuss it
I think its time for a change
You may get disgusted
And think Im strange
In that case Ill go underground
Get some heavy rest
Never have to worry
About what is worst and what is best

Oh oh domino
Roll me over romeo
There you go

By: Johnny_the_Boy

Johnny_the_Boy — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:34:36 +0000

hysterical rob! now i know what, “goin down the old mine” means!

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:04:24 +0000

I love trying to convince people that “Brown Eyed Girl” is really about opting for anal sex while one’s girlfriend is menstruating. The first few lines (and the well-known euphemism suggested in the title) make it a surprisingly easy sell:

Hey where did we go,
Days when the rains came
Down in the hollow,
Playin’ a new game…

Hey, someone has to start these urban legends, right?

Ha!

That they do, Ron. That they do.

By: Aaron Poehler

Aaron Poehler — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:43:02 +0000

Delmore Schwartz’ influence on Lou Reed is fairly well documented in the biography Transformer, and acknowledged by Reed in the song “My House”.