No Subject

[Gordon Locke <glocke@morgan.ucs.mun.ca>]

Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Path: glocke
From: glocke@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Gordon Locke  )
Subject: Re: (no subject given!)
Message-ID: <1992Oct13.171347.15978@morgan.ucs.mun.ca>
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
References: <9210131450.AA26217@relay1.UU.NET>
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 17:13:47 GMT

In article <9210131450.AA26217@relay1.UU.NET> M.E.Fletcher@gdr.bath.ac.uk writes:
>I am totally stunned by the extreme misinterpretations of the
>song Wow that I have seen recently! Here is my alternative interpretation.
>
>Matt
>
>Theatre actors wear heavy make-up known as greasepaint. After the show it
>is removed by rubbing it off with vaseline. Hence "he's too busy hitting
>the  vaseline" means he is too busy back in the dressing room cleaning up
>to receive any applause/accolades etc. No dressing room with a star
>and make-up girls for him. There is no implied reference to homosexuality.
>
	What about the BBC banning or re-editing the video because she
pats her bum when saying that line.  She also does this on the "Live at
Hammersmith Odeon" concert video-tape.  I took this as a sort of
confirmation of my theory (which I think I originally read here on
gaffa).  The make-up removal interpretation was what I originally
thought the line to mean, since I used to be in drama group.

>glocke@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Gordon Locke) [that's me!] writes:
>>	Yes, I understand the song to be referring to homosexuals, but
>>in a positive way.  Don't forget, the actor's "Vaseline-hitting" is why
>>"he'll never make the Sweeney (movie theatre?) / Or be that movie queen".  
>>I've always taken this to refer to discrimination in the acting business.
>>The song also sez: "We'd give you a part, my love, / But you'd have to
>>play the fool."  My guess is that this is the sort of implied
>>condescending attitude such an actor would get a lot of. 
>
>Once again, it's losers/failing to make it etc. not about homosexuality.
>The Sweeney was a very successful British TV cop show around the time
>the song was round. The song is about the miserable existence failed
>actors/actresses have, not realising their ambitions. They're never the
>stars, only the bit parts. The fool is a common Shakespearean role.
>
	Yeah, that interpretation _was_ a bit of a reach on my part!

	- Gord, a.k.a. glocke@morgan.ucs.mun.ca