Thursday, August 5, 2010

Monkee Mad. . .





When I was a kid, I watched reruns of the Monkees every day. Every day I would decide which one of them to love that day.

Don't call me that bad name that rhymes with door because I was only 10. Geesh.

I loved the Monkees' music.

I still love the Monkees' music.

Remember this song, sung by dreamy Davy Jones with his darling cockney accent:





I wanna be free
Like the Bluebirds flying by me
Like the waves out on the blue sea
If your love has to tie me, don't try me,
Say goodbye

I wanna be free
Don't say you love me, say you like me
But when I need you beside me,
Stay close enough to guide me, confide in
Me
ohhhh ohhhhhh oh

I wanna hold your hand
Walk along the sand
Laughing in the sun
Always having fun
Doing all these things
Without any strings
To tie me down

I wanna be free
Like the warm September wind babe
Say you'll always be my friend, babe
We can make it to the end, babe
Again babe, I gotta say
I wanna be free
I wanna be free
I wanna be freeeeeeeee


Words & Music by Boyce & Hart.

I loved this song. My pre-pubescent self would ardently promise: "I'd never tie you down Davy! I know you need to be free! Don't worry Davy! We can make it Davy!"

Forget that Davy Jones is almost exactly 20 years older than me. (I googled it. He is 19 years and 360 days older than me). Forget that he was (is) an inch shorter than me. (Googled that too). I thought he was DREAMY! And truth be told, I think he aged pretty well.

When I heard that song recently, my old crush came flooding back to me.

Then I paid attention to the words.

You wanna be free? WTF? What do you mean I'm supposed to say "I like you", not "I love you"? So I'm supposed to stay close enough to guide you, but not let my love tie you down? How exactly am I tying you down, Davy?

Oh.... I get it.

You want all the benefits of being a boyfriend without all the responsibilities.

You want me to keep my Sundays open, but you don't want to have to visit my parents.

You want to go to the movies, but you decide what we see.

You want me to get you a Christmas present, but you don't want to have to buy one for me.

YOU WANT THE BOOTY CALL BUT YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE WHEN YOUR FRIENDS COME OVER! IS THAT IT? THAT'S IT, ISN'T IT, DAVY??!! DAVY!!! DAVY!!!!!!!!

YOU BASTARD!


Seriously though. Seriously. How many other totally misogynistic love songs are out there that perversely shaped our view of a healthy relationship?

Think about it. "I Wanna Be Free" Is just a generation ahead of "My baby's Momma".

Coincidence?

I don't think so.

4 comments:

  1. So true! How about that crazy stalker Sting song? How does it go? "Every breath you take, every move you make, every vow you break, I'll be watching you. Oh can't you see, you belong to me."

    Oh dear.

    Sting, I thought we had something.

    But NOBODY puts Baby in a corner!

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  2. Hi Mary! I just discovered your blog indirectly through The Bitchy Waiter (love him!)and I'm pleased to have found you. Thanks for giving me hope that the whole baby thing could still be a possibility for me... Davy Jones was dreamy for sure. I remember having a crush on him as well. I'm guessing you and I weren't the only little 'doors' back in the day, just young girls with good taste in otherwise decent men who just so happend to write sexist lyrics for us to swoon over.
    Have a great day, - The Empress

    http://rantersbox.blogspot.com

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  3. Great post Mary! I used to sing "You Are My Sunshine" to my daughter as a baby, then one day I looked up the COMPLETE lyrics - SCARY!!

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  4. Now I'm going to have to look up those Sunshine lyrics!

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