Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Wives And Lovers: How Times have Changed

Stumbled upon this song while searching AM radio for a traffic report on the ride home the other day. It's Jack Jones 1966 doing "Wives and Lovers".  I couldn't believe the lyrics when I first heard them. In fact, I had to google the song that night to make sure I wasn't hearing things. Just a tad bit chauvinistic, you  think? And this was a top hit in 1963. Still, it's a pretty catchy tune.

Mr. Jones also sang "The Love Boat" Theme!  Wasn't he in that episode when Gloria Steinem was chasing him with a butcher knife.

Hey! Little Girl
Comb your hair, fix your makeup
Soon he will open the door
Don't think because there's a ring on your finger
You needn't try anymore

For wives should always be lovers too
Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you
I'm warning you...

Day after day
There are girls at the office
And men will always be men
Don't send him off with your hair still in curlers
You may not see him again

For wives should always be lovers too
Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you
He's almost here...

Hey! Little girl
Better wear something pretty
Something you'd wear to go to the city and
Dim all the lights, pour the wine, start the music
Time to get ready for love
Time to get ready
Time to get ready for love
Posted by Sean Patrick Reardon at 2:34 PM
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5 comments:

  1. seana grahamMarch 22, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Yep, I think this was from the same era as a book I remember being big in my parents or perhaps my older friends era, where women were advised to greet their husbands wrapped only in cellophane.

    Sounds like a lot of work.

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  2. Paul D BrazillMarch 22, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    My favourite sexist lyric is from Mungo Jerry's 'In The Summer Time': 'If her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal/If her daddy's poor, you can do what you feel.'

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  3. seana grahamMarch 22, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    And then there was Paul Anka with "(You're having my baby), which was widely trounced even at the time.

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  4. Sean Patrick ReardonMarch 23, 2011 at 4:33 AM

    Seana- I thought W&L was Paul Anka when I first heard it. Burt Bacharach wrote W&L, which I should have guessed because the instrumentaion reakes of his style.


    Paul- "My favorite sexist lyric"... The contest possibilities are endless ;)

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  5. AuthorMarch 24, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    Some good advice from Harry Enfield that fits right in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZwNGU

    Then there's this, of course: http://www.onefunsite.com/good_wifes_guide.shtml

    Women should know their limits and a good wife always knows her place! ;p

    ReplyDelete

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