Dec 14

Lola 2

Highly Appreciated

LOLA – Story of the Month (from March 2013)
 
 

 

 

Much as stand-up routines allow performers to say things that they would never get away with if spoken with a straight face – Larry the Cable Guy comes immediately to mind – offbeat popular music recordings have served over the years to introduce previously taboo subjects to the larger society.   One of the Kinks’ most popular recordings is their 1970 hit “Lola”; and from the very first line, it is clear that nothing is what it seems – “I met her in a club down in old Soho / Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola”.  Lola “walked like a woman and talked like a man” and – after dancing together “under electric candlelight” – “smiled and took me by the hand / And said dear boy I’m gonna make you a man”. 

 
The final verse – “Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man / But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man / And so is Lola” – has all of the power and attitude and finality of someone “coming out”; yet even there, the singer doesn’t quite lay it all on the line with the final words:  It is actually Lola who is glad that the singer is a man – s/he remains as mysterious as the androgynous Saturday Night Live character “Pat” (played by Julia Sweeney) whose romantic companion is “Chris” (originally played by Dana Carvey).  
 
(July 2015)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021