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Originally Posted by A Slice Of English
I don't see any inherent ambiguity concerning the sexuality of the singer in this song. I feel that Meat, the singer, is singing to Jenny and Johnny in the first and second verses respectively before it becomes more introspective and the singer reflects on his or her own feelings in the final verse ("Every time I try and dream you...") except at no point in that verse do we know who "you" is and therefore it stands to reason that it is merely the perception of the listener which decides whether this is a male or a female the singer is referring to. Whomever it is, I feel it is someone who means a lot to the singer.
Just my ha'penny-worth.
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I agree completely. The song shifts perspective (as many do), and the "you" that the singer is singing about changes depending on who is singing the song.
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Originally Posted by CarylB
Anyone could interpret anything in any way they choose. Doesn't mean that they should, or that it's right
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Why shouldn't we? I think most songwriters know that their songs are going to be interpreted by listeners, and that sometimes those interpretations may be much different than they originally intended.
To quote Bruce Springsteen:
"Meaning is a communal cocktail. There is no writer who who writes something and then has the fascist ability to dictate how it is perceived, you know?! That doesn't exist. [...] In other words, once it's released, it literally is
released. It's gone free. And as such, even though you're its creator, you are now part of the community that is discussing, fighting, arguing, enjoying the conversation over its meaning. You may have an ace up your sleeve in that you can go out and play it a certain way on another night, but then you're simply adding to that conversation, you are never going to completely define that conversation- no one really can."
One thing that Bruce fans love to debate is whether the character of Terry in the song,
Backstreets is male or female. One fan had an occasion to ask Bruce, and he told her something to the effect of, "It's whoever you want it to be", which I thought is either the coolest answer, or a total cop out, I'm not sure which.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is, while I totally disagree with Wario's interpretation, I totally support his right to have that interpretation.
(Unless, of course, he's just trolling...
)