Sexual Metaphors in Rock Music Lyrics

Rock and roll and sex have always been inseparable bedmates.  And it’s been no secret affair.  Many musicians admit that they only learned how to sing or play an instrument so they could enjoy the fringe benefits of band membership.  They don’t mind sharing the details of these fringe benefits in their lyrics, either.  Some lyrics are blatantly explicit, while other lyrics hide their sexuality behind metaphors.  Here are some lyrics that seem very suggestive—or maybe we just have dirty minds!

“Brand New Key” by Melanie

Remember this novelty hit from the early 70s?  Also known as “The Roller Skate Song,” there seemed to be plenty of innuendo in the lyrics, “I got a brand new pair of roller skates/You got a brand new key/I think that we should get together and try them out, you see.”  Also, many listeners interpreted the lyrics “new key” as “nookie.”  Although Melanie didn’t intentionally write sexually suggestive lyrics, she did admit that, “I guess a lock and key have always been Freudian symbols, and pretty obvious ones, at that.”

“Knocking at Your Back Door” by Deep Purple

The blatant title, which also makes its way into the song lyrics, needs no explanation.  But the band wove more subtle suggestiveness into the lyrics, “So we put her on the hit list/Of a common cunning linguist/A master of many tongues.”  If you don’t get it right away, quickly say the lyrics “cunning linguist” out loud several times.  Oh, so that’s what he’s saying!  The lyrics flew under the  censor’s radar, and were played on numerous radio stations.  According to the liner notes in the band’s Greatest Hits, they wrote the lyrics as a joke, and never expected the song to get any airplay.

“Little Willy” by The Sweet

This incredibly catchy tune by glam band, The Sweet, initially drew critics’ scorn for its “nursery porn” lyrics, “Little Willy, Willy won’t go home/But you can’t push Willy ’round, Willy won’t go.”  The song lyrics were supposedly inspired by late singer Brian Connolly’s nonstop nightclubbing.  Since “willy” is also British slang for a man’s you-know-what, there’s also speculation that the lyrics regard that organ’s endless desire for satisfaction.  In any case, the song and its lyrics ignited a succession of 14 hit singles, including 11 chart-toppers.

“Cherry Pie” by Warrant

The lyrics of “Cherry Pie” are filled with so many humorous sexual metaphors, where do we begin?  Well, here are a few of those lyrics:  “She wanted me to feed her/So I mixed up the batter/And she licked the beater,” “If I think about baseball/I’ll swing all night,” and “Tastes so good/Make a grown man cry/Sweet cherry pie.”  Singer Jani Lane wrote the song’s music and lyrics on a pizza box in 15 minutes.  Talk about a quickie!

“Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel

Influenced by sexually suggestive soul music lyrics, the lyrics of “Sledgehammer” are loaded with innuendo.  In addition to “I want to be your sledgehammer,” the lyrics refer to steam trains, bumper cars, pollination, fruit, bees and a big dipper.  Regarding the lyrics, Gabriel said, “Sometimes sex can break through barriers when other forms of communication are not working too well.”

That theory may work well in song lyrics, but it’s a line that might backfire if you’re trying to pick up someone in a bar!