Had the album upon release (I was 15 in 1970), Jami, and having already "grown up" and become certainly comfortable with the murky gender line in songs by the likes of (even early) Bowie (it was so easy to fantasize about a "Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud" as an early high-schooler!), T.Rex, Alice Cooper, as well as the admittedly attractive, freshly-scrubbed cheeks of the teeny bopper faces on teen mag covers, I heard "Lola" with a rather complacent "hmmm, OK.... Oh, that Ray!"
Not so much "enlightened," but it was nothing for me to accept this in the fanciful "musical art" form that I'd come to get used to from Ray (and musical artists in general)!
I will tell you (and I never put this past word-smithy Ray) that I heard a '70s radio DJ take up Ray's "controversial" line/song by offering the second meaning of "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola"............as, "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola (the understood "also glad I'm a man)"!
Which is plausible on its face, but there's so much in-song "evidence" about the trans-Lola to easily dismiss that! Great info on the song, Jami....'twas fun to re-visit! I sang "Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud" more than once in karaoke a decade ago! I'm sure I sighed resignedly each time.😉
Great insight, Brad! I also agree that Ray Davies was a skilled writer and I think he absolutely knew what he was doing with the double meaning of that line. He makes a few attempts to spell things out for his audience (and a lot of people still didn't notice!) This is not a modern version of allyship and that lyric doesn't age well as society has evolved (or attempted to evolve.) But the impact it had in 1970 is undeniable.
I have always really liked this song, and while I knew what it was about, your piece really digs into the depths of the songs meaning in a way that helped shed even more light on it for me. Thank you
Love this. Until just now I had no idea about the song’s backstory (or lyrics, outside of the chorus).
Same!
Had the album upon release (I was 15 in 1970), Jami, and having already "grown up" and become certainly comfortable with the murky gender line in songs by the likes of (even early) Bowie (it was so easy to fantasize about a "Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud" as an early high-schooler!), T.Rex, Alice Cooper, as well as the admittedly attractive, freshly-scrubbed cheeks of the teeny bopper faces on teen mag covers, I heard "Lola" with a rather complacent "hmmm, OK.... Oh, that Ray!"
Not so much "enlightened," but it was nothing for me to accept this in the fanciful "musical art" form that I'd come to get used to from Ray (and musical artists in general)!
I will tell you (and I never put this past word-smithy Ray) that I heard a '70s radio DJ take up Ray's "controversial" line/song by offering the second meaning of "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola"............as, "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola (the understood "also glad I'm a man)"!
Which is plausible on its face, but there's so much in-song "evidence" about the trans-Lola to easily dismiss that! Great info on the song, Jami....'twas fun to re-visit! I sang "Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud" more than once in karaoke a decade ago! I'm sure I sighed resignedly each time.😉
Great insight, Brad! I also agree that Ray Davies was a skilled writer and I think he absolutely knew what he was doing with the double meaning of that line. He makes a few attempts to spell things out for his audience (and a lot of people still didn't notice!) This is not a modern version of allyship and that lyric doesn't age well as society has evolved (or attempted to evolve.) But the impact it had in 1970 is undeniable.
This is wonderful! and a wonderful song. It's very interesting indeed!
Now imma have this stuck in my head all day...
This is a great read!
I have always really liked this song, and while I knew what it was about, your piece really digs into the depths of the songs meaning in a way that helped shed even more light on it for me. Thank you