Now some pays a dollar, some pays a dime
Just to see me strut this stuff o’mine. – Lucille Bogan
One of the presents my husband gave me for my last birthday was Street Walker Blues, a collection of old hooker songs; it’s provided a number of good examples with which to round out my next few columns on the subject, but I prefer to split them up and mix them with songs from other genres for the sake of variety. The rest of today’s selections were suggested by readers in the comments of “Money Changes Everything” and “Savage Breast”; if you have a suggestion for a future column, check the Musicography page to make sure I haven’t featured it already, and if I haven’t please share it in a comment below! Our first song today is from Street Walker Blues, and though it’s performed by Ethel Waters I’m not sure who wrote it:
Bring Your Greenbacks (sung by Ethel Waters)
Come all you sheiks, and lovers, too,
Listen to what I’m tellin’ you;
I took a resolution New Years Day,
Never to give nothin’ away!
So run along and let me be,
‘Cause what I’ve got I’m holdin’ for me!
So if you want to be my man,
Bring the greenbacks when you call,
‘Cause I’ve just got enough for myself,
And I can’t spare nothing at all!
Don’t depend upon your looks and try to get my dough,
I can look at pretty papas in a movie show!
So if you want to be my man,
Bring the greenbacks when you call!
So if you want to be my man,
Bring the greenbacks when you call,
‘Cause I’ve just got enough for myself,
And I can’t spare nothing at all!
Don’t come askin’ me for my money, ’cause it ain’t no use,
For all you’ll get from me is going to be abuse!
So if you want to be my man,
Bring the greenbacks when you call!
Now, I’ll give you a piece of cake, also a piece of pie,
But not nary a piece of flesh, ’cause meat’s too high!
So if you want to be my man,
Just bring the greenbacks when you call!
Though there are exceptions, most of the ladies in these vintage songs are quite self-assured; they know the value of their favors, and have absolutely no shame about using them to make a living. And though our next selection (suggested by Annie Sprinkle) treats the subject more subtly, it’s clear that the lady it describes has exactly that same attitude.
Jezebel (Sade Adu)
Jezebel wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth
She probably had less than every one of us
But when she knew how to walk she knew
How to bring the house down
Can’t blame her for her beauty
She wins with her hands down
Jezebel, what a belle
Looks like a princess in her new dress
How did you get that?
“Do you really want to know”, she said
It would seem she’s on her way
It’s more, more than just a dream
She put on her stockings and shoes
Had nothing to lose, she said it was worth it
Reach for the top
And the sun is gonna shine
“Every winter was a war”, she said
“I want to get what’s mine”
Jezebel, Jezebel
Won’t try to deny where she came from
You can see it in her pride
And the raven in her eyes
Try show her a better way
She’ll say, “You don’t know what you’ve been missing”
By the time she blinks you know she won’t be listening
“Reach for the top”, she said
“And the sun is gonna shine”
“Every winter was a war”, she said
“I want to get what’s mine”
Of course, not all working girls are as successful and well-adjusted as Jezebel; all too many songs on the subject are about her exact opposite, the low-priced street girl who just gets by and usually comes to a bad end. I try to avoid most such songs because these columns are meant to be light, but I’ll make an exception for this one (which was later covered by Bonnie Raitt) because the singer expresses sympathy for the girl and judgment for those who looked down on her.
Louise (Paul Siebel)
Well they all said Louise was not half bad
It was written on the walls and window shades
And how she’d act the little girl
A deceiver, don’t believe her that’s her trade
Sometimes a bottle of perfume,
Flowers and maybe some lace
Men brought Louise ten cent trinkets
Their intentions were easily traced
Yes and everybody knew at times she cried
But women like Louise they get by
Well everybody thought it kind of sad
When they found Louise in her room
They’d always put her down below their kind
Still some cried when she died this afternoon
Louise rode home on the mail train
Somewhere to the south I heard it said
Too bad it ended so ugly,
Too bad she had to go this way
Ah but the wind is blowing cold tonight
So good night Louise, good night
From a small town we go to a big city; this next song (suggested by Ornithorhynchus) demonstrates a different kind of sympathy for its whores, who won’t take any crap from a bunch of stupid young guys who think they’re going to get something without paying.
Big City Girls (Myles Francis Goodwyn)
Late night hustle goin’ down in the city
A one way street on the wrong side of town
Young and foolish, man don’t you know
All we could see were
Ladies in the night, walkin’ a straight line
Ladies in the night, workin’ overtime
Ladies in the night, doin’ the hustle
Ladies in the night, flexin’ their muscles
Ladies in the night, big city, big city girls
We worked out a deal with some chicks on the corner
Back at the room it was never to be
No one had money and the girls got so uptight
Ladies in the night, walkin’ a straight line
Ladies in the night, workin’ overtime
Ladies in the night, doin’ the hustle
Ladies in the night, flexin’ their muscles
Ladies in the night, big city, big city girls, so tough
Baby I know, it’s just what I see
Baby I know, it’s not what I need
Big city, big city girls
The next thing you know, things got rough, babe
They carved out a warnin’ with a switch blade knife
The message was clear, if you wanna play, you gotta pay
Ladies in the night, walkin’ a straight line
Ladies in the night, workin’ overtime
Ladies in the night, doin’ the hustle
Ladies in the night, flexin’ their muscles
Ladies in the night, big city, big city girls
Our last song for today, suggested by Arum, is more ambiguous than any of the others; in fact, given lines like “picturesque decay” and “finds your heaven, finds your hell”, I think that ambiguity is strictly intentional. I had never heard this one before I listened to it while making my choices for this post, but I like it; it makes me think of the elaborate and often very expensive brothels of the late Victorian Era.
Baroque Bordello (The Stranglers)
See a picturesque decay there
Something for all time to tell
See the woman of your dreams there
In a baroque bordello
Swing doors and a blind venetian
Keep her in a walnut shell
Has to rub your eyes to bathe you
In a baroque bordello
All the words are written for you
Finds your heaven, finds your hell
Finds your love but keeps it hidden
In a baroque bordello
Seven days and seven nights spent
Sleeping in her wishing well
Climb her rope and find her trailer
In a baroque bordello
In a baroque bordello
In a baroque bordello
Baroque bordello
Baroque bordello
Baroque bordello
Baroque bordello
Baroque bordello
“Bring Your Greenbacks” is from the 1920s; ‘sheiks’ and ‘papas’ are both 1920s slang.
On popular perception through music: would you like an Italian contribution? “Boccadirosa” (tr. RoseMouth) is one of the most popular songs by Fabrizio de André – basically our Bob Dylan equivalent.
A live video performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ticFXHC40M4
Lyrics with translation: http://blogs.transparent.com/italian/bocca-di-rosa/
In comments to this translation, somebody noted a similarity with the female protagonist of “Mediterraneo”, the 1991 foreign language Academy Award. Indeed, good-hearted prostitutes seem to room large in Italy’s imagination.
Sade … FTW!!!
I second krulac, the Sade is awesome.
Here’s the great Ruth Brown with “If I Can’t Sell it, I’ll Sit on It”:
If I thought I could write an original song, I’d write one about the harlot/priestesses of old.
But while I’ve written some decent parodies (a Ranma song to the tune of “LOLA,” a Sailor Moon song ttto “And Then He Kissed Me”), I just don’t think I have original songs in me.
I only know this one is hooker related because the lead singer, Trish Keenan, said she wrote it about prostitutes, particularly her mother and other women in her family were hookers themselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omgj3o_MJ6w
The Velvet Underground’s ‘There She Goes Again’ at 33:16:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tsamNxGC9U
King Crimson’s ‘Easy Money’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tgtnk3w5tA
Larkin Grimm’s ‘Blond and Golden Johns’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaMI2GYHPwk
Queenadreena’s ‘Princess Carwash’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L7GTu2GQ94
Lana Del Rey’s ‘Disco’ (this one is a tad ambiguous though, could be about a stripper or starlet):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eStBKFGhCgw
Oh, and Blondie’s ‘Kung Fu Girls’ is about a dominatrix, right?
“Goodbye Girls” is a very pretty song.
I’ll be listening to the whole Velvet Underground album, but not tonight, as it’s nearly midnight. I’ only know one of their songs, and I’ve thought of checking out more of their stuff. Well, this is a good chance.
And I’ll listen to the others when I’m done with the Velvet Underground.
Thanks for linking these.
Took me long enough, huh?
Finished the Velvet Underground album. Some of their stuff I kind of like. Some of it, not so much. “There she goes again” I found to be neither the best nor worst, but maybe that’s just me. “Venus in Furs” is about a dominatrix, so it almost fits.
“Easy Money” is well-put-together. I even liked some of it.
“Blond and Golden Johns” has a very playful sound, even if it is mostly just an ‘ain’t I naughty’ kind of song.
“Princess Carwash” and “Disco” I’ll get tomorrow. Tracy and I are going to a movie, and I have to be ready or it’ll be my fault we’re late.
I should never, ever say that I’m going to do something at a specific time; it’s the best way to guarantee that I won’t get it done by that time.
“Princess Carwash” isn’t a song I can claim to like, but it does fit the theme, so yeah.
“Disco” is kind of pretty.
OK, two more. Um… they’re both short, so I can do them today.
“Tina Goes to Work” is a song I’ll give credit for recognizing that what Tina does is work. I know that punk isn’t about being good, it’s about attitude, but I really don’t care for most of it, in part because they’re always reminding me (through the sound of the song itself) that really, it isn’t about being good.
The Ramones nearly blew it by actually being good every now and then. “53rd & 3rd” seems to be about a hooker turned killer, or a john turned killer, or something.
Really, Laura knows more about these bands and their music than I do, so not only is it entirely possible that I’m missing something, it’s also possible that she wouldn’t.
I’ll be giving that other VU album a chance, because I did like some of the stuff on that first album. Thanks for linking this; it’s always good to discover new music.
You’re welcome, Sailor. If you enjoy that VU album I’d also definitely recommend ‘Loaded’, which is not as eclectic or original, but just as good (or better, if you find their debut a bit abrasive/inconsistent).
Two punk hooker-themed songs I just recalled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw7U5zvI7GU