The 422nd Greatest Song of All Time: The Earliest Trans Anthem?

 

When I saw "Lola" on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, I thought, "Finally! A song I've actually heard before! It's been a while!"

But then I read the lyrics and wondered how I ever lah-lah-lahed along to the chorus without realizing what the song was about.

The final chorus is innocent enough:

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

La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

A person can read that and think, "How wonderful. Lola is glad the singer is a man."

But wait.

You need to listen to some earlier verses to understand that you've just misinterpreted those words.

Well I'm not the world's most physical guy

But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine

Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand

Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man

She picked me up and sat me on her knee

And said little boy won't you come home with me

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls

Are you understanding now? When the lead singer for the Kinks says "I'm glad I'm a man and so is Lola," he means that Lola is a man, too.

According to Songfacts.com, Ray Davies revealed to Q magazine in a 2016 interview: "The song came out of an experience in a club in Paris. I was dancing with this beautiful blonde, then we went out into the daylight and I saw her stubble."

I hate when that happens.