If coke
Is a mystery
Michael Jackson
History
If beauty is truth
And surgery the fountain of youth
What am I to do
Have I got the gifts to get me through
The gates of that mansion
If OJ is more than a drink
And a Big Mac bigger than you think
And perfume is an obsession
And talk shows confession
What have we got to lose
Another push and maybe we'll be through
The gates of that mansion

I never bought a lotto ticket
I never parked in anyone's space
The banks they're like cathedrals
I guess casinos took their place
Love, come on down
Don't wake her she'll come around

Chance is a kind of religion
Where you're damned for plain hard luck
I never did see that movie
I never did read that book
Love, come on down
Let my numbers come around

Don't know if I can hold on
Don't know if I'm that strong
Don't know if I can wait that long
'Till the colors come flashing
And the lights go on

Then will there be no time of sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
And though I can't say why
I know I've got to believe

We'll go driving in that pool
It's who you know that gets you through
The gates of the Playboy mansion
Playboy mansion
The Playboy mansion

Then will there be no time of sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
Then will there be no time of sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame


Lyrics submitted by dsfire

The Playboy Mansion Lyrics as written by David Evans Adam Clayton

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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The Playboy Mansion song meanings
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    General Comment

    This song is criminally underrated, kind of epitomizes Pop. Its narrator is a man that has pursued fame, fortune - in short, who has bought in fully to the materialism of a comsumerism-driven society. Banks are his cathedrals, chance is his religion.

    This is not a song about trying to get to heaven, this is a song about trying to get into the Playboy Mansion - the height of earthly desires, the pinnacle of fame, wealth, and material comfort. That is what this narrator is clinging to. Not to God, but rather to the hope that he will push his way into a comfortable lifestyle.

    The song is downright heartbreaking. A narrator crying out, hoping for nothing more than the chance to make it, declaring "Don't know if I can hold on / don't know if I'm that strong / don't know if I can wait that long / till the colours come flashing / and the lights go on." The worst part is the sincerity - he truly believes in it. So it's easy to think he might be talking about God, about spirituality when he's so absolutely devoted. But God is the last thing on his mind. This is a portrait of a man possessed by pop culture, driven by desire for material possessions, and utterly devoid of a sense of place in the world beyond the pursuit for wealth and status. It's Pop through and through - its themes, its biting critique, and even its rejection by U2 fans in favor of more accessible, traditional songs.

    JustCriticismon December 31, 2010   Link

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