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Jo the Waiter Lyrics
jo the waiter worked for me
serving wine in basement bars
only mad men ever stay. 'got no time'
if your mindless please take mine
jo the waiter held me close
behind the door marked 'gentlemen'
just for now thats all i need
won't someone call me 'friend'
long gone. i recall good times
i must confess i cried
we burned out and the line went dead
at six o'clock i felt so alone
i crawled inside. 'where else to go'?
could be dead for all you know
everyday i died for you
valium boys with painted eyes
young man need love special
i don't think i want it at all
long gone. i recall good times
i must confess i cried
me i retired to a back street flat
picture 'eyes in a cold steel frame'
the freaks arrive.
broken needles and blood
'what you on man to get those eyes'
it's very touching i'm so close to me
false smiles i've rehearsed for days
come inside you won't know i'm wrong
give me your heart i'm so quickly gone
serving wine in basement bars
only mad men ever stay. 'got no time'
if your mindless please take mine
behind the door marked 'gentlemen'
just for now thats all i need
won't someone call me 'friend'
long gone. i recall good times
i must confess i cried
at six o'clock i felt so alone
i crawled inside. 'where else to go'?
could be dead for all you know
everyday i died for you
valium boys with painted eyes
young man need love special
i don't think i want it at all
i must confess i cried
me i retired to a back street flat
picture 'eyes in a cold steel frame'
the freaks arrive.
broken needles and blood
'what you on man to get those eyes'
false smiles i've rehearsed for days
come inside you won't know i'm wrong
give me your heart i'm so quickly gone
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Jo isn't a woman in this song, he's a man. True, the song was based on a relationship gone sour that he had, but he reversed the role of his ex-girlfriend into a man and made it about a homosexual relationship.
great song ! a lot of people think that this is about homosexuality. it's not...jo is a woman. gary likes to play with words...he is saying how hard it is to find a friend. great song !
I'm pretty certain it's about a homosexual relationship. 'Jo the waiter held me close behind the door marked gentlemen,' 'he's very touching and so close to me.' It's pretty cool to find a straight man like Gary writing about a gay relationship, I don't think there are enough songs about gay stuff... or if there are enough, then I don't know where to find them.
You've very conveniently changed the lyrics to "he's very touching and so close to me" to help prove your point, but that's not was Gary wrote or sung. The lyrics are correct above: "It's very touching I'm so close to me". -- which can be interpreted a lot of ways. I always thought "It's very touching" we was being slyly ironic, meaning that it wasn't touching at all, but rather sad that he/the narrator was feeling very alone.
You've very conveniently changed the lyrics to "he's very touching and so close to me" to help prove your point, but that's not was Gary wrote or sung. The lyrics are correct above: "It's very touching I'm so close to me". -- which can be interpreted a lot of ways. I always thought "It's very touching" we was being slyly ironic, meaning that it wasn't touching at all, but rather sad that he/the narrator was feeling very alone.
Gary himself has said that Jo was intended to be a woman but that he...
Gary himself has said that Jo was intended to be a woman but that he intentionally wrote the lyric "jo the waiter held me close/behind the door marked 'gentlemen'" to be sexually ambiguous and make people think.
Overall great song, IMO.
@Monopatinista - You're correct that it hints at a homosexual encounter, but you can't use the lyric you're citing as proof, as you're quoting it wrong. The line is "It's very touching I'm so close to me" not as you put it.
@Monopatinista - You're correct that it hints at a homosexual encounter, but you can't use the lyric you're citing as proof, as you're quoting it wrong. The line is "It's very touching I'm so close to me" not as you put it.
I always thought that line was very clever, by the way. "It's very touching I'm so close to me" is ironic and kinda deep. Gary is pointing out how alone the speaker is by pointing out how close he feels to himself, while at the same time drawing attention to the fact that there isn't anyone...
I always thought that line was very clever, by the way. "It's very touching I'm so close to me" is ironic and kinda deep. Gary is pointing out how alone the speaker is by pointing out how close he feels to himself, while at the same time drawing attention to the fact that there isn't anyone else that has to be close to. Awesome line.