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Don't Go Home with Your Hard-On Lyrics
I was born in a beauty salon
My father was a dresser of hair
My mother was a girl you could call on
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
Ah but don't go home with your hard-on
It will only drive you insane
You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
I've looked behind all of the faces
That smile you down to you knees
And the lips that say, Come on, taste us
And when you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
Ah but don't go home with your hard-on ...
Here comes your bride with her veil on
Approach her, you wretch, if you dare
Approach her, you ape with your tail on
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Ah but don't go home with your hard-on ...
So I work in that same beauty salon
I'm chained to the old masquerade
The lipstick, the shadow, the silicone
I follow my father's trade
I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
Ah but don't go home with your hard-on
It will only drive you insane
You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
My father was a dresser of hair
My mother was a girl you could call on
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
When you called she was always there
It will only drive you insane
You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
That smile you down to you knees
And the lips that say, Come on, taste us
And when you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
When you try to they make you say Please
Approach her, you wretch, if you dare
Approach her, you ape with your tail on
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
Once you have her she'll always be there
I'm chained to the old masquerade
The lipstick, the shadow, the silicone
I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
Yes I follow my father's trade
It will only drive you insane
You can't shake it (or break it) with your Motown
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
You can't melt it down in the rain
Song Info
Submitted by
afbailey On Mar 11, 2006
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"Beauty salon" is code for brothel. Thus, his father was a pimp, not a hair dresser. These codes are how the family referred to their profession in company, and what the boy was told too, though at some point he knew better. The clue is this line: "my mother was a girl you could count on/ when you called, she would always be there." His mother was a prostitute.
Now a man, looking back, sees humor in the circumstances of his family of origin, but has nevertheless entered the family business. "Don't go home with your hard on" is his sales pitch to potential customers.
What makes it interesting is that the singer doesn't grow up to condemn but rather embraces the profession... his mother would "always be there", "it will only drive you insane"... he almost views it in pragmatic terms. The mood of the song, its upbeat tempo and almost disco swankiness and swagger, as well as the humorous language of "beauty salon" and "hair dresser" to describe a brothel and pimp respectively, all indicate that he's content with the situation.
@johnnyseed Where did you get this information, the "Beauty Salon" is a code for brothel? I looked it up and could not find anything on that.
@johnnyseed Where did you get this information, the "Beauty Salon" is a code for brothel? I looked it up and could not find anything on that.
I've given it a lot of thought and still can't come up with anything deep. I guess Leonard is allowed one shallow song after over a hundred deep ones.
Anyway, I assume it's written from the POV of Glenn Quagmire kind of guy. He doesn't have a loving wife at home to satisfy him sexual, emotionally and spiritually, so he has to go to the bars and find strangers to meet those needs. It fits in with the themes of infidelity and promiscuity present on Death of a Ladies Man.
I'm still not sure about the verses though. Why mention his father's trade, etc?
I must say, I couldn't agree more with that analysis. Perfect. It doesn't hurt that both Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg sing quite an effectual backup vocal on this track either.
I must say, I couldn't agree more with that analysis. Perfect. It doesn't hurt that both Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg sing quite an effectual backup vocal on this track either.
I believe he mentions that "I follow my father's trade" to denote the commonality of his philandering state, to express that this sort of behavior has become an immoral lineage of sorts and a role that he has perhaps witnessed others portray.
I believe he mentions that "I follow my father's trade" to denote the commonality of his philandering state, to express that this sort of behavior has become an immoral lineage of sorts and a role that he has perhaps witnessed others portray.
Becoming a hairdresser is not a typically masculine aspiration, and herein, I believe, is the significance. Cohen slyly likens the emasculating effects of the narrator's inability to coax carnal satisfaction out of his lover (or, for that matter, the girls "that smile you down to your knees") to becoming a hairdresser.
Becoming a hairdresser is not a typically masculine aspiration, and herein, I believe, is the significance. Cohen slyly likens the emasculating effects of the narrator's inability to coax carnal satisfaction out of his lover (or, for that matter, the girls "that smile you down to your knees") to becoming a hairdresser.