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Right Hand Man Lyrics

Let me use your toothbrush
Have you got a clean shirt?
My panties in a wad
At the bottom of my purse
I walk into the street
The air's so cool
I'm wired and I'm tired
And I'm grinnin' like a fool
I've been on the floor lookin' for a chair
I've been on a chair lookin' for a couch
And I've been on a couch lookin' for a bed...
Lookin' for a bedLookin' for my, my...
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
If he can't fix it, I don't know who can
The sinsemilla salesman
And the cops on the block
They know what I been doin'
They see the way I walk
I wonder what they see now
I wonder what they do
To feel somebody want them
The way I'm wanting you
I've been on the floor lookin' for a chair
I've been on a chair lookin' for a couch
And I've been on a couch lookin' for a bed...
Lookin' for a bed
Lookin' for… you're really big...
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
Use me up if you think you can
I've been on the floor lookin' for a chair
I've been on a chair lookin' for a couch
And I've been on a couch lookin' for a bed...
Lookin' for a bed
Lookin' for my...
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
My right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
Say... my right hand, my right hand man
If he can't fix it, gonna find a boy who can
Song Info
Submitted by
nelly On Apr 28, 2002
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6 Meanings

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Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

I'm glad she sobered up, but damn, this album is pure genius.

Amen to that. Took me 16 years to appreciate it.

Not Valid
Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

Where is this girl?

Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

It seems to me she's been masturbating...thus the faith and trust in the one man she can always trust, her Right Hand, Man.

Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

Freedom. The feeling after one of life's peak experiences. What an honor to be a "right hand man" of such a fine femme.

Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

At the end of the second verse, it doesn't say "to really be" [as it currently reads in the lyrics above - correction submitted], but rather it says "you['re] really big".

Justifications: a] "To really be" doesn't fit at all with the lyrics before or after it.

b] just listen carefully to that part of the song. You can hear clearly that she's starting that line with a "y" sound, not a "t" sound, and the rest of what I've written matches.

c] "you['re] really big" does very much fit with the theme of the song and can be regarded as referring to her "right hand man" - the next line. Assuming this is all correct, I'd imagine that this is obviously a reference to either his general body size or the size of a particular aspect thereof :p

I know the "right hand man" line has led many to speculate that this song is about masturbation, but [unless Ms Osborne herself has stated otherwise], I'd say it's simply about great sex with man. Possibly slightly illicit in nature [one night stand, or similar]. Hence the asking to borrow a clean shirt and a toothbrush. Would she need those things [or have anyone to ask] if she'd just been 'helping herself'?

Anyway, all this aside, this song - and most of the songs on this album are world class! The musicianship is amazing. Listen to the piano, bass and drums on here; it's just sensational and gets me really fired up every time.

I highly recommend St. Theresa by Joan Osborne as well, from the same album. A different vibe, mysterious and atmospheric.

Her voice can go beautifully between vulnerable and soft, to strident and sleazy.

Speaking of sleazy, check out too the harmonica/mouth organ on the intro to dracula moon. It's just incredible :D I've never heard one played that way before. Probably I've just lived a sheltered life :p

@mr-bobosan Wow it seems you REALLY want her to be saying "You're really big" lol but she's not. What she's really saying - even if it isn't entirely audible or obvious on the recording is: "(Could) you really be... my right hand, my right hand man." For some reason "Could" isn't audible - perhaps she skipped it to take a breath and decided not to go back and fix it in post, which is common when artists want a more improptu or live sounding take. The lyric is more obvious on live performances like this one at...

Cover art for Right Hand Man lyrics by Joan Osborne

I have been listening to this song and this CD for several years. Perhaps since it came out. It dawned on me this morning that this song is possibly about heroin use. It seems that there is a smokescreen of sex or masturbation. Everything I am seeing and hearing when I listen to it through that filter tells me that yes, there is no mistake that it is heroin use. Or at least some illicit drug.