Lip Service Lyrics

Lyric discussion by caitsith01 

Cover art for Lip Service lyrics by Elvis Costello

Am I crazy to think this song is about oral sex?

I mean... "lip service", "going through the motions", "if you change your mind/you can sent it a letter to me" (letter i.e. French letter, perhaps), "don't make any sudden movements", "don't act like you're above me" etc etc

I normally shy away from the "it's sex"/"it's drugs" interpretation but...

My Interpretation

Not crazy off your nut, no. Remember that Mystery Dance was about him as a kid trying to lose his cherry and fumbling around and wondering "how to do it".

I wondered whether I was crazy when it occurred to me that Lovers In A Dangerous Time by Bruce Cockburn (and later by another Canuck group, BnL) was about being homosexual in the 1980s (when it wasn't even beginning to be generally tolerable). Check the lyric and see whether you agree.

However, I don't think Cockburn's gay, and if he is, he sure is hanging on to that...