""Vanilla Queen" was inspired by a woman of about 40 whom lead vocalist Barry Hay saw on the club circuit. Hay was born in 1948; all the other band members were of the same or about the same age, and 40 seems positively ancient to a 20-something rock musician at the height of his powers! In a certain parlance, "vanilla" refers to the way people dress, in particular dressing down rather than up, i.e. everyday clothes."
"Hay scribbled a couple of lines and was told by lead guitarist George Kooymans that the nascent song sounded like it was about Marilyn Monroe. It develops when the narrator meets the Vanilla Queen in a dream sequence, which is supplemented by samples of Monroe's voice from the musical There's No Business Like Show Business."
From SongFacts:
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/golden-earring/vanilla-queen
""Vanilla Queen" was inspired by a woman of about 40 whom lead vocalist Barry Hay saw on the club circuit. Hay was born in 1948; all the other band members were of the same or about the same age, and 40 seems positively ancient to a 20-something rock musician at the height of his powers! In a certain parlance, "vanilla" refers to the way people dress, in particular dressing down rather than up, i.e. everyday clothes."
"Hay scribbled a couple of lines and was told by lead guitarist George Kooymans that the nascent song sounded like it was about Marilyn Monroe. It develops when the narrator meets the Vanilla Queen in a dream sequence, which is supplemented by samples of Monroe's voice from the musical There's No Business Like Show Business."