It's straightforward to read that this is about a woman who's too attractive for the narrator's good. The first stanza only speaks of the relationship between the two of them. By the third, we get the big picture: Men are being lined up and disposed of in numbers and the narrator is just the latest. Whether the second stanza is about just him or her whole history depends on whether that word in the middle is "lover's" or "lovers'" – either way, it sounds the same and has the same ending. The thing is, the lyrics make it sound like the narrator might have gotten hurt, but the saxophone, the guitars, and the vocals make it sound like the experience was a worthwhile thrill either way.
It's one for the music historians how the New Wave managed to come out of the UK, US, and Australia with similar sounds from all corners of the globe at once. I remember this in its original airplay and wondering at first if it was a Duran Duran song that we hadn't heard yet, but if this song's album, Shabooh Shoobah, was a response to Rio, it was a remarkably immediate one with the studio work coming only weeks after Rio's release. And, as both albums feature both high-energy tracks like this and more contemplative ones like "Don't Change," one has to credit the range and the creativity in any case.
It's straightforward to read that this is about a woman who's too attractive for the narrator's good. The first stanza only speaks of the relationship between the two of them. By the third, we get the big picture: Men are being lined up and disposed of in numbers and the narrator is just the latest. Whether the second stanza is about just him or her whole history depends on whether that word in the middle is "lover's" or "lovers'" – either way, it sounds the same and has the same ending. The thing is, the lyrics make it sound like the narrator might have gotten hurt, but the saxophone, the guitars, and the vocals make it sound like the experience was a worthwhile thrill either way.
It's one for the music historians how the New Wave managed to come out of the UK, US, and Australia with similar sounds from all corners of the globe at once. I remember this in its original airplay and wondering at first if it was a Duran Duran song that we hadn't heard yet, but if this song's album, Shabooh Shoobah, was a response to Rio, it was a remarkably immediate one with the studio work coming only weeks after Rio's release. And, as both albums feature both high-energy tracks like this and more contemplative ones like "Don't Change," one has to credit the range and the creativity in any case.