I'll Tell You What I Want, What I Really Really Want... My Innocence Back!

On our date night Friday we went to see Viva Forever, the Spice Girls Musical. We'll do another post on the actual date night but this post is more specifically about the Spice Girls and the generation gap it showed between us.

To explain this further - when the Spice Girls released Wannabe in 1996, Sarah, was 13 - prime target audience - and Laura was 8 years old! It meant that as we heard the Spice Girl hits, our interpretations about what the songs were about somewhat differed. Or, rather, Laura misunderstood a few of them in a way that made Sarah do the following on a night bus.

Cry-laughing so hard that the woman next to her asked if she was alright!!

Our conflicting understandings may have never been raised had a scene in Viva Forever not featured a bedroom scene where 2 become 1 was sung. So as S chuckled at the 'be a little bit wiser baby, put it on, put it on' line, Laura was left looking shocked. So below we have shared our explanations of a few of Spice Girls lyrics and what we each thought they were about!

Wannabe: 'I wanna huh, I wanna huh,  I wanna huh,  I wanna huh, I wanna really really really wanna zig-a-zig-ah'

Sarah: It's about being an independent, assertive woman who knows what she wants in a relationship and sex (I wanna huh, I wanna huh I wanna zig-a-zig-ah, with zig-a-zig-a meaning orgasm) and requires her friends to like her boyfriend. 

Laura: It's about a woman who thinks she knows what she wants but then when asked, she can't think of exactly what it is ('I want a...huh? I want a...huh? I want a...huh?'), so uses a distraction method so the man will have to figure it out instead ('I really really really really really want a....zig-a-zig-a?') - imagine my poor scarred mind when Sarah told me that zig-a-zig-a means orgasm!!!!!!!

2 Become 1: 'Be a little bit wiser, baby, put it on, put it on..'

Sarah: It's all about sex - safe sex - and the lyrics 'put it on' refers to the condom. I think the song even goes as far as 'wanna make love to ya'. 

Laura: I knew this song was about sex, but how disturbing that it is THAT graphic!! I thought 'Be a little bit wiser, baby' was saying maybe they should stop and think about this life-changing decision they were about to make, and 'put it on, put it on' were the brakes - perhaps because they were waiting until they were responsible adults. I don't know whether I'm more impressed that they managed a safe-sex ad in their song (these lyrics brought to you by Durex Play ;D ) or horrified that at 8-10 years old I was singing about a penis.

Say You'll Be There: 'I've given you everything, all that joy can bring, yes I swear, and all that I want from you is a promise you will be there'

Laura: This one I'm not so sure Sarah is right on - she's said the above lyrics about 'giving [him] everything' are once again referring to sex. What ho-y Spice Girls. But surely 'all that joy can bring' can also refer to, I don't know, a loving relationship, access to her bank account details, a tasteful tattoo of his face on her body? I think this song is just the plea of a well-meaning stalker. 

Lets just say Sarah may have just sexualised the Spice Girls for Laura - ooops! That's one scarred 8 year old!!

Are there any songs you've realised were super raunchy now that you're all grown up?