I think this was maybe the fourth proper song I ever wrote. The second verse lyrics were tweaked when I recorded it again last year, but it’s always been about the importance of being true to yourself and not caring a lick about what others think. (Easy to say, hard to do!) The inspiration for it came from reading about the fashion magazine publishers who were in hot water for photoshopping out wrinkles and double chins, and for always using skinny models. To think it only took another twenty years before catalogues started reflecting the real world! I do like a good double entendre and the one in the second verse makes me smile.
Lyrics
Spent a queen-sized night with a betty named Betty, you could say her spirit was immense / But what she gave up in dainty, she made up with zany and a ton of experience / She couldn’t care less what any woman thinks she’s got a certain something over them / And when she gets the itch she can throw that switch and it comes on like a halogen / Turn it on for me Mama, turn it on and on again, I am yours the second you say when / Turn it on for me Mama, mesmerize me with your love / Baby burn it bright we got all night to spend / Halogen / She’s a dance floor queen and she loves to cut a rug, zumba tango ballet or burlesque / If you get on her bandwidth, she’ll make you a sandwich you could say was kinda Rubenesque / She couldn’t care less what anybody thinks she’s got a certain something over them / And when she gets the itch she can throw her switch and turn it on like a halogen / Turn it on for me Mama, turn it on and on again, I am yours the second you say when / Turn it on for me Mama, mesmerize me with your love, Baby burn it bright, we’ve got all night to spend / You’ve got your runway models with their flashbulb stares and beauty that’s deep as skin / Well I’ll take my love a little outta shape, a little more genuine / Turn it on etc.