I've always wondered what the heck that lead singer from the B-52's meant when she sang, or rather, shouted: "Tin roof, rusted!" at the break near the end of "Love Shack." Does it REALLY mean this?
This (photo above) was the roof of the building we slept in on Mt. Kitanglad, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. More about that adventure later. Today I am pondering these imponderable things and watching the snow come down. And what unwelcome snow it is.
I love love love Love Shack but I had no idea! Makes sense thought when you think that the line right before it is "You're WHAT?!"
ReplyDeleteLovely photo. As for the snow, this too shall pass.
I heard Tin Roof Rusted was an old southern saying for being pregnant. Makes sense in the context of this song.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was that it had to do with being pregnant ("I fell off the roof" means you're um, cycling, so a "tin roof, rusted" might mean you're...not any more. Uh oh.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, Little Orange Guy--the incredulity in "You're WHAT??" fits perfectly with that definition.
The Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I+fell+off+the+roof
has the 4-1-1, fo shizzle.
I always learn something here. Go Jayrod.
I guess I just don't get what a rusty tin roof has to do with being preggers....
ReplyDeleteDude. It's code. The whole point is it has nothing to do with it, so you can say it in mixed company and nobody will know what you're talking about. "I'd love to go swimming with you, but Granny fell off the roof and broke her arm."
ReplyDeleteI always assumed that her tin roof got rusted in the love shack...cuz it's "a little ole place where we can get together..."
ReplyDeleteone of my fave songs...
I had no idea that's what was said! And if I had, I still wouldn't have known what it meant.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think that I lived in Athens for the better part of a decade...
Honesty, I am!
ReplyDeleteI did not know that. I love that song and still sing it to pieces. Why did I not inquire about Tin Roof Rusted for twenty years? La dee da.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I am so glad to finally see the light.
I think everyone should try to work it into a conversation today, now that we all know what it means.
ReplyDeleteLike, "How are you?"
and you reply,
"Tin roof, rusted."
OK, now I am wondering how "tin roof rusted" is connected to the phrase "rusty nail."
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm getting quite an education here. BOTB, you just took it over the top with your "rusty nail" comment, but I wonder if you aren't on to something....
ReplyDeleteHow are you?
ReplyDeleteTin roof rusted. It was that rusty nail...dang it.
Word verif: snowsy
I'm with you, Mare. One too many rusty nails will rust yer roof.
ReplyDeleteMy verification word is DOLEPOP.
rusty nails..... lolz you are right.
ReplyDeleteFred looked at her during one of the takes and said, "You're what?" and Cindy blurted out, "Tin roof, rusted!" referring to the tin roof of the cabin (in Athens, Georgia) where the video shot. It doesn't mean anything but they decided to keep it in the final edit for the video.
ReplyDelete- dudel
haha, as if the video recording and the song recording were done at once... a bit naive about the process annono
ReplyDeleteI was under the impression - perhaps mistakenly - that the "Tin Roof...Rusted!" line meant that the girl was having her period. The "Tin Roof" being a Kotex pad and the "rust" being...well, you figue it out.
ReplyDeleteYou are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT about her being on her period. ♡
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ReplyDeleteTin roof rusted... means the "condom broke, sprung a leak and the girls in trouble" It's like wayyyyy old talk from the 1950's
ReplyDeleteI totally buy the code explanation. In the old south bef the civil war, slaves used a code from the old Charlie Daniels song that went: "Chicken's in the bread pan a pickin' out dough! Granny does your dog bite? No, child no!" which meant: Hey the coast is clear. Let's (well, 'get together' so to speak).
ReplyDeleteIt's not code. It was just a spontaneous improvisation on the singer's part. But the band had a very sixties motif thing going on, and I'm sure she got the 'tin roof' part from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", a movie about a failing marriage. The roof is like a metaphor for the marriage and the wife is the cat. So even though it wasn't meant to really have any meaning, 'tin roof rusted' could be code for an officially done relationship, an announcement that she's on the market again.
ReplyDeleteI've read that the lyrics are just good fun, and that some believe it's a place for having sex. I think it's something in between: a makeout spot where things could get serious, or could just stay at heavy petting.
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ReplyDeleteIt means you have red hair.
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