Outing Gay Songs: 20 Tunes With Homosexual Subtexts
- Posted by Sarah Liss
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'Losing My Religion,' R.E.M.
When R.E.M. released this 1991 single, oddball frontman Michael Stipe was still coy about his sexual orientation. Though he would declare himself an "equal opportunity lech" in '94, this plaintive tale of confession and confusion, which couches sexuality in the terms of belief systems, suggests his relationship with queerness was more fraught.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Bonus point for the double-entendre of "The slip that brought me to my knees failed."
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Bonus point for the double-entendre of "The slip that brought me to my knees failed."
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away,' The Beatles
Pain and rejection are familiar to any poor sod who's ever given his heart to a callous lover. But according to many Beatles obsessives, this Dylanesque 1965 tune can also be interpreted as a tribute to the Fab Four's manager, Brian Epstein, who lived a double life as a closeted gay man.
Rainbow Connection: 3/5 – Epstein also encouraged John Lennon to keep his marriage in the closet, so the theme of manager-inspired secrecy goes both ways.
Rainbow Connection: 3/5 – Epstein also encouraged John Lennon to keep his marriage in the closet, so the theme of manager-inspired secrecy goes both ways.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Raspberry Swirl,' Tori Amos
From 'Rubyfruit Jungle' to 'The Color Purple,' fictional sapphism teems with heinous euphemisms for female genitalia. Tori Amos takes a page from her literary sisters in 'Raspberry Swirl,' in which she schools her BFF's inept BF in how to properly please a lady.
Rainbow Connection: 2.5/5 – Amos was inspired by a platonic love for a female friend that made her fantasize about taking it further. But despite lines like "Everybody knows I'm her man," it's merely bi-curious.
Rainbow Connection: 2.5/5 – Amos was inspired by a platonic love for a female friend that made her fantasize about taking it further. But despite lines like "Everybody knows I'm her man," it's merely bi-curious.
Redferns / Getty Images
'I'm in Love With My Car,' Queen
With lascivious lines about manhandling "your grease gun," "pistons a-pumpin'" and "crusin' in overdrive," the 1975 Queen B-side comes off as a muscular ode to manly action – especially when the singer asserts he'll forsake his girl for his "boy racer rollbar."
Rainbow Connection: 2/5 – Though this song might seem tailor-made for Freddie Mercury, straight-as-an-arrow drummer Roger Taylor took lead vocals, which dulled its priapic edge somewhat.
Rainbow Connection: 2/5 – Though this song might seem tailor-made for Freddie Mercury, straight-as-an-arrow drummer Roger Taylor took lead vocals, which dulled its priapic edge somewhat.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Michael,' Franz Ferdinand
Ah, adolescence: a time for experimentation. And for the male protagonist in this 2004 Franz Ferdinand single, young adulthood was a time to grind against a leather-hipped Adonis in the steamy underworld of a dimly lit club.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – The description of this encounter (the stubble, the sticky lips) leave little to the imagination. But it's the words of proud ownership – "This is what I am/I am a man!" – that makes the tune worthy.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – The description of this encounter (the stubble, the sticky lips) leave little to the imagination. But it's the words of proud ownership – "This is what I am/I am a man!" – that makes the tune worthy.
Frank Micelotta, Getty Images
'Living After Midnight,' Judas Priest
Shared leather fetish aside, it's tough being an out gay man in the hypermacho world of heavy metal. Though Rob Halford is more explicit about his sexual proclivities elsewhere in the Priest canon (See 'Raw Deal'), 'Living After Midnight' neatly maps out the double life of a metal queer: "Living after midnight, rockin' to the dawn/Lovin' till the morning, then I'm gone."
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – A rare glimpse into a subculture that's rarely represented in song.
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – A rare glimpse into a subculture that's rarely represented in song.
Redferns / Getty Images
'In the Navy,' The Village People
While it may not be the costumed act's most famous man-on-manthem, 'In the Navy' is even gayer than 'YMCA.' Would-be recruits who "like adventure" are encouraged to join their fellow man to "find pleasure" as this bracing call to action dresses up its homosexual agenda in a crisp military uniform.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – "They're signing up new seamen fast"? The jury rests.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – "They're signing up new seamen fast"? The jury rests.
Chris Walter, WireImage
'See My Friends,' The Kinks
This Kinks tune finds the singer contemplating crossing the "river" to cavort with a gaggle of misfits on the shore after he's rejected by his girlfriend and has "no one else to love." Ray Davies claimed the lyrics stemmed from his experiences questioning his own sexuality as a youth.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Davies' subtle portrait of a troubled, unsure kid is most likely the first bisexual Top 10 hit.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Davies' subtle portrait of a troubled, unsure kid is most likely the first bisexual Top 10 hit.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
'Looking for Love (in the Hall of Mirrors),' The 6ths
Stephin Merritt has claimed many of the songs in his extensive catalogue are about going to gay bars. This ditty, by the Magnetic Fields auteur's side project, is a straightforward illustration of that theme, and it nods to his theory that gay bars are often located near railroad tracks.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – The "Hall of Mirrors" is the name of a fictional gay club in Merritt's mind.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – The "Hall of Mirrors" is the name of a fictional gay club in Merritt's mind.
Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images
'Go West,' Pet Shop Boys
Conquering the Wild West is an integral chapter in the American origin story, but this uplifting anthem added a new layer to the Westward Ho! – or "Westward, ho!" – saga. San Francisco's neighbourhood the Catsro has long been a mecca for gays who want to flee more repressive climates, and 'Go West' serves as a perfect soundtrack for that exodus to the coast.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – The Village People's version was pretty darn glittery to begin with, but the Pet Shop Boys provided a particularly fabulous jolt of camp.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – The Village People's version was pretty darn glittery to begin with, but the Pet Shop Boys provided a particularly fabulous jolt of camp.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Smalltown Boy,' Bronski Beat
Being a queer teenager in the early '80s was no picnic anywhere, but being a visibly gay boy in a tiny backwater hamlet where any kind of otherness is suspect? In this 1984 hit, the Bronskis deftly led listeners through one sensitive outcast's journey, turning their catchy pop song into a quiet activist statement.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – From the album 'Age of Consent,' the notes of which include a chart outlining the various legal ages for homosexual acts worldwide.
Rainbow Connection: 5/5 – From the album 'Age of Consent,' the notes of which include a chart outlining the various legal ages for homosexual acts worldwide.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Fast Car,' Tracy Chapman
This plaintive unplugged response to 's 'Born to Run' is about getting a set of wheels and getting the hell out of Dodge. The twist here, though, is that Chapman (who has had same-sex relationships in her real life) may crave escape, but that yearning is also connected to a desire for "belonging" and some version of a happy ending.
Rainbow Connection: 3.5/5 – The singer initially finds acceptance in the arms of her partner but realizes that a normative fantasy life doesn't solve their problems.
Rainbow Connection: 3.5/5 – The singer initially finds acceptance in the arms of her partner but realizes that a normative fantasy life doesn't solve their problems.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Walk on the Wild Side,' Lou Reed
This tune is the de facto theme song for the grimy, arty subculture of '60s era New York. Like most of Reed's songs from this period, 'Walk on the Wild Side' introduces a cabal of beautiful losers, from druggies to drag queens.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Lesser songwriters might approach these subjects from a perspective of pity or sick fascination; Reed's gift lies in his ability to bring his cast of queens and queers to life as rich, complex characters.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Lesser songwriters might approach these subjects from a perspective of pity or sick fascination; Reed's gift lies in his ability to bring his cast of queens and queers to life as rich, complex characters.
Redferns / Getty Images
'Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,' Sophie B. Hawkins
The openly bisexual Hawkins scored a Top 5 hit in 1993 with this steamy little tune. Though she remains cryptic about the gender of the party she's pining for, Hawkins ends with a satisfying bang, fantasizing about making love to an unnamed "her" (though not, to be clear, the person to whom the song is addressed) by the ocean.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – A sexually charged, Sapphic-themed tune that managed to become a mainstream hit.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – A sexually charged, Sapphic-themed tune that managed to become a mainstream hit.
Time Life Pictures / Getty Image
'A Little Respect,' Erasure
Erasure's 1988 single functions as a gay anthem on two different levels. "'A Little Respect' is what LGBT groups demand in the face of intolerance and discrimination. But when Andy Bell wonders, "What religion or reason/Could drive a man to forsake his lover?" he's also slyly turning a spotlight on the issue of internalized homophobia within the queer community.
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – Can't do much better than a danceable tune that marries the personal and the political.
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – Can't do much better than a danceable tune that marries the personal and the political.
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
'She's Losing It,' Belle and Sebastian
Perpetually fey Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch introduces us to a pair of girls who graduated from the school of hard knocks. Bonded by their shared frustration with the system, Chelsea and Lisa forge an alliance and decamp for a school "where the boys go with boys and the girls with girls."
Rainbow Connection: 1/5 – Points docked for the "surviving trauma leads to lesbianism" equation.
Rainbow Connection: 1/5 – Points docked for the "surviving trauma leads to lesbianism" equation.
Bruno Vincent, Getty Images
'Real Men,' Joe Jackson
The man behind 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?' released 'Real Men' in 1982, a Cole Porter-inspired nudge-and-wink that touched on both the gender ambiguity of the burgeoning new wave scene and the contemporaneous pre-AIDS gay subculture in New York.
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – The lyrics speak for themselves: "Don't call me faggot/Not unless you are a friend/Then if you're tall dark and handsome/You can wear the uniform and I'll play along."
Rainbow Connection: 4.5/5 – The lyrics speak for themselves: "Don't call me faggot/Not unless you are a friend/Then if you're tall dark and handsome/You can wear the uniform and I'll play along."
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
'She Wolf,' Shakira
The singer whose hips speak the truth may have envisioned this song as call to cast off the shackles of repressive femininity, but the (possibly unintentional) subtext stands as a celebration of letting any and all freak flags fly. Shakira ain't the only she-wolf coming out of the closet.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Fierce with a capital F.
Rainbow Connection: 4/5 – Fierce with a capital F.
Jason Merritt, Getty Images
'Rough Boys,' Pete Townshend
Before he was put through the wringer for his alleged later-in-life sexual proclivities, the Who frontman paid tribute to rent boys in this track from his 1980 solo album. The tune finds a pale, weedy protagonist trembling in his Hush Puppies as he begs for a rough-and-tumble turn with a swaggering, streetwise bruiser.
Rainbow Connection: 2/5 – The tune is given a strange twist by virtue of the fact that Townshend dedicated 'Rough Boys' to his children on the album.
Rainbow Connection: 2/5 – The tune is given a strange twist by virtue of the fact that Townshend dedicated 'Rough Boys' to his children on the album.
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
'Philadelphia Freedom,' Elton John
Back in 1975, when he released this single, John was troubled and still quite closeted. Nevertheless, 'Philadelphia Freedom,' a tribute to lesbian tennis player Billie Jean King, is a testament to the power of personal choice and the struggles LGBT folks face when they live open and honest lives.
Rainbow Connection: 3/5 – Anything Elton John sings is dusted with a light coating of glitter – especially when he invokes the name of the City of Brotherly Love.
Rainbow Connection: 3/5 – Anything Elton John sings is dusted with a light coating of glitter – especially when he invokes the name of the City of Brotherly Love.
Redferns / Getty Images
- Filed under: The Hit List
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