This is not the post that I intended to write today, but sometimes things come up and make you change your course. I was listening to this mix CD that I made for someone else's cross-country road trip and the song "Apache Rose Peacock" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on. It's one of my favorite songs by them.. just a happy little tune, nothing life altering, but good morning music. Fun to listen to and sing along with on the drive to work. However this morning, I was singing along and noticed that I was a little off, but I couldn't figure out why. I'm not talking about vocal harmonies here or being on the right key (because that's never going to happen anyway), I'm talking about timing.
Well. I always thought that the lyrics were "My favorite place to be.. Is not a land called harmony". No, no. Upon further inspection (i.e. googling) it appears that the correct lyrics are, in fact, "My favorite place to be.. Is not a land called Honah Lee." To which my visceral reaction is "Well, what the fuck is Honah Lee?" I guess it should be "Where the fuck is Honah Lee?" Anyway. I had to google it and Urban Dictionary revealed that it's Puff the Magic Dragon's home. Which I wouldn't have known anyway, because it's a little before my time, but I guess that's neither here nor there.
Clever, Anthony Kiedis. Clever.
Still, this kind of blew my mind a bit this morning. It really changes the whole meaning of the song for me.. I thought he was waxing poetic about how New Orleans is diverse and full of discord, but he loves it anyway. Apparently not. It also kind of bothers me, because usually I'm so good with song lyrics, and I've been singing the wrong words for, um, years. Awesome.
My favorite part of the song though, is when he sings "You fair well in stormy weather.. I never met a girl that I liked better." Kind of lisps the word stormy. *Sigh* On a semi-related note, I read his autobiography "Scar Tissue" a few weeks ago and it's a real trip and quite enlightening. I like hearing about what influenced certain songs or lyrics and whatnot; it makes you feel more personally invested, I think. I'll have to go back through and see if anyone in particular inspired this one. It's a sweet song if you don't mind several overtly sexual references (I don't, but then my tastes don't always run along the same lines as your average female).
13 comments:
Im willing to bet that song came out of that time where drugs ruled the minds and inspirations of RHCP. They did some nasty stuff back then.
LOL. You should read Anthony Kiedis' biography, "Scar Tissue". It's crazy..
Puff the Magic Dragon is before your time? I thought he was timeless!
Anyway, I think I heard that Honah Lee is an artist's colony in Hawaii. I'm googling that right now, and that's how I found your blog entry.
I don't know if the artist's colony is right, but it looks like Honah Lee is a mis-spelling of Hanalei, which is on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
LOL. All I know is that I didn't watch Puff growing up.
Artist's colony? That's interesting..
Honah Lee was the co-host of the Regis Philbin tv show prior to the current co-host, Kelly Ripa. Honah Lee is married to former football great, Frank Gifford.
okay guys i live in hawaii and i can tell you there is no place on island called honah lee or whatever, its hanalei. there is an artistic town thing called haleiwa where there is alot of art and glass blowing and stuff but no honah lee...
Honestly? It's from Puff the Magic Dragon. If everyone could just drop this comment thread now, that'd be wonderful. Comment if you have something to say about the band or the song or the music- but I'm tiring of the Hawaii debate.
ona means grace and favor and heel can mean: To lean or tip to one side, as a ship; the lower end of a ship''s mast;the back part of the human footl someone who is morally reprehensible; follow at the heels of a person
Sorry this is a little (a year) late, but to the first commentor: Kiedis was sober at the time, which is why his favorite place to be is NOT a land called Honah Lee... he was extrememly anti-drug at that point in his life.
Yes, my source is Scar Tissue.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3476801002597020377#
"Puff the Magic Dragon" is not about drugs,the author didnt need drugs.
"Not Honahlee" is reality.
RHCP may be talking about drugs being equivalent of Honaleee...
but the song "Puff the magic dragon" does not form that equivalence.
Just thought that should be made clear. The drugs=puff is RHCP's idea only !
Puff the magic Dragon lives by the sea, caught in a world that's owned by me.
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