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In the long history of date rape jams, this blog has yet to tackle the many tunes dedicated to statutory rapes. So let’s take a look at a couple of odes to sex with minors—-one in the pro-underage-sex camp, and another that’s anti.
PRO: “Young Girl,” by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, (Thanks to Rooster over at if i raise my voice for the suggestion).
Relevant Lyrics:
Young girl, get out of my mind
My love for you is way out of line
Better run, girl.
You’re much too young, girl.With all the charms of a woman
You’ve kept the secret of your youth
You led me to believe
You’re old enough
To give me Love
And now it hurts to know the truth, Oh,
Beneath your perfume and make-up
You’re just a baby in disguise
. . . Get out of here
Before I have the time
To change my mind
‘Cause I’m afraid we’ll go too far, Oh,
Young girl
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CON: Oingo Boingo‘s “Little Girls,” a cautionary tale about chasing after a girl who is “just to little.”
Relevant Lyrics:
I love little girls they make me feel so good
I love little girls they make me feel so bad
When they’re around they make me feel
Like I’m the only guy in town
I love little girls they make me feel so goodThey don’t care if I’m a one way mirror
They’re not frightened by my cold exterior. . . Uh oh take a second take
Uh oh it’s a mistake
Uh oh I’m in trouble
Uh oh the little girl was just too little
Too little, too little, too little
Isn’t this what life’s all about
Isn’t this a dream come true
Isn’t this a nightmare too…
So, What’s It Going to Be?: On the surface, both Gary Puckett and Oingo Boingo express ambivalence about having sex with women who are too young to consent. When Puckett learns that the object of his affections is “too young,” and has simply been tricking him into believing she is of age with her “perfume and make-up,” he expresses that his continued attraction to the girl is “way out of line.” He then cautions her that she “better run, girl” in order to make sure that she doesn’t temp him into having sex with her anyway. But though the song is about avoiding statutory rape, Puckett is hardly shy about his true feelings on the subject. “Get out of here,” he tells the girl, “before I have the time / to change my mind.” Is that a threat? Plus, check the soaring, indulgent tone adopted here—-way to romanticize your creepiness, dude.
Oingo Boingo, on the other hand, adopts a disturbing, frantic, totally fucking creepy tone in describing a man who is sexually attracted to little girls. That seems more appropriate, no? Lines like “They don’t care if I’m a one way mirror / They’re not frightened by my cold exterior” reiterate the idea that Oingo Boingo’s narrator is unreliable, not heroic. But even this guy understands that what he’s doing is wrong: “Uh oh, I’m in trouble / Uh oh the little girl was just too little.”