raspberry rita

my head hurts. I would describe the headache, but I think that would make it hurt more.

As I have said many, many times before, I LOVE the shuffle function on my ipod. There are hundreds of reasons, but the most recent is for some Raspberry Beret/ Lovely Rita proximity. They are practically the same song! BEHOLD, an incomplete comparison:

Both are lovely little story songs of pop perfection from the POV of a male admirer. (the male gaze is not exactly the unicorn of popular music, I grant you, but still!)

The song protagonist is not merely an observer -- he interacts with his pop-song dream-girl:

+Lovely Rita is asked "when are you free to take some tea with me?" and he gets a date out of it -- even sitting on the sofa with a sister or two. I think he made some points because he "inquired discretely," and also maybe because she liked the way he said "met-ah maid." although maybe he's moving too fast with this "where would I be without you?" business. I'll tell you where you'd be -- traffic court! I hope this whole thing wasn't a scam to get out of some parking tickets. (am suddenly feeling very protective of Rita. You'd better not break her heart, you check-skirting sister-flirting Beatle, you!)

+Beret Girl is told "I think I love you." I'm assuming this worked because a) it was Prince, and b) she was incapacitated by the sight of Prince working in a 5 & Dime. (Every time I hear this song I get a little picture in my head of Prince sorting plastic combs or with a price gun in the gum aisle and I laugh and laugh and laugh. it's so surreal!)
-- they go riding on his bike down by Old Man Johnson's farm. (how much do I love that the farm has a name? a lot.)

Both Prince and Paul McCartney have a keen eye for fashion details:

+Lovely Rita: Wears a cap (looks much older), a bag across her shoulder (makes her look a little like a military man.)

+Beret Girl: All we know is that she has a raaaaaspberry beret, and when it was warm she wouldn't wear much more. She most likely shops vintage/thrift ("the kind you find at a second hand store") Considering she was "built like she was" ... I'm guessing she didn't look like a military man at any time.

What do we know about these guys?

+ aforementioned fashion awareness
+ Paul likes his women androgynous and if they want to pay for dinner it won't hurt his feelings.
+ Prince will not be hampered by The Man! he willfully slacks at his job AND admires a girl not just for the way she fills out a raspberry beret (alas, I don't think he was swooning over her giant brain), but also for her rebel "in through the out door" behavior.

authority v. anti-authority! hmmmm.

I am sure there are a million more -- if you think of any feel free to leave them in the comments. Right now I'm going to take the decongestant that makes me sleep like the dead and hope my headache is gone by morning.