Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

★ Xah's Lyrics Appreciation ★

Like It Or Not

Like It Or Not, is a fantastic song of Madonna↗ (b1958) of her
Confessions on a Dance Floor↗ album, released in 2005.

I love this song because its got spunk! (besides the pleasant dance
beat and music)

Here's the lyrics:
----
You can call me a sinner
and you can call me a saint
Celebrate me for who I am
Dislike me for what I ain't
Put me up on a pedestal
Or drag me down in the dirt
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But your names will never hurt

I'll be the garden, you'll be the snake
All of my fruit is yours to take
Better the devil that you know
Your love for me will grow
Because

This is who I am
You can like it or not
You can love me or leave me
Cause I'm never gonna stop, no no

Cleopatra had her way
Mata Hari too
Whether they were good or bad
Is strictly up to you

Life is a paradox
And it doesn't make much sense
You can't have the femme without the fatale
Please don't take offense

Don't let the fruit rot under the vine
Fill up your cup and let's drink the wine
Better the devil that you know
Your love for me will grow
Because

This is who I am
You can like it or not
You can love me or leave me
Cause I'm never gonna stop,

no no, you know

...
----

「• Sin is a concept occuring in organized mind control. It
functions much like law, but without the rationalization and goal of
prosperity for a community. It is a set of rules, that one must not do.
Those who transgress, are sinners, and is said to have sinned. The goal
of these rule's design, is to make the members bound to the
organization. So, sinners are those who are likely to break off. Sins
are often given degrees of severity, and are sometimes punished by
execution.
As part of the system of the organization, “Confession” is the act
of disclosing that one has trangressed the organization's rules by the
transgressor himself. Confession is very much encouraged by the
organization. See also Wikipedia: Sin↗」
「• The woman mathematician Hypathia (c370-415), was dragged to
death by Christians. See Hypatia↗ 」
「• Cleopatra↗ (69BC - 30BC) 」
「• Hata Hari (1876-1917) is a courtesan who was executed. Mata
Hari↗」

[back view of a woman in pink half-sitting on dance floor]
above: Album cover for Confessions On A Dance Floor. This is a
fantastic cover design.

Her live performance on youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=00X--Ah6JDw. She is old, nearly 50, long
past for a chick fitting for this kinda ditty. It's a bit awkward to
see her squirm on stage trying to be hot, and the live singing is also
lacking vitality. Nevertheless, her singing and the song as recorded in
her album is fantastic.

Although this is a great song, but the lyrics is rather shallow from a
literary perspective. It has a lot allusions, but rather unfocused and
incoherent. Cleopatra and Mata Hari are mentioned for pretty much
sensationalism. The “Life is a paradox” paragraph is rather stupid.
----
this post is archived at:
http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/sanga_pemci/like_it_or_not.html

 Xah
 xah@xahlee.org
∑ http://xahlee.org/