And what kind of name is "Lita" anyway?

We rarely listen to the radio in the carpool. But yesterday, Madd Dogg and I (the only poolies in the carpool that day) ran out of things to talk about near the end of the ride, so Madd Dogg turned the radio on. After frantically pushing her "preset" buttons in the manner of a shorthand court reporter, she finally settled on 107.5. That station's choice of songs for that particular moment -- Lita Ford's Kiss Me Deadly.

I remember that song from the 80's, but I had never before really listened (really listened) to the lyrics. The introductory lyric is, I'm embarrassed to repeat, the following:

I went to a party last Saturday night,
I didn't get laid, I got in a fight, uh huh . . .
it ain't no big thing.

O-kaaay. So, Lita, we've got some questions. First of all, what kind of party was this that you attended? Was it a get-laid-or-fight party? Couldn't you be content with just showing up at the party, drinking a beer or two, and having a piece of the Subway party sandwich like the rest of us? Was a promise of sex and fighting on the invitation? Or did you just decide going in that, "I will either have sex at this party, or by God, I will fight"? Also, did you get into this fight because you didn't get laid, or was the fight completely unrelated?

And what about this fight? Who won? Do you have any cuts or bruises as a result? Your nonchalant line "it ain't no big thing" makes it look like you fight all the time. Is that true? And why is it not a big thing? Are you saying that fighting is no big deal? Or are you saying that, given the choice of getting laid or fighting, you could pretty much take either?

Lita, your song is troubling -- both because it leaves so many questions unanswered, and because it was popular enough to be a hit that, some 20 years later, is still on the radio. Maybe the vague nature of your song is what has given it the staying power that it so richly enjoys.

[Photo by Kevin Trotman]