Bad Manners are an English 2-Tone Ska band fronted by Buster Bloodvessel (b… Read Full Bio ↴Bad Manners are an English 2-Tone Ska band fronted by Buster Bloodvessel (born Douglas Trendle, 6 September 1958, in the borough of Hackney), and formed in 1976 at Woodberry Down Comprehensive School, North London, where the members studied. Reportedly, none of the eight members could play any instrument when they started.

The current line-up is :
Buster Bloodvessel - Vocals
Simon Cuell - Guitar
Lee Thompson -Bass
Richie Downs - Keyboards
Matt Goodwin - Sax
Matt Bane - Drums
Colin Graham - Trumpet
Russel Wynn - Percussion

Lola
Bad Manners Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I met her in a club
down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne
and it tastes just like
Cherry Cola, C-O-L-A, cola
She walked up to me
and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name

and in a dark brown
voice she said Lola
L-O-L-A Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well I'm not the world's
most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight,
she nearly broke my spine
Oh, my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Well I'm not dumb,
but I can't understand
Why she walked like a woman
and talked like a man
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well we drank champagne
and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up
and sat me on her knee
And said dear boy,
won't you come home with me?

Well I'm not the world's
most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes,
well I almost fell for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

I pushed her away,
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor,
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her
and she at me

Well that's the way
that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be
that way for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Girls will be boys
and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up muddled up,
shook-up world except for Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well, I left home
just a week before
And I'd never ever
kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and
took me by the hand
And said, dear boy
I'm gonna make you a man

Well I'm not the world's
most masculine man
But I know what I am
and I bet I'm a man
And so is Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Overall Meaning

“Lola” is a song by British ska band Bad Manners that tells the story of a night out in Soho, London. The main character meets a mysterious woman named Lola who dances with him and takes him back to her home. Throughout the song, there are references to the confusing nature of Lola's gender and her ability to blur the lines between masculine and feminine characteristics. Despite this confusion, the main character ultimately realizes that Lola is the way he wants things to be, leading to a happy ending for the two of them.

The song explores themes of gender identity and fluidity, as well as the idea that love and attraction don't always fit into neat categories. The lyrics are playful and tongue-in-cheek, using humor to address a potentially sensitive topic. While the song may not be a serious exploration of gender identity, it does challenge societal norms and expectations in a way that was groundbreaking for the time it was released.

Line by Line Meaning

I met her in a club down in old Soho
It all started when I met Lola in one of the clubs in Soho.

Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola, C-O-L-A, cola
We drank champagne that tasted like cherry cola; it was a wild experience.

She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
Lola approached me and asked me to dance with her.

I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola, L-O-L-A Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
When I asked her name, she replied that it was Lola in a deep and husky voice.

Well I'm not the world's most physical guy, but when she squeezed me tight, she nearly broke my spine, oh, my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
I'm not a strong man, but Lola held me so tight it was almost painful.

Well I'm not dumb, but I can't understand why she walked like a woman and talked like a man, oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
I'm not unintelligent, but I couldn't understand or explain why Lola had a feminine walk and a masculine voice.

Well we drank champagne and danced all night under electric candlelight
We spent the whole night dancing and drinking champagne under the romantic glow of electric candles.

She picked me up and sat me on her knee and said dear boy, won't you come home with me?
Lola embraced me and asked me to come home with her.

Well I'm not the world's most passionate guy, but when I looked in her eyes, well I almost fell for my Lola
I'm not the most romantic man, but I almost fell deeply in love with Lola when I looked into her eyes.

I pushed her away, I walked to the door, I fell to the floor, I got down on my knees, then I looked at her and she at me
As I tried to leave, I fell down to the floor and got on my knees, looking at Lola, who was also looking at me.

Well that's the way that I want it to stay and I always want it to be that way for my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
I want things to stay the same between Lola and me, and I want to always love her like this.

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls, it's a mixed-up muddled-up shook-up world except for Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
The world is confusing and mixed up, except for Lola, who is who she is and nothing else.

Well I left home just a week before and I'd never ever kissed a woman before, but Lola smiled and took me by the hand and said, dear boy, I'm gonna make you a man
I had never kissed a girl before I met Lola, but she showed me the way and made me into a man.

Well I'm not the world's most masculine man, but I know what I am and I bet I'm a man, and so is Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
I might not be the strongest or most conventional man, but I am a man, and so is Lola.

Contributed by London Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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