Summer's career began in 1983 when she was cast as the voice of niece Penny on the original cartoon version of Inspector Gadget. Her unique, throaty voice was instantly recognizable to casting agents (as well as viewers even today), who began frequently casting her in animated programs. Many of these were part of cult franchises, like The Care Bears Movie and Ewoks. Audiences finally had a chance to put Summer's voice to a face when she was cast as the afrocentric Winifred "Freddie" Brooks in the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. She remained a regular cast member of the show from 1988 through its end in 1993.
In all, Summer has voiced over 70 animated characters between 1983 and 2006, many of them African-American girls. Summer has also ventured into the realm of music. In 1990, she sang background vocals on two tracks for fellow A Different World cast member Jasmine Guy's self titled LP. In 1993 she released an album (as lead singer) with her band Subject to Change. The album was not officially released by Capitol Records because of creative differences; the records that were produced were distributed promotionally and are considered a rarity. The band, with an aggressive political message and rock-soul fusion sound, remained popular as a co-headlining act with other performers.
In 1999 Summer released the solo album Street Faรซrie produced by and featuring guest artist (and friend) Lenny Kravitz; The album was not hugely successful. Summer toured as Kravitz's opening act, but her label dropped her and a planned spot with Lilith Fair was cancelled. The label continued to promote it, however, sending out a four-track sampler to radio and issuing remix singles of the track "Revelation Sunshine" in Europe, with a special single specifically for Austria.
Dirty Love
Cree Summer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give me
Your dirty love
Like you might surrender
To some dragon in your dreams
Give me
Like a pink donation
To the dragon in your dreams
I don't need your sweet devotion
'n I don't want your cheap emotion
Whip me up some dragon lotion
For your dirty love
Give me
Your dirty love
Like some tacky little pamphlet
In your daddy's bottom drawer
Give me
Your dirty love
I don't believe you never seen
His book before
I don't need no consolation
I don't want your reservation
I only got one destination
An' that's your dirty love
Your dirty love
Give me
Your dirty love
The way your mama
Make her fuzzy poodle do
(oh, frenchie)
Give me
Your dirty love
The way your mama
Make that nasty poodle chew
I'll ignore your cheap aroma
And your little-bo-peep diploma
I'll just put you in a coma
With some dirty love
Some dirty love
Some dirty love
Some dirty love
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(not a speck of cereal!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(nothing but the best for my dog)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(come on!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(little paws sticking up!)
The poodle bites!
(little curly hairs!)
The poodle chews it!
(little curly hairs!)
Cree Summer's song "Dirty Love" is a cover of Frank Zappa's song of the same name. The song's lyrics are a humorous take on sexual desire and the desire for rough, animalistic love. The opening lines "Give me your dirty love, like you might surrender to some dragon in your dreams" suggest a wild, unbridled passion that the singer of the song is seeking from their lover. The dragon imagery is continued throughout the song, with references to "dragon lotion" and a "pink donation to the dragon in your dreams".
The song's chorus repeats the phrase "give me your dirty love" over and over again, while the verses contain various humorous metaphors and images of sex and desire. In the second verse, the singer asks for their lover to give them "dirty love" like a "tacky little pamphlet in your daddy's bottom drawer", suggesting a hidden and taboo kind of passion. The song's bridge features a series of nonsensical chants about a poodle, which seem to be an inside joke or a random bit of humor that has nothing to do with the song's main theme.
Overall, "Dirty Love" is a playful and subversive take on desire and sexual pleasure, with lyrics that are equal parts funny, weird, and erotic.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me
Your dirty love
Like you might surrender
To some dragon in your dreams
I want your passion and desire, your unbridled and unrestrained love that you've only dreamed of giving
Give me
Your dirty love
Like a pink donation
To the dragon in your dreams
I want your love in its raw and unfiltered form, without any pretense or softness, given to me with the abandon that you would give to your dream lover
I don't need your sweet devotion
'n I don't want your cheap emotion
Whip me up some dragon lotion
For your dirty love
I don't want your surface-level affection or emotions, but rather something more intense and passionate, something that feels wild and otherworldly, like a potion mixed specifically for the purpose of spicing up our love life
Give me
Your dirty love
Like some tacky little pamphlet
In your daddy's bottom drawer
I want your love to be wild and dirty, like something that your conservative father would disapprove of and hide away in a drawer, which makes it even more alluring to me
Give me
Your dirty love
I don't believe you never seen
His book before
I don't think you're as pure and innocent as you pretend to be, and I know you've explored some sexually explicit material before, so why not share that passion with me?
I don't need no consolation
I don't want your reservation
I only got one destination
An' that's your dirty love
Your dirty love
I don't need you to feel sorry for me or hold back, I just want to explore our love in its most raw and unfiltered form, without any boundaries or restrictions
Give me
Your dirty love
The way your mama
Make her fuzzy poodle do
(oh, frenchie)
I want your love to be dirty and playful, like the way your mother interacts with her little fluffy dog, with a mix of love, teasing, and pleasure
Give me
Your dirty love
The way your mama
Make that nasty poodle chew
I want you to show me your dirty love with the same intensity and ferocity as your mom's poodle, with no holds barred and no limits
I'll ignore your cheap aroma
And your little-bo-peep diploma
I'll just put you in a coma
With some dirty love
Some dirty love
Some dirty love
Some dirty love
I don't care about your fancy education or high social status, nor do I care about any shallow pretenses you put on, as long as you're willing to let go and experience the raw passion and pleasure that comes with unbridled, dirty love
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(snap it!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(not a speck of cereal!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(nothing but the best for my dog)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(come on!)
The poodle bites!
(come on, frenchie)
The poodle chews it!
(little paws sticking up!)
The poodle bites!
(little curly hairs!)
The poodle chews it!
(little curly hairs!)
These lines feel like a self-indulgent chorus that doesn't add much to the song's themes or message
Contributed by Lucas L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Barry Nelson
Cree doin Zappa!ย This is soooo F'in awesome! Go ahead sista wave your freak flag High!
BrainPolice5
Holy crap! Freakin' amazing! Doin' Frank proud.
Tyson Webb
Love the "I'm The Slime" fake out into. Very cool!
Michael Doyle
+Tyson Webb I went to see George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic a couple of years ago, and they faked us out with the beginning of I'm The Slime, before going into one of their tunes.
Queen A.G.
Go Elmyra! Woo she can sing!!
Caryn D Prescott
Wowww ๐คฉ
mexton
Cree is Funky!What? Wowwwwwww!
Dan Farenger
Tight!!!!
Michael Doyle
Wasn't she a cast member of "A Different World?"
Tyrone Thompson
Michael Doyle oh yeah she was!