Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
Sickness
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're black and blue
Hey little girl
You're six foot two
I know a man who loved too hard
He lost his mind it wasn't hard
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
This sickness of love
Cute little knees that you got
Out in the dark parking lot
Cute little voice whispering
I know a man lost everything
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
This sickness of love
This sickness is hauntin' me
Till I cannot see
This sickness is what I am
I greet it like a friend
Amen
Hey little girl
I'm almost trough
Hey little girl
I'm almost you
Hey little girl
The river runs
Hey little girl
The rising sun
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
This sickness of love
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
Over this sickness
This sickness of love
The lyrics of “Sickness” by Iggy Pop tackle the topic of a love that has become too overwhelming and has driven the singer to near madness. The opening lines, “Hey little girl, you’re black and blue / Hey little girl, you’re six foot two,” introduce the subject of the song, who is physically imposing but still vulnerable. The singer goes on to describe a man who loved too hard and lost his mind as a result. The lyrics point to the dual nature of love, which can be powerful and all-consuming but also destructive if taken too far.
The chorus of the song declares the singer’s desire to be over this “sickness” of love, implying that the love in question feels more like a disease than a positive force. The second verse describes an encounter with the subject of the song, who is portrayed as both innocent (with “cute little knees”) and corrupted (by the whispered knowledge of a man who lost everything). The final lines of the song return to the refrain about being “over this sickness,” but add new lines that suggest the singer has almost merged with the subject of the song: “Hey little girl, I’m almost through / Hey little girl, I’m almost you.”
Overall, the lyrics of “Sickness” paint a rather bleak picture of love as a force that can drive people to extremes and leave them feeling unwell. The images of violence (the “black and blue” girl at the beginning) and madness (the man who “lost his mind”) add to the somber tone of the song. However, the use of religious imagery (e.g. “I greet it like a friend / Amen”) points to a possible path of redemption, implying that the singer may be able to find a way through this difficult time.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey little girl
Addressing a young woman
You're black and blue
You're bruised and beaten, possibly from an abusive relationship
You're six foot two
You're tall and commanding, possibly intimidating to some men
I know a man who loved too hard
Referring to someone who loved deeply and obsessively
He lost his mind it wasn't hard
This man's love caused him to go crazy, it didn't take much for him to lose his mind
Over this sickness
Trying to get over this mental illness caused by this kind of love
This sickness of love
This feeling of love that makes people become obsessed and lose their minds
Cute little knees that you got
Commenting on the woman's appearance, specifically her knees
Out in the dark parking lot
Perhaps the setting of a romance or a meeting with this woman
Cute little voice whispering
Describing the woman's soft voice speaking quietly
I know a man lost everything
Referring again to the man who loved too hard and lost everything because of it
This sickness is hauntin' me
This obsession is constantly weighing on me
Till I cannot see
It's overwhelming to the point where I can't focus on anything else
This sickness is what I am
The obsession has become a part of me and I can't escape it
I greet it like a friend
Instead of fighting it, I've learned to embrace this sickness as a part of myself
Hey little girl I'm almost trough
Addressing the woman again, saying he's almost over her and the obsession
Hey little girl I'm almost you
He's becoming more and more like her, possibly losing himself in this obsession
Hey little girl The river runs
A reference to the passage of time, as the river keeps flowing
Hey little girl The rising sun
A reference to the start of a new day, a new beginning
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: IGGY POP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.