Plastic Fantastic Lover
Jefferson & Airplane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is nothing but electric sign
You could say she has an individual style
She's a part of a colorful time
Super-sealed lady, chrome-color clothes
You wear 'cause you have no other
But I suppose no one knows
Your rattlin' cough never shuts off
Is nothing but a used machine
Your aluminum finish, slightly diminished
Is the best I've ever seen
Cosmetic baby, plug into me
And never, ever find another
And I realize no one's wise
To my plastic fantastic lover
The electrical dust is starting to rust
Her trapezoid thermometer taste
All the red tape is mechanical rape
Of the TV program waste
Data control and I.B.M.
Science is mankind's brother
But all I see is draining me
On my plastic fantastic lover
The lyrics of Jefferson Airplane's song Plastic Fantastic Lover describe a futuristic and technological world where even lovers are made of plastic. The first two lines introduce us to the neon mouth of the singer's lover which seems to be a mere electric sign. This creates an image of artificiality and superficiality that is further explored throughout the song. The next lines depict the lady as a "super-sealed" and "chrome-color" figure that seems to have no other clothes to wear. This creates the image of a robotic figure that lacks human emotions and individuality. It is implied that she is a product of the colorful time that the singer is a part of.
The chorus refers to the lady as "my plastic fantastic lover." The term "plastic fantastic" was a popular phrase in the 1960s to describe anything that was artificial and had no real substance behind it. This suggests that the singer's lover is not a real person, but rather a constructed figure with no emotional depth. The second verse describes the lady's physical appearance as a used machine with an aluminum finish. The word "cosmetic" further reinforces the idea that her appearance is a superficial construct.
The third verse refers to the "electrical dust" that is starting to rust and the "trapezoid thermometer taste" that seems to come from the lady. These lines are difficult to interpret, but they suggest that the lady is not functioning properly and has started to deteriorate. The last two lines of the song describe science as mankind's brother, but also suggest that it is draining the singer. This might be a comment on the dehumanizing effects of technology and how it is eroding human emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Her neon mouth with a bleeding talk smile
Her glowing lips seem to be bleeding with words she speaks through them.
Is nothing but electric sign
It is only an illuminated board that displays the message like a signboard.
You could say she has an individual style
It can be said that her manner of appearance is unique and different from everyone else.
She's a part of a colorful time
She is a remnant of a vibrant period in history.
Super-sealed lady, chrome-color clothes
She is entirely encapsulated in a metallic dress of chrome colour.
You wear 'cause you have no other
You have no better clothing to wear other than the one you are wearing now.
But I suppose no one knows
Nobody is aware of this fact.
You're my plastic fantastic lover
In your artificiality, you have become my ideal lover.
Your rattlin' cough never shuts off
Your wheezing coughing never stops.
Is nothing but a used machine
You are nothing more than a worn-out mechanism.
Your aluminum finish, slightly diminished
Your metallic appearance has faded a little.
Is the best I've ever seen
I have no better view of you than the present one.
Cosmetic baby, plug into me
You are just an artificially groomed baby, and I am your power source.
And never, ever find another
You will never find someone else to satisfy your needs as I do.
And I realize no one's wise
I understand that no one is aware of my true feelings.
To my plastic fantastic lover
You, my fake but idealistic partner, are the subject of my love.
The electrical dust is starting to rust
The electric filth on you is beginning to corrode like rust.
Her trapezoid thermometer taste
The flavour of your food tastes like a trapezoidal temperature measuring device.
All the red tape is mechanical rape
All the bureaucratic obstacles seem like an assault by machines.
Of the TV program waste
It is a waste of time to watch television programs.
Data control and I.B.M.
The control of information lies in the hands of big corporations like IBM.
Science is mankind's brother
Science can be considered a companion of humanity.
But all I see is draining me
The reality, though, is that it is slowly sucking out the life in me.
On my plastic fantastic lover
In the arms of my artificial partner, I am slowly losing my essence.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARTY BALIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oppothumbs M
@Patty Hurley These are better
LOVE Forever Changes
Neil young Zuma
van Morrison astral weeks
Elvis Costello This years model
5 Graham Parker and the rumor - Heat Treatment
Beatles - Revolver
The Replacements have 4 records:
7 let it be
8 Pleased to Meet ME
9 DONT tell a soul
10 TIM
Best of Dylan
Best of Neil Young or Just .. Decade
Best of The Hollies
Honky Dory or Ziggy Stardust
Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain
best of Psychedelic Furs (or even the Psychedelic Nuggets)
best the Kinks
Best of Roxy Music
Best of Hendrix
Best of the Smiths
Best of the Impressions
First album by The Pretenders
Best of the New Radicals
Best of Journey
Best of Tears for Fears or just Songs from the Big Chair
Forrest George
Her neon mouth with the blinkers-off smile
Nothing but an electric sign
You could say she has an individual style
She's part of a colorful time
Secrecy of lady-chrome-covered clothes
You wear cause you have no other
But I suppose no one knows
You're my plastic fantastic lover
Her rattlin' cough never shuts off
Is nothin' but a used machine
Her aluminum finish, slightly diminished
Is the best I ever have seen
Cosmetic baby plugged into me
I'd never ever find another
I realize no one's wise
To my plastic fantastic lover
The electrical dust is starting to rust
Her trapezoid thermometer taste
All the red tape is mechanical rape
Of the TV program waste
Data control and IBM
Science is mankind's brother
But all I see is drainin' me
On my plastic fantastic lover
Totalwreck 31
Her neon mouth with a bleeding talk smile
Is nothing but electric sign
You could say she has an individual style
She's a part of a colorful timeSuper-sealed lady, chrome-color clothes
You wear 'cause you have no other
But I suppose no one knows
You're my plastic fantastic loverYour rattlin' cough never shuts off
Is nothing but a used machine
Your aluminum finish, slightly diminished
Is the best I've ever seenCosmetic baby, plug into me
And never, ever find another
And I realize no one's wise
To my plastic fantastic loverThe electrical dust is starting to rust
Her trapezoid thermometer taste
All the red tape is mechanical rape
Of the TV program wasteData control and I.B.M.
Science is mankind's brother
But all I see is draining me
On my plastic fantastic lover
nillehessy
i´m a 70´s kid so we kicked on this in the 90´s why cause of the sixties revival in the nineties
all these great tracks and vibes me my friends and a lot of others taking acid our main drugs were acid
xtc shrooms weed afterwards a shitload of coke and sometimes just chillin´with salvia truffels or downers and uppers and a truckload of beer and booze blending the sixties music with nineties psycedelic trance-music
and also on the regular totaly out.of.your.plate hardcore-raves but most people don´t like that
anyway in that timeperiod ´plastic fantastic lover´ and ´truckin´from the gratefull dead i always played like in the last two hours of the 80 hours we were straight awake some of us also went to hardcorepunkfestivals
that was interresting the correlation between hardcorePunk and hardcoreHouse
besides the totally wild dancing
and the mdma pills and the mda pills those salmiaks beige with black dots
do they still make those havent seen them in ages
i don´t like nowadays house-music i mean the big names in the biz i don´t get it mayby i´m crazy i check it now and then what´s going on but it´s total shit there´s nothing to put you in a groove
luckily the smaller clubs you can go for a good time i mean here in holland
but the festivals is fokk the young people love it it sound like funfair-rides and every other 30 sec a different ride
i know it always has funfair sounds but this is getting crazy it´s almost anti-music
must be i´m getting old or something
Michael Presley
This album is one of the greatest albums ever created period a shame airplane didn't last longer together
NickMMM
@Billy Mac they're not comparing THIS music, they're comparing the much later Starship's music to 80's commercial pop. I get what they mean though I like the later stuff too. With songs like We Built This City and Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now it's hard to disagree that it got very pop rock. However, if you equate that to being bad, and say it must not be pop or whatever since you like it, you need to learn to love yourself despite liking the pop rock of the 80s, because that's what it is. It's okay. We're here for you.
NickMMM
Lmao some would say they lasted too long what with the Starship stuff, though I like pretty much all of it a lot of people really... don't
L J Sopjes
@Bruce Gwynn Agree. The brainchild of the weakest link in the Airplane chain (Paul Kantner).
Oppothumbs M
@Patty Hurley These are better
LOVE Forever Changes
Neil young Zuma
van Morrison astral weeks
Elvis Costello This years model
5 Graham Parker and the rumor - Heat Treatment
Beatles - Revolver
The Replacements have 4 records:
7 let it be
8 Pleased to Meet ME
9 DONT tell a soul
10 TIM
Best of Dylan
Best of Neil Young or Just .. Decade
Best of The Hollies
Honky Dory or Ziggy Stardust
Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain
best of Psychedelic Furs (or even the Psychedelic Nuggets)
best the Kinks
Best of Roxy Music
Best of Hendrix
Best of the Smiths
Best of the Impressions
First album by The Pretenders
Best of the New Radicals
Best of Journey
Best of Tears for Fears or just Songs from the Big Chair
Rollastoney
They lasted the right amount of time. Just like every band.
Can you imagine if the Beatles never broke up. They would have started to produce shit and their solo projects never would have come to fruition to the extent we know today.
Daniel Finkler
One of my favorite albums of all time. Fantastic tunes throughout the entire album.
Lengo67
I damn near wore this album out when I got hold of it! This one is a gem!
Jim Nesta
Love the tone that Jack's getting on that bass. Sounds almost acoustic-like.
X YZ
This is one of those tunes which grabbed me the first time I heard it and has become a tiny piece of me hanging around in the attic of my mind