Maggie Estep grew up moving throughout the US and France with her nomadic h… Read Full Bio ↴Maggie Estep grew up moving throughout the US and France with her nomadic horse trainer parents. She attended the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Co. and received a B.A. in Literature from The State University of New York.

Before publishing her first novel, Maggie worked as a horse groom, a go-go dancer, a dishwasher, a nurse's aide, and a box factory worker.

Maggie has published six books, DIARY OF AN EMOTIONAL IDIOT (Harmony Books 1997, Soft Skull 2003) SOFT MANIACS (Simon and Schuster 1999) LOVE DANCE OF THE MECHANICAL ANIMALS (Three Rivers Press 2003) HEX (Three Rivers Press 2003) GARGANTUAN (Three Rivers Press 2004) and FLAMETHROWER (Three Rivers Press 2006). She was also co-editor (with Jason Starr) of BLOODLINES: A Horse Racing Anthology (Vintage 2006).

HEX, the first book in Maggie's trilogy of crime novels, was chosen by the New York Times as a notable book of 2003.

Maggie has recorded two spoken word CD's, NO MORE MR. NICE GIRL (Nuyo Records 1994) and LOVE IS A DOG FROM HELL (Mercury Records 1997). She has given readings of her work at cafes, clubs, and colleges throughout the US and Europe and has also performed her work on The Charlie Rose Show, MTV, PBS, and HBO's "Def Poetry Jam".

Her writing has appeared in The New York Post, Self Magazine, Village Voice, New York Press, Harpers Bazaar, Spin, and Nerve.com, as well as in dozens of anthologies including but not limited to BROOKLYN NOIR, THE BEST AMERICAN EROTICA, HARD BOILED BROOKLYN, and the forthcoming BAD GIRLS. She is currently working on a new novel, ALICE FANTASTIC.

Maggie divides her time between Brooklyn and Woodstock, NY and likes to hang out at racetracks cheering on longshots.

http://www.maggieestep.com/

Hey Baby
Maggie Estep Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

So I'm walking down the street
minding my own business
when this guy starts with me
he's sucking his lips goin:
hey, baby, hey, yo yo yo, baby baby baby
and I get kinda tense and nervous
but I keep walkin'
but the guy's doggin' my every move:

hey, miss, he says, don't miss this, and he grabs his
crotch and sneers ear to ear.

So finally, I turn around:
hey, buddy, I say, i'm feeling pretty tense, buddy, i've got
a fuckin' song in my heart, so come on
let's go
i've got a huge bucket of non dairy creamer and some time to
kill, so let's do it
we'll make some foul smelling artificial milk and drink gallons
and gallons and gallons of it
get our bladders painfully full
then go sit on the toilet together and let the water run in the
shower and torture ourselves
by not letting ourselves urinate
as the water rushes loudly
into the bathtub
okay?

we'll do it together
writhe in utter agony
just you and me
and i'll even spring for some of that blue shit for the toilet
bowl, alright?
i mean that's my idea of a good time
so how about it?
you wanna?

The guy backs up a bit
whatsa matta, baby, you got somethin' against men? he asks.
no, I say

i don't have anything against men
just stupid men.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Maggie Estep's song "Hey Baby" tell the story of a woman walking down the street and being harassed by a man who repeatedly calls out to her. As the man becomes more aggressive, the woman becomes increasingly tense and uncomfortable. Finally, she turns around and confronts the man, proposing that they engage in a bizarre and uncomfortable shared experience.

The woman's response to the man's harassment demonstrates her resilience and cleverness. Instead of cowering or fighting back, she proposes a strange and unsettling activity that completely subverts the man's expectations. Through her suggestion of drinking non-dairy creamer until their bladders are painfully full and then torturing themselves by holding in their urine, the woman takes control of the situation and shows the man that he cannot intimidate her.

The song is a powerful commentary on the experience of being a woman in a public space and the ways in which women are often subjected to unwanted attention and harassment. Rather than simply depicting the woman as a victim, however, the lyrics highlight her strength and wit, showing the ways in which women can draw on their own resources to resist and reclaim their power in the face of patriarchal oppression.

Line by Line Meaning

So I'm walking down the street
I am casually walking on the street.

minding my own business
Paying attention to my own work.

when this guy starts with me
A man begins to confront me.

he's sucking his lips goin:
The man is smacking his lips.

hey, baby, hey, yo yo yo, baby baby baby
The man uses flirtatious language.

and I get kinda tense and nervous
I start feeling anxious.

but I keep walkin'
I continue to walk calmly.

but the guy's doggin' my every move:
The man is following me everywhere.

hey, miss, he says, don't miss this, and he grabs his crotch and sneers ear to ear.
The man uses vulgar language and makes inappropriate gestures.

So finally, I turn around:
Finally, I face the man.

hey, buddy, I say, i'm feeling pretty tense, buddy, i've got a fuckin' song in my heart, so come on let's go
I confront him by saying that I am not interested.

i've got a huge bucket of non dairy creamer and some time to kill, so let's do it we'll make some foul smelling artificial milk and drink gallons and gallons and gallons of it get our bladders painfully full
I suggest a very unpleasant activity to carry out with him.

then go sit on the toilet together and let the water run in the shower and torture ourselves by not letting ourselves urinate as the water rushes loudly into the bathtub okay?
I suggest we go further and torture ourselves by not letting ourselves urinate.

we'll do it together writhe in utter agony just you and me
I emphasize that we will do this activity together.

and i'll even spring for some of that blue shit for the toilet bowl, alright?
I promise to bear the cost of a cleaning agent for the toilet bowl.

i mean that's my idea of a good time so how about it? you wanna?
I tell him that that activity is my idea of a good time and ask him if he is interested.

The guy backs up a bit whatsa matta, baby, you got somethin' against men? he asks.
The man becomes uncomfortable and asks me if I have anything against men.

no, I say i don't have anything against men just stupid men.
I clarify that I do not have anything against men but only against foolish ones.

Contributed by Julian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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