1. Rough Trade is… Read Full Bio ↴There are more than one artist named Rough Trade:
1. Rough Trade is a Canadian group, lead by singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples, which gained success in the 70s and 80s. Their music is filled with themes of catastropic power and dimestore novel smut, entertainingly delivered by Pope's powerful voice.
2. Rough Trade is a punk band from Ålesund, Norway. They released a 7" in 1980, and have been featured on compilations such as "Anarki & kaos" and "Bloodstains Across Norway".
3. Rough Trade is a spoken word artist from Australia that focuses on homoerotic content.
High School Confidential
Rough Trade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She makes my body twitch
Walking down the corridor
You can hear her stilettos click
I want her so much I feel sick
The girl can't help it, she really can't help it now
High school, a high school confidential
Teenage Brandos stalk her in the halls
They tease her with cat calls
She's a combination Anita Eckberg Mamie van Doren
Dagmar high school confidential
What's the principal doin' with her?
Who's that guy, is he screwing with her?
What's her perfume? Tigress by Fabergé
It makes me cream my jeans
When she's coming my way
High school, high school confidential
High school, a high school confidential
She drives a candy pink Cadillac
If I don't get her soon, I'll have a heart attack
When she flashes me a look I wanna burn my book
Give up high school
High school, high school confidential
High school, a high school confidential
High school, high school confidential
High school, high school confidential
The lyrics to Rough Trade’s song “High School Confidential” describe a teenage girl who exudes sensuality and power. She is envied by other teenage boys who are infatuated with her and catcall as she walks by. These boys are described as “Teenage Brandos”, a reference to Marlon Brando’s iconic role in both The Wild One and On the Waterfront, further emphasizing the girl’s powerful and magnetic presence. The lyrics describe the singer’s intense physical reaction to her presence, as her stilettos clicking down the corridor make his body “twitch” and at one point saying he gets so turned on he feels sick.
Further developing the power dynamics of the situation, the lyrics question what the principle of the high school is doing with her, further implying a kind of forbidden sexuality. The singer is also aroused by her perfume, Tigress by Fabergé, adding to the image of her as an animalistic and untamable force. The final lines of the song suggest a sense of desperation for the singer to win her favor, claiming that if he doesn’t get her soon, he’ll have a “heart attack” and even considering giving up high school altogether. Overall, the song is an exploration of the intense and often confusing emotions that come with adolescence and trying to navigate the complicated social dynamics of high school.
Line by Line Meaning
She's a cool blonde scheming bitch
The girl is manipulative and calculating, using her looks and charm to get what she wants from others.
She makes my body twitch
I find her incredibly attractive and it's affecting me physically.
Walking down the corridor / You can hear her stilettos click
As she walks, everyone can't help but notice her confidence and sex appeal.
I want her so much I feel sick / The girl can't help it, she really can't help it now
My desire for her is so strong that it's making me feel physically ill. She can't control the way she makes me feel.
It's like a highschool, high school confidential / High school, a high school confidential
This environment has so much gossip and intrigue, it feels like a secret society only accessible to insiders.
Teenage Brandos stalk her in the halls / They tease her with cat calls / She's a combination Anita Eckberg Mamie van Doren / Dagmar high school confidential
She's so striking and sexy that even the most popular guys in school are competing for her attention. She's like a combination of Hollywood sex symbols Anita Eckberg, Mamie Van Doren, and Dagmar.
What's the principal doin' with her? / Who's that guy, is he screwing with her?
Even those in authority are intrigued by her and wonder about the relationships she has with others.
What's her perfume? Tigress by Fabergé / It makes me cream my jeans / When she's coming my way
Her scent is so alluring and erotic that it's arousing my sexual desire in a big way. I can barely handle it when she's close by.
She drives a candy pink Cadillac / If I don't get her soon, I'll have a heart attack / When she flashes me a look I wanna burn my book / Give up high school
She's driving such an attention-grabbing vehicle that I can't imagine her not wanting to be noticed. The intensity of my attraction to her is making me consider giving up everything I know just to be with her.
High school, high school confidential / High school, high school confidential
This school is a hotbed of secrets, and everyone knows it. It's like being part of an exclusive club that nobody else can get into.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jerry Lee Lewis, Ron Hargrave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeffreybarkin3177
Seeing ROUGH TRADE perform back in the mid-80's was SPECIAL....
CAROLE would wear the most seductive clothes or the FIERCEST Leathers with Boa's and would prance about while Rockin' THIS SONG!
While KEVAN remained "quiet and meek" almost hiding behind his keyboard rack....
Her DOMINEERING STRUTS were simply AWESOME!!!
GR8 SHOWS!!! #ABSOLUTELY
#rockmatters #carolepope #roughtrade #Cdnrock
@sonicboy19
Very true. In the early 70's, from all accounts no one seemed to bat an eye when Joni dropped the f-bomb in the song "Woman Of Heart And Mind". Perhaps the censors only started to pay attention to explicit lyrics once they became juvenile enough for them to understand?
"After the rush when you come back down
You're always disappointed
Nothing seems to keep you high
Drive your bargains
Push your papers
Win your medals
Fuck your strangers
Don't it leave you on the empty side?"
- Joni Mitchell, "Woman Of Heart And Mind"
from the album For The Roses (1972)
@robertmay5003
Loved this song ever since I heard it on the radio--so raw
and real. Carole Pope is the perfect singer to do this song,
as her heart is full of lust. I always turn the knob all the way
to the right when I hear it -- and I'm just a straight guy.
This song get's your motor going - I think I need a cigarette
now -- just love these sexually aggressive songs :) To many
censored songs --I say Let it Be.
Great car radio song -"you just can't beat it !!!
@66fitton
MAD RESPECT for Carole Pope!!! A truly free soul all along!
@Mymumsey1
A line like, "...it makes me cream my jeans when she come my way." never gets old. 😄
Thank you, Rough Trade, for this classic song.
@juliegramie8738
hi, how are you ?
@batman1169
1:53 always slipped by the radios! tame by todays standards! Then again so did Grease Lightning!!
@andrewdouglass1427
That line did cause controversy in the moment. Then again, it was CanCon, so...;)
@FancyPetPoutine
LOL!! I put this song on this morning as I make the fire and that line made me laugh 😂
@Staylogical
Canada in 1980 .That's pretty impressive.Where else would this band be nominated for best new group and get to perform live on national TV at that time?Carole promised not to garb her crotch at the "cream my jeans" line,and she didn't at the rehearsal.But she did on the live telecast,and smiled when she did it.
@perfidiousalbion5985
@@isntlovegrand6640 Best Part about Live Television!
@tonykarais3172
I remember how scandalous this song was when it came out. Carole didn't care one whit. They were awesome and it's stood the test of time.
@perfidiousalbion5985
I love playing this to my kids years later, they still cringe to the lyrics; a sign of great song!