The point is probably moot

"You know, I feel so dirty
When they start talking cute
I wanna tell her that I love her,
But the point is probably moot."

'The point is probably moot.' That's the point.

Off the bat, it serves as meta-commentary for what this whole blog will be about : improbable decipherings of dodgy song lyrics. I mean god only knows (sorry Brian) what Rick was thinking when he rhymed "cute" with a bastardized inversion of a fairly obscure phrase that heralds back to the Anglo Saxons? (a moot was a political gathering way back when don't you know)

The whole song is swathed in a delicious ambiguity.

Take, for instance, the sonic appeal to 21st century ears : Irony-hunters will agree, all-American eighties cock rock never sounded so good as this 1981, Grammy snatching, Billboard number one. Even the name Rick Springfield seems so adequately, so quintessentially North American. From the reverberated crunch of Fender to Marshall, to the oh-so-earnest, clenched fist rhetoric of 'where can i find a woman like that?,' there's much to be savored.

Then there's this whole sexual ambiguity of unrequited lust. Is the narrator a deluded fantasist? Are we buddying up to an unhinged stalker intent on destroying his best friend's happiness? An interpretation too far you think. Well let's rewind to the opening gambit;

Jessie is a friend, yeah, I know he's been a good friend of mine
But lately something's changed that ain't hard to define
Jessie's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine

Sounds like our hero feeling the hormonal brush off from his bosum buddy rather than actually fallen in love with his girl. Who exactly is the object of his affection? Mis-listen and you might think the singer wishes he was Jessie's Girl? Does he want to be Jessie's Girl? Hold on, isn't Jessie a girl's name anyway, meaning that Jessie's girl probably isn't interested in men? The male derivative is surely spelt "Jesse." 'Lately, something's changed' alright Ricky...

There's another tranche of irony for anyone who's spent a good deal of time in the UK or down under. A Jessie here means 'an effeminate whiner' (something like that anyway) Which is rich given that the song comes from the mouth of someone who neatly fits that description.

In actual fact, it should have been Gary's Girl anyway, not Jessie's. The wisdom of Wiki states:

"Rick was taking a stained glass class along with 'Jessie' and his girlfriend. Springfield wanted to use the name of the friend he was actually singing about (Gary), but instead decided to go with a different name"

Hold on. Stained glass class. Not very rock n' roll is it? Not very red blooded american man either. "C'mon Ringo, let's grab a couple of chicks, a couple of 40's and get church-window-ing."

And to top off the whole 'we'll-just-never-know-will-we' vibe, let's leave Mr Springfield endlessly gazing into a looking glass:

And I'm lookin' in the mirror all the time,
Wondering what she don't see in me


Full lyrics of Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
As you've never heard it : OK Go cover Jessie's Girl
I want to read more : Song facts here