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Sugar And Oil

by Eric Michael Jones

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about

Eric Michael Jones’ song Sugar and Oil poses as a typical male rock genre piece, think Bad Company or similar. But, as usual, Jones finds the twist in the tale. Starting with a pointed reference to Young Blood by the Coasters, the song travels the opposite path, where chauvinism turns out to be a losing hand.

The couple in the story, if they even are a couple, seems to have a one-sided relationship where he gets what he wants. Yet from start to finish the overt lyrics and subtext tell us that she’s not having it.

This is actually the story of an empowered woman walking away from an unenlightened man. Clearly not a traditional storybook relationship, the only thing the pair have in common is their favorite band. He attempts a tolerable level of dominance, while admitting that he could never be happy without her. His inability to change is his weakness.

The song makes reference to the 80’s band Fine Young Cannibals, which reads like a pin in the societal shift from toxic masculinity toward humanist gender roles. But it’s also a distant reference to Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, perhaps the most toxic kind of relationship imaginable. Allegedly.

lyrics

I saw her standing on the corner
Suitcase in her hand
She wasn’t living a lie anymore
She was leaving a man

Got a schedule from Greyhound
I heard her talking on the phone
Does not appear to be hanging around
I think she’s headed home
Leaving me alone

She used to cook me my dinner
Put it on a tray
Stand around and talk for a while
’til I send her away

She’s a vegetarian, she is in PETA
Concerned about the ethical treatment of animals
I wear leather and I’m a meat eater
But we both love to dance to Fine Young Cannibals

Sometimes we go up to the bedroom
She likes to touch my hair
I wanna get it on and get it over with
Get over there

I know it sounds like we don’t get along
She’s like sugar and I’m like oil
Sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes it’s too strong
Sometimes it blows like a blood filled boil

I saw her standing on the corner
Suitcase in her hand
She wasn’t livin’ a lie anymore
She was leaving a man

I’ll learn to cook my own breakfast
I’ll learn to cut my own hair
But I’ll never figure out how to get happy
If she’s not there

I know it sounds like we don’t get along
She’s like sugar and I’m like oil
Sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes it’s too strong
Sometimes it blows like a blood filled boil

credits

released February 2, 2022
Music and lyrics by Eric Michael Jones

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all rights reserved

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Eric Michael Jones New York, New York

Eric Michael Jones is an eclectic songwriter and artist who has a flair for creating music with unexpected elements. Woven through words and melody, each song is a montage of lyrical imagery. Working from a rock and roll palette he captures the energy from British Invasion to Americana, and has evolved his own engaging sound with a fierce edge.

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