AprilMichelle & i were just talking about this...

2 me,...the song sounds like it is about drugs,especially with the line: "in her lucnbox...me & lucy opened it up when cynthia wasnt around...lucy cried,i almost died...u know what we found...starfish & cofee..."

& starfish,coffe,maple syrup & jam,butterscothc clouds tangerines & ham ... are metaphores for drugs.

just wondering what others opinions are on the menaing of this great tune.





i typed the topic line wrong...im such a dick!
[This message was edited Thu Mar 13 5:48:56 PST 2003 by Joshy84au]

It's possible that it's about drugs. He did take a few during this period.

It's about a mentally challenged girl that used to be in school with one of his female bandmembers (wndy, lisa, susannah...don't know). he was impressed by the girl she was and wrote this song about her.

No drugs...just about a special kinda girl

the 'Menacing'?

Call me but i thought it always was a hopeful kind of song...where the seemingly impossible (starfish and coffee,butterscotch clouds ect.) was found in an ordinary lunchbox...although the choice of this metaphor might have been influenced by drugs, I don't think they are the message behind the song.

Its very "drug-inspired" with LSD-type imagery throughout, but I don't think its about drugs (though, i kinda used to). Since then, other theories put forward have made me re-think my posision and I agree with ChocolateInvasion on the subject matter.

Joshy84au - those "metaphors" you mention - I always thought that they just alluded to the Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", but you say that they are metaphors for drugs. Do you mean that the imagery is metaphorical or are you suggesting that all these words are "nick-names", if you like, for drugs? (eg, Horse=heroin, charlie=cocaine etc)

I ask because I've never heard of any drugs (apart from coffee, natch!) being called any of those things - Starfish??!!!

ChocolateInvasion said:

Susannah - she is credited as co-writer.

Cloudbuster said:

Starfish and Coffee was recorded somewhere between April and June 1986 - possibly written before then, but no evidence available.

What evidence do you have that he was taking drugs during this period??
.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 13 6:04:05 PST 2003 by langebleu]

I always took this song to be about a mentally challenged girl, and how she perceives the world around her differently than "normal" people do...she sees it as more surreal and fantastic, and in the end, more beautiful and fascinating and a happier place.

I took the line about "Me and Lucy opened it when Cynthia wasn't around, etc..." to be a mixure of both 'stepping into' Cynthia's perception of the world, and suddenly being magically transported into Cynthia's version of the "normal world", similiar to how Alice fell into Wonderland or something.

To me this song is two things: 1) sort of a lesson or a reminder to keep your mind open (like the lyrics " If U set u're mind free baby, Maybe u'll understand" say) and remember that each of us see the world differently, perceive things differently, and that as you go through life you always need to keep your sense of wonder and innocence, that you'll be happier if you do that..vs. turning into a rigid realist who only sees the obvious and the physical; and 2)it's Prince's way of recognizing and celebrating the mindset and worldview of a mentally challenged person, and saying that while those people may see the world around them differently than "regular" people, it might be to the "regular" person's benefit to try to "set their mind free" and attempt to see the world the same way as the mentally challenged person does...because in the end, who seems more happy with life and who they are, and grateful to just BE?

Maybe I'm way off base, but that's just my


oooops
[This message was edited Thu Mar 13 6:13:15 PST 2003 by AmethystAngelMN]

Mindflux said:

yeah,just stupid nicknames 4 drugs.

AmethystAngelMN said:

Precisely. Prince describes this individual regarded by some as odd, even excluded perhaps (at the back of the line), but spins it on its head and says, compared to her - we're just ordinary.

langebleu said:

I heard that he took drugs on and off during the post Purple Rain era until the Lovesexy album. Don't know how true it is tho'. That said, Prince himself said during an interview with NME in '95 that "drugs can be very funky".

So I guess there is some truth in it.

Really??!! They are nick-names? ROTFLMAO!!!

Please, please tell me what they are?

Starfish = ?
Maple Syrup = ?
Jam = ?
Butterscotch clouds = ?
Tangerine = ?
Side order of ham = ?

You must have some strange-assed drugs in Australia with names like that!!! Or, am I reading it wrong? Did you mean that you assume these to be euphemisms for drugs, rather than knowing of drugs that are named as such?

It's definately not about drugs, and definately is about a retarded girl.

I never really thought there was any meaning behind this song at all. I just thought he wad so bad he could make up a song about anything.

MiaBocca said:

yep, that's the story i've heard, a girl with autism i believe.


$.02.

--gm--

There was a thread re-this a few months ago. The consensus was that it was about a special needs girl (autism was proffered).

The Drug concept is interesting though. Butterscotch clouds and Starfish could easily be colloquial terms for acid tabs. I always thought these two stood out because they weren’t food items like everything else. How do you get them in a lunchbox? Or is a "butterscotch cloud" a US candy of some kind?

The thread (or was it another) also discussed the "Mates" theory. In the UK mates are a brand of condom, the argument was that the odd socks' had mates (other half of the pair).

This song is so cryptic, but great with it!


I just wanted to point out that "retarded" is a really dated and derogatory term for a wide range of mentally derived disorders, and not one that is generally used anymore. It can be quite insulting.

I just wanted to point out that "retarded" is a really dated and derogatory term for a wide range of mentally derived disorders, and not one that is generally used anymore. It can be quite insulting.[/quote]


yes.

GeneMohawk said:

yes.[/quote]

Couldn't give a shit.

I agree with you, but it's the easiest thing to type besides "spaz".

MiaBocca said:

Couldn't give a shit.

I agree with you, but it's the easiest thing to type besides "spaz".[/quote]As a mom of a twelve year child with autism, either one of these terms is considered an insult.

Well I'm usually quite PC dear, it's just the correct term has been stated before in this thread, and I really couldn't be arsed to type out "mentally challenged" every time I referred to Cynthia.

Besides, I *personally* find the term "mentally challenged" an inaccurate term.

And there have been several racist and homophobic remarks made on this board, all of which have gone past the moderators like a soft breeze.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 13 9:22:53 PST 2003 by MiaBocca]

That is a such a cute song, reminds me of Raspberry beret...

Joshy84au said:

I was wondering about that recently myself...I've never felt the references were about drugs though, like so many here...I've always thought it was about a homeless girl who didn't have anything to eat...When he and Lucy open the lunchbox...they find it empty...that's why Lucy cries and he almost dies...must just be the way my mind works.

stymie said:

As a mom of a twelve year child with autism, either one of these terms is considered an insult.[/quote]

stymie..I feel ya sis, I too am the mother of a 7 year old autistic child and i get pissed when people try to label him or use those sick ass terms. my baby is a special needs child, just a little different, but I treat him normal, give him lots of love, and I demand respect from others, no labels or derogatory terms.
peace and blessings and most of all positivity
BTW, I love starfish and coffee, I always thought it was a cute song and felt it was about a special needs girl.

DeVaniti said:

DeVaniti said:

I agree with you there, I always thought it was about a little girl who got shuffled around and didn't have the things that other little girls had. As for the Starfish and Coffee in her lunch box could have been food gone bad, but then everyone has a diff perspective about the song itself.