I was thinking about 'The Ballad of Dorothy Parker'. So, I did the custom search to see if anyone had talked about it. Someone had.

However, in their interpretations, unless I missed one, no one really explained the lyrics to my satisfaction.

We know P liked to talk about sex through his lyrics, but off bat and as far as talking about the beginning of the song no one talked about the obvious.

P says, "Dorothy was a waitress...on the promenade...she worked the night shift."

She ain't a waitress in the traditional sense...she was on the promenade...promenade is french meaning one is taking a leisurely walk. She worked the night shift...get it? Waitresses serve you, right? Meaning she was a prostitute. "She got a lot of tips."

As far as the rest of it, P is being poetic and artistic. So, I don't read too much into the rest of it but I had to point out the first couple of lines that I thought no one mentioned which were straightforward.

Makes sense.

But....he orders a fruit cocktail because he´s not that hungry, and she thinks he sounds like a real man.

Do you think the fruit cocktail is a synonym for pussy?

And, if so, what would he have ordered if he had been hungry?

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I read the other day that the real Dorothy Parker died on Prince´s birthday, which is a strange little coincidence, even though the song is not about the real Dorothy Parker. Then again, to some extent it is, in an indirect way, because Prince dreamed of that name after Susannah Melvoin mentioned her in some conversation.

And just like the fictional Dorothy in the song, the real Dorothy Parker was a witty person.

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I love that song. I love the lyrics, the many ways to interpret it, the vocal delivery and the music.

It´s interesting that avoiding sex seems to be the key to happiness and friendship in this song (with Dorothy and with his ex that he goes back to), whereas in many other of his songs he suggests having sex as the solution to most conflicts, for example in Empty Room or Sexuality and many other songs.

But here, he keeps the peace by keeping his pants on with both women.

Dalia11 said:

"I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine, Dorothy was fast". Geminis also need mental stimulation.

Yes, interesting observation. Another detail that adds to the "no sex" storyline of the lyrics.

[Edited 5/26/19 16:58pm]