What the hell does the intro dialogue have to do with the lyrics to the rest of Madonna's song?

I know she was into the old Hollywood imagery (Monroe or anyone mentioned in the Vogue rap) but what made her sample dialogue from the 1949 Film-Noir classic White Heat, spoken by James Cagney (as Cody Jarrett)?

A copper.
How do you like that boys, a copper. Heh.
And we went for it, I went for it
Treated him like a kid brother
And I was gonna split fifty-fifty with a copper.
Hhhh!
They were there waitin' to pin a medal on him
"Come on get up, get your hands up!"
Yeah, that's it, a nice gold medal for the copper
Only maybe he's gonna get it sooner than he thinks!

and later after the bridge:

"You haven't got a chance, come out with your hands up"
'Come out with your hands up', the man says
How do you like that, ma? Heh!
Here's my answer, you dirty ...

All of that dialogue just seems too specific to what is happening in the original movie, more so than her "My love is dangerous, This is a bust" metaphor.

the song is supposed to be a tribute to James Cagney. i think it even says so as a subtitle on the vinyl, cassette or CD (don't remember which ones it says it on).

Although I rarely listen to the 'True Blue' album (it's too 80s-sounding and hasn't really aged well,with all those synths and all),I do like the song "White Heat".It's got a great chorus/hook...

"get up,stand tall
put your back up against the wall
my love is dangerous
this is a bust"

In fact,I think it would have made a better single than the uneventful "Open Your Heart".

DavidEye said:

you suck!


Open Your Heart is one of her great early vocal performances. yearning and emotional. great song too.

though White Heat is good. had the album gotten 6 singles (the highly-promoted, but never released Where's The Party), White Heat would have made a great 7th hit... or even instead of Where's The Party.

DavidEye said:

Sacrilege ! Open Your Heart is a great 80s dance groove, and one of her more energetic songs. Her vocals on there are amazing, as well. I have a soft spot for the entire True Blue album, though, it must be said.

She was paying a sort of tribute to James Cagney, hence the presence of the dialogue snippets.
[This message was edited Thu Jan 15 5:02:51 PST 2004 by VoicesCarry]

Personally, I agree that "White Heat" should have been a single. It was one of the better songs on that album, IMHO.

VoicesCarry said:

The 12inch rules too.

The dialogue on the song WHITE HEAT is from a James Cagney gangster movie also called WHITE HEAT.
BTW , if you ever get a chance to see this movie it's a classic. Cagney stars as Cody Jarrett , a mother fixated , psychopathic gangster who murders his victims when he gets a painful ( White Heat ) headache. The closing scene is unforgettable. " Look at me Ma , top of the world".
[This message was edited Thu Jan 15 16:07:06 PST 2004 by pacey68]