Katy Perry Enjoys Girls, Cherry Chapstick

There’s not that much to say about the lyrics in Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” — even if it is the 1,000th No. 1 single of “the rock era.” We will say that they’re hands-down better than her previous hit, “Ur So Gay.” (Not a joke.)

BUT: As the millennial airwave-dominating hit, it deserves some attention, so let’s look at the chorus. (That’s the part with the kissing.)

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it

It felt so wrong, It felt so right
Don’t mean I’m in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it

Anything stand out? Besides, you know, the kinda lesbian stuff?

How about “cherry chapstick.” Like in Coldplay’s “Strawberry Swing,” two bright words contrast with a field of nothingness.

Poetry or not, there’s something to be said about writing lyrics for pop music. The words need to have some sort of hook, whether it’s a flimsy, recognizeable cliche (”It felt so wrong / It felt so right”) or an incongruous, ear-catching word, like Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous.”

Kanye West knows this well, lining his hits with hooky repetition and similarly incongruous lines like “We want pre-nup!” Ol’ Dirty Bastard knew it too, making him a perfect complement to more verbose Clan members like Ghostface Killah.

Anyway, now we’re getting off topic. Here’s that song, one more time:

MP3: Katy Perry – “I Kissed a Girl”