It may not have been the initial intention of the song but it has become an anthem for a certain demographic, just like the song “I’m Coming Out” by an iconic female singer.
“Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the notes,
But you never quite learned the song, she sang.
I can tell by the sadness in your eyes,
That you never quite learned the song.”
Finally the #VillagePeople / #IncredibleStringBand crossover we need!
I guess everyone has a price for their soul? It's literally been a gay anthem for decades & his need to profit from it wont change it. It's good his former bandmates aren't around to see this. Like the band playing as the Titanic sunk🤮
"Morali ... recruited the band in New York gay clubs and via an ad which read: “Macho Types Wanted: Must Dance And Have A Moustache.” He dressed them as fantasy gay male archetypes including a cowboy, leather man, cop, Native American and construction worker."
Wow.
To paraphrase: "The false assumption that the song, YMCA, is gay is based on the fact that the co-writer was gay, Village People were mostly gay and their first album totally gay, and the song itself contains innumerable double entendres on gay male life."
From the article, it sounds like he was saying the lyrics weren't gay. However the band was intended to original appeal to the gay scene and the writer doesn't mind it being used as the gay anthem.
For a man that made his money from gay people, he seems very angry about it now. "Get their minds out of the gutter" "My wife will sue..."
Sounds like he's more concerned about his new MAGA fans.
True. I don't fully trust his response when he stands to gain from it. However without another source, we can't really counter it.
It's entirely plausible they made sure the lyric appealed to dual audiences and therefore written tame. Still, that would mean he's not entirely honest.
The gay culture appropriates. It does not create. Nothing uniquely gay, as a theme, music, cinema, or symbolism has become a part of mainstream. They only garner recognition by clutching to things never intended to represent LGBTQ.
“Village People song writer says loving cock, immaculate dress sense, and a fascination with interior design is definitely not gay. ‘Women like those things’ he remarked while wearing an immaculately pressed naval uniform, sat in a pastel green Ludwig Armchair.”
Yeah cos a guy with leather chapless pants, a cowboy and a construction worker, meet up in the police officers man cave, only to be joined by his two other friends to sit down, have a beer and watch the complete works of 24.
Dude's got to make up his mind! He can't very well say he doesn't mind if gay people's reception of "YMCA" makes it an anthem of their own if he accuses that line of thought of "minds in the gutter" and sends his wife on the lawsuit warpath at inauguration just so MAGA types feel 100% heterosexual.
How does Agent Orange (as Spike Lee calls him) do it? Not only is he ruining our future, he's brainwashed folks into rewriting our past. File this with, "Jan. 6 was just a peaceful tour of the Capitol." Willis' comments are sad and insulting on so many levels to so many people.
I would just like to remind everyone as we approach this holiday season of the words of that old-time seasonal song:
"...Don we now our gay apparel..."
Fa La La, everyone.
Seeing as all but one of the members are/were gay kinda makes it seem like its a gay anthem plus you know all the man on man themes the song sings about.
*co-wrote with Jacque Morali, who was openly gay
Also, the members of the group were meant to portray gay stereotypes (regardless of the true sexuality of the performers)
Who are the straight members of the village people?
The original lead singer of the Village People. Victor Willis was the driving force behind the group as well as the group's only straight member. In addition to singing lead, he also wrote such hits as YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy, and Go West...
He sure gets defensive about it not being a gay anthem,doesn't he? Paraphrasing here,but in the article he says if "the gays" want to use it as their anthem that's fine. The gays? He must not be aware it's almost 2025,not 1977.
So why wait till now - or even January? Could it be anything to do with making lots of money but now he needs to do a bit of rightwing conversion therapy on it to fit the MAGA anti-gay doctrine ??🤔. Just asking.
I dunno… when your band is made up of black sex cop, horny construction worker, butch leather biker dude, a sailor on leave, a cowboy FFS, and indigenous guy, you might be gay and not know it.
Comments
Obviously he has been getting it in the neck from the MAGA lot
Because, money.
For reasons that are still unknown the organization drop the lawsuit.
“Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the notes,
But you never quite learned the song, she sang.
I can tell by the sadness in your eyes,
That you never quite learned the song.”
Finally the #VillagePeople / #IncredibleStringBand crossover we need!
Wow.
Sounds like Willis is doing it for the money, rather than for yuks.
For Trumpites, I think it's mostly the latter.
Sounds like he's more concerned about his new MAGA fans.
He's going to "sue every news organisation that refers to it as a gay anthem"
But also says "I don't mind that the gays think of it as their anthem"
However he might get away with it, news media will probably stop after he sends a cease and desist.
Individuals will always be able to think of it as they will.
The only thing that will change is you can't mock someone for playing it, I'm guessing.
It's entirely plausible they made sure the lyric appealed to dual audiences and therefore written tame. Still, that would mean he's not entirely honest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3hTwsvJV_A
You can't erase how funny it was that some old ladies in the 80s loved these guys and really believed they weren't gay 😂
They were they types with geese on their porches later
"...Don we now our gay apparel..."
Fa La La, everyone.
We shouldn't be taking his word for granted, nor be discounting it entirely as many are in the comments.
It's quite possible the lyrics were tame, but the band was certainly designed to appeal to a gay audience, the article says so.
Did the write know the dual meaning?
It would be a more believable claim if the song mentioned women at any point.
Also, the members of the group were meant to portray gay stereotypes (regardless of the true sexuality of the performers)
We've only got the word of one man to say that.
😉😁
The original lead singer of the Village People. Victor Willis was the driving force behind the group as well as the group's only straight member. In addition to singing lead, he also wrote such hits as YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy, and Go West...
Why does the former guy use it anyway? What's the significance of it for him and his fanbase?