So I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately- maybe it’s because these days I feel like these folks are singing to me. They remind me that love is the most important thing, they assure me that I’m better off without all my ex-boyfriends, they console me about not having much money, and yesterday they sang to me about taking a human pet for a walk. Yeah so maybe that’s not what Brad Paisley had in mind when he was writing his song
Ticks, (from his 2008 album
5th Gear) but we kinksters tend to find perverse pleasure in even the purest of places. I was driving to the hardware store, listening to CAT Country 98.1 when I heard the lyrics:
I’d like to kiss youWay back in the sticksI’d like to walk you through a field of wildflowersAnd check you for ticks.I smiled to myself and imagined taking my puppy out for a little adventure on a bright afternoon. It may seem like a bit of a stretch, but give it a listen with that image in mind. Paisley’s singing about taking his partner for a walk and grooming her afterward- tell me that’s not puppy love. Plus look at that mischievous smile in the video! Priceless.
There are a few other songs that give me this same feeling. They are explicitly about a human with a non-human companion and they toe the line between familial and romantic love. There seem to be quite a few songs out there about people being animal-like in bed, like Bloodhound Gang’s
Bad Touch (featuring the artists dressed as monkeys), Nine Inch Nails’
Closer, (featuring Trent Reznor tied up and blindfolded) and The Cure’s
The Lovecats (featuring band members in cat costumes), but songs with a human/animal relationship theme are a bit more elusive.
The first one that comes to mind is Nellie McKay’s
Dog Song from her 2004 album
Get Away From Me. I love how she incorporates panting and paw-steps into her performance, and the lyrics suggest she and her dog are soul mates, eternal companions, and (I perversely extrapolate) lovers:
I said woof, be mineAnd you gave a wailAnd then I was no longer aloneAnd I was no more a boozerWe'll make the happiest homeI also remembered the Eels song
My Beloved Monster from their 1996 album
Beautiful Freak. This one reminds me of a friend of mine,
Heliotrope. She’s not a puppy or a kitty cat- she’s a monster. Perhaps a little monster. Maybe even a pet monster. But a monster. This song is about having a girlfriend who is a creature:
My beloved monster is toughIf she wants she will destroy youBut if you lay her down for a kissHer little heart, it could explodeAnd it’s probably one of the sweetest songs ever. Rawr!
Lastly, my favorite song with this obscure theme is Caitlin Cary’s
Pony from her 2001 album
While You Weren’t Looking. I think you’ll know why this is my favorite as soon as you read these lyrics:
My baby, he’s a ponyHe’s the one who loves me onlyMy baby is the only oneMy ponyThis is clearly a love story about a girl and her pony. And the song features catchy, percussive hand-clapping which makes it an automatic winner in my book.
I’m certainly not a music buff, and there are probably many more songs out there about human/creature relationships that I’ve not heard. What songs remind you of pet play?