I've read on this page the Vapors' song "Turning Japanese" is really about masturbating. Who came to this conclusion? I mean..I don't really hear that in the song. I always took it as a guy in either jail or a nuthouse (probably the latter) who's missing the person in the picture. Reason I say nuthouse is because of the "I want a doctor to take a picture/So I can see your insides" lyric.I just don't see it. A lot of song lyrics can be twisted into meaning whatever, as apparent by a lot of the entries on that page.

Even if maybe it's supposed to be about that, how does "turning Japanese" fit in really?

According to the "The Story" on the Vapors fan page "Secret Noise," Dave Fenton, who wrote the song is quoted as saying, of the song, that "It means whatever you want it to mean."

He goes on to say that he originaly wrote it as a love song. When the band played the U.S., people kept asking him if it was about masturbation. He told some people "yes" and some people "no", whatever he felt like saying at that particular time, I guess. He then reiterates, "But, no it wasn't intended to be about wanking at the time."

What makes this case interesting is that unlike other songs that are often thought to be about masturbation ("The Stroke", "Whip It"), the title may not really be the slang/double entendre phrase that it is supposed to be. It seems that it was not used as a euphemism by either the British or by Americans prior to the release of the song. It seems that the Americans claim it is a British term and the British, well, claim it is of American origin.

By the way, I always thought "The Stroke" was a "dirty song" when I was a kid. Especially since other kids used to laugh about it. Then I went over the lyrics. It sounded more like about "stroking one's ego." The song seems to be about how A&R people stroke the ego of the acts they are trying to sign and make money off of . . . and how those acts need to stroke the egos of the record execs as well. Basically, about how people play up to one another to get ahead in life. However, I think that Billy Squier was very well aware of how his song might get taken, so, I think this is a case of "It'll probably get taken as a song about masturbation . . . and so what? It'll probably get more people to buy it."

I never thought "Whip It" was about masturbation. When I went over the lyrics, I thought they were pretty straightforward, a song about overcoming obstacles, not letting things get you down. "When a problem comes along, you must whip it." "Go forward, move ahead . . . it's not to late to whip it." However, DEVO were really into putting sexual jokes and double entendres in their lyrics, videos, and artwork. This song is, after all, off of the album on the back of which Gerry is pictured making a sexual hand gesture. So, DEVO were also most likely well aware of how "Whip It" would be interpreted and that was probably very welcomed by the band. This seems to be a case of the song not really being about masturbation, but with DEVO, you just don't know if the double entendre was intentional or not.

: I've read on this page the Vapors' song
: "Turning Japanese" is really about
: masturbating. Who came to this conclusion? I
: mean..I don't really hear that in the song.
: I always took it as a guy in either jail or
: a nuthouse (probably the latter) who's
: missing the person in the picture. Reason I
: say nuthouse is because of the "I want
: a doctor to take a picture/So I can see your
: insides" lyric.I just don't see it. A
: lot of song lyrics can be twisted into
: meaning whatever, as apparent by a lot of
: the entries on that page.

alot of entries? I don't think any of the lyrics there have been twisted much.. trust me, I won't waste my time updating that page with anything unless it's pretty obvious at this point

the reason Turning Japanese is considered a song about masturbation, is because the phrase is supposed to be an english phrase for the contortions one's face makes during sex. The singer has denied it, but since I'm not the first person to note this, I doubt it's a pure coincidence..

: The singer has denied it, but since I'm
: not the first person to note this, I doubt
: it's a pure coincidence..

Did he straight out deny it or simply not openly admit it? I remember in discussing the video he said that the "Japanese" cast to the video was the result of not feeling they could/should make a video about the actual meaning of the song. I seem to recall them actually noting that the actual meaning had to do with masturbation/orgasm (I know VH-1's big 80s pop-ups comment on it too)

Jack

Jack

: Did he straight out deny it or simply not
: openly admit it? I remember in discussing
: the video he said that the
: "Japanese" cast to the video was
: the result of not feeling they could/should
: make a video about the actual meaning of the
: song. I seem to recall them actually noting
: that the actual meaning had to do with
: masturbation/orgasm (I know VH-1's big 80s
: pop-ups comment on it too)

I've seen interviews where he flat out denies it.. of course I've seen interviews where Billy Squier denies his song is about it as well, and then the VH-1 thing where he personally says of course it's about it.. so to be honest.. I don't take any interview with a musician as straight answer about a song..

I had always assumed that the person in the song meant that he was overly interested in taking pictures, since that is the stereotype of a Japanese person. Also, the term "cell" is another word for one's bedroom.