Teenage Prostitute

Album: My Mother Is A Space Cadet (1982)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Zappa biographer Barry Miles says "Teenage Prostitute" gave critics cause for concern being a song about a 17-year-old runaway whose pimp shoots her full of smack: "Zappa appears not to feel any compassion for her. The fact that her pimp would beat her up if she tried to get away is treated as a joke."

    Certainly Zappa was not a "people person," although he appears to have enjoyed performing and usually developed a rapport with his audience; it remains to be seen though if this song is pure misogyny, cruelty, indifference to suffering, social commentary, satire or bizarre humor. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.