Leviticus: Faggot

Album: Peace Beyond Passion (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Ndegéocello wrote this about the way she feels organized religion treats women, gays, and minorities. An openly bisexual (or as she calls it, "sexually functional with both genders") black woman, Ndegéocello often infused her songs with social commentary. In this song, she describes a man who is rejected by his devout mother because she doesn't approve of his gay lifestyle.
  • Leviticus - which does not appear in the lyrics - is the third book of the Bible; it contains passages that antigay protesters often cite when denouncing homosexuality, including 20:13, which states, "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death."

    Ndegéocello grew up in a religious household and she says it was hard for her parents when they learned about her sexuality. She converted to Islam at one point, but later dissociated from organized religion, calling it "mind control."
  • Ndegéocello has said that the 1974 Funkedelic song "Jimmy's Got A Little Bit Of Bitch In Him," which is about a quirky gay man, was an influence on this track.
  • After releasing the Peace Beyond Passion album, Ndegéocello took a more observational approach to her songwriting, focusing on the grooves and cutting back on political or social commentary. A very private person, she is reluctant to talk about her very personal songs like this one, but did confirm in our 2014 interview that it was about a real person that she knew.

Comments: 1

  • Mike from Berkeley, CaLeviticus in the Bible is one of three law books in the Bible. The others are Numbers and Deuteronomy. The book of Leviticus mainly focuses on the laws the Levites, who were the priests among the tribes of Israel. Levites were descendants of Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God. All the tribes were named after the sons of Israel. Moses, his sister Miriam and Aaron were all Levites. The job of maintaining the tabernacle(place of worship)was given to Levites. Only descendants of Aaron could become priests.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."