Lyrics for 12XU as interpreted by BrownBabu84

12XU Lyrics
Saw you in a mag, kissing a man
Saw you in a mag, kissing a man
Smoking a fag, kissing a man
Saw you in a mag, kissing a man

Saw you in a mag, kissing a man
Saw you in a mag, kissing a man
Smoking a fag, kissing a man
Saw you in a mag, kissing a man

I've got you in a corner
I've got you in a corner
I've got you in a corner
I've got you in a corner
---
"12XU" as written by Robert/lewis Gotobed
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
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JohnPowell
06-20-2003

 Rated  0 
I am very confused as to what these lyrics mean. It could ne about gay porn

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Cherub Rock
05-02-2004

 Rated  0 
Gay porn? err...can't see it myself..
Any idea what 1-2-X-U means? What does it stand for?

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a10dency2ask
05-18-2004

 Rated  0 
Actually "smoking a fag" is British slang for smoking a cigarette, and most liekly not a reference to "gay porn". I don't know how much meaning should be interpreted from this song, but my guess would be its about a guy who caught his girlfriend cheating. The "XU" part of the title suggests to me that he's tryign to get rid of something, since I guessed that X=get rid of and U= you.

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damnrealb
10-12-2004

 Rated  0 
My first exposure to this was the Minor Threat cover and I couldn't make any sense of it at all.

It's clearly about someone being caught by the press (in a mag) doing dirty things (specifically kissing a man and smoking a fag). Whether it's a man seeing his girlfriend cheating or someone involved in a homosexual affair or anything else is unclear. It's a cool song.

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ygfperson
01-01-2005

 Rated  0 
the X in 12XU is self-censorship... as in 1, 2, **** you!

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tomistdaffy
04-11-2006

 Rated  0 
an excelllent song ...... im seriously not seeing the gay thing! i dont think anyone here an the excellent isle would ever say "smoking a fag" in reference to some oral pleasures. i think it means what it says..... smoking a fag .... having a cigarette.... i get the impression its talking about a model or someone in a vogue-ish kind of pose but who knows

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tomistdaffy
04-11-2006

 Rated  0 
an excelllent song ...... im seriously not seeing the gay thing! i dont think anyone here an the excellent isle would ever say "smoking a fag" in reference to some oral pleasures. i think it means what it says..... smoking a fag .... having a cigarette.... i get the impression its talking about a model or someone in a vogue-ish kind of pose but who knows

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a sin coming on
07-11-2006

 Rated  0 
the gay part isn't the 'smoking a fag,' but it's pretty commonly accepted that the song is about a man "kissing a man." it's a song about homophobia, and about censorship.

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Doherty Vision
09-09-2006

 Rated  0 
On listening to this, the song is aimed at an ex-lover or possibly a gay lover - depends how you interpret. The x-u isn't that just censorship in the late 1970's. I mean you can't really look in too deeply into two letters.

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m!ke
09-25-2006

 Rated  0 
This song is great. I can't stop putting it on repeat.

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erratick
10-12-2006

 Rated  0 
ygf person is right. i remember reading once somewhere the guys from wire saying that it meant 1-2-f*ck-you.

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BlackLungFever
06-14-2007

 Rated  0 
lots of early punk bands used "x" in place of "fuck" because it wasn't record companies risked government intervention if they had profanity. and there's no evidence to suggest the sex of the subject the band is singing about, so everyone should quit their homophobic reactions.

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distantfingers
10-01-2007

 Rated  0 
it would make sense then that "x" means fuck because 1-2-x-u would then be "want to fuck you". And who cares if it's a man or woman.

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themagnetc
12-01-2007

 Rated  0 
not necessarily "want to fuck you," it seems like he's just counting off the song with a big "fuck you". i love punk for that. this song is really ambiguous...i read on the minor threat one someone say it was about a cigarette ad in a magazine, but honestly who knows for sure? does anyone know the sexual orientation of the band members? that might help...

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themagnetc
12-01-2007

 Rated  0 
actually now that i've thought about it a bit more, the porn thing makes a bit more sense. porn mags were definitely around by that point, and cigarette ads would have been all over them. even if it wasn't an advertisement, many people associate cigarettes with sex and the "smoking a fag" line might come from that post-sex association.

maybe the "got you in a corner" part is about how the speaker knows about "you"'s appearance in a porn mag, and now they could use it as bribery. idk, just throwing it out there, i'm not sure how much of that i believe myself.

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twocent
01-09-2008

 Rated  0 
Artfags flying their pink flags? Weren't they fans of the Ramones (53rd and 3rd). Isn't this song about gay cruising/hustler culture? Is it Mag or mack as in a truck. Cottage is gay brittish slang for loo, as in: "Dont think I didn't see you busting it up with that trucker the other evening, I got your number," he says breathing down his neck in the urinal, "don't worry I won't be much rougher than him"

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orrlando
06-24-2008

 Rated  0 
it means -WANT TO EX YOU !

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leamanc
11-18-2008

 Rated  +2 
This song is an example of Wire's very wry sense of humor. It refers to the pop culture media ("saw you in a mag"), and how they deliver the trashy content we all want ("kissing a man, smoking a fag"). But we as a society like to pretend we're above it, and won't allow the use of curse words in mainstream media (hence the self-censorship--1, 2, "X" you).

For such a blazing punk song that goes by so quick, it leaves you with plenty to think about. That's why it's a classic that has endured.

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1 Reply  ·  My Interpretation
prettyfemur
03-13-2009

 Rated  0 
I thought the X could have stood for kiss and the 12 stood for "want to" so it would be "want to kiss you."

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General Comment
StabMasterArson
04-20-2010

 Rated  0 
For your consideration:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottaging


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General Comment
sammyyomammy
07-29-2010

 Rated  0 
I have always thought this song had something to do with jealousy. I think the song sounds like a guy saw his love interest, another guy, in a magazine, smoking a cigarette(the Brits. call smokes, fags)! Yeah..And then he's all angry so he says, "1-2-X-U"! I think that part means, "1-2, forget about YOU!"!!!

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My Interpretation
sammyyomammy
07-29-2010

 Rated  0 
I have always thought this song had something to do with jealousy. I think the song sounds like a guy saw his love interest, another guy, in a magazine, smoking a cigarette(the Brits. call smokes, fags)! Yeah..And then he's all angry so he says, "1-2-X-U"! I think that part means, "1-2, forget about YOU!"!!!

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My Interpretation
spit68
09-06-2010

 Rated  0 
This song is excellent. It is about a possible/probable stalker, a man obsessed with a model in a glossy magazine, she is smoking and lolling about in a cottage, natch. The exclamation 1 2 X U! is a pun of sorts. It is obviously something the stalker would say probably as he masturbates to the images in the magazine but it is also the 'punk countdown' that just about every punk band has used in their songs. Wire repeated this joke in another song when they did it in French.

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General Comment




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