This is kind of late to enter here, but I think someone searching should have something of some substance to read about this song. But before I get to that, let me clear up a bit of ignorance spouted here. First, of course, Blondie did not invent rap, or for that matter, "white rap", whatever that might be. Certainly the group was aware of Gil Scott-Heron (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) if not "The Last Poets" and similar groups. They knew what they were doing. Finally, it doesn't matter how fast Harry and Stein wrote the song and what, if anything, they were thinking when they did so. Meaning is not a matter for the writer--it is a matter for the listener.
I guess it is natural for people to figure that any rock song they can't understand is about drugs, but I don't think this is valid. When writing about drugs, most songwriters are pretty explicit about it. For example, "I'm Waiting for my Man" is about drugs; "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (LSD, get it?) is not. Even "Lookin' out My Back Door", which seems like a guy coming home, dropping acid, and tripping on his back porch, is probably not about drugs, but rather about a man home from work who finally gets a chance to play with his creativity.
Rapture seems very clear; I thought it was obvious to everyone. It is about environmental destruction and over-blown consumerism. Not that I'm saying it is that simple, but in one sentence, that's what you get. There is clearly a lot about sex, but this too is related to the commoditization of the act. Look at how they deconstruct the human interactions in the song. When dancing close, the body is breathing "almost comatose". They aren't grinding pelvises, they are "back to back" using the sacroiliac join--indicating that they are trying to interact as little as possible with each other. When they do face each other, they don't look at one another. Without human connection, what is left: the things we buy. I think the song is more relevant today than ever.
There is, of course, the whole issue of "The Rapture", and the song gets more into this toward the end. It seems to say, "The Rapture is a myth, no one is really going to come down and destroy you, but your things are going to be taken away from you--by you and the way you live--and you will be left with, what? Each other." Hence the last line, "Get up!"
And despite what someone "heard", the last line before the first "rap" section is "Twenty four hour shopping in rapture". (Some people think Hendrix said "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" too; that doesn't make it so. Meaning is for the listener, but the actual text is for the writer.)
This is kind of late to enter here, but I think someone searching should have something of some substance to read about this song. But before I get to that, let me clear up a bit of ignorance spouted here. First, of course, Blondie did not invent rap, or for that matter, "white rap", whatever that might be. Certainly the group was aware of Gil Scott-Heron (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised) if not "The Last Poets" and similar groups. They knew what they were doing. Finally, it doesn't matter how fast Harry and Stein wrote the song and what, if anything, they were thinking when they did so. Meaning is not a matter for the writer--it is a matter for the listener.
I guess it is natural for people to figure that any rock song they can't understand is about drugs, but I don't think this is valid. When writing about drugs, most songwriters are pretty explicit about it. For example, "I'm Waiting for my Man" is about drugs; "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (LSD, get it?) is not. Even "Lookin' out My Back Door", which seems like a guy coming home, dropping acid, and tripping on his back porch, is probably not about drugs, but rather about a man home from work who finally gets a chance to play with his creativity.
Rapture seems very clear; I thought it was obvious to everyone. It is about environmental destruction and over-blown consumerism. Not that I'm saying it is that simple, but in one sentence, that's what you get. There is clearly a lot about sex, but this too is related to the commoditization of the act. Look at how they deconstruct the human interactions in the song. When dancing close, the body is breathing "almost comatose". They aren't grinding pelvises, they are "back to back" using the sacroiliac join--indicating that they are trying to interact as little as possible with each other. When they do face each other, they don't look at one another. Without human connection, what is left: the things we buy. I think the song is more relevant today than ever.
There is, of course, the whole issue of "The Rapture", and the song gets more into this toward the end. It seems to say, "The Rapture is a myth, no one is really going to come down and destroy you, but your things are going to be taken away from you--by you and the way you live--and you will be left with, what? Each other." Hence the last line, "Get up!"
And despite what someone "heard", the last line before the first "rap" section is "Twenty four hour shopping in rapture". (Some people think Hendrix said "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" too; that doesn't make it so. Meaning is for the listener, but the actual text is for the writer.)