Saturday, May 9, 2020

Sublime's "Wrong Way": Sex with a Teen Prostitute




Sublime was a Long Beach, California based band and "Wrong Way" was released on Sublime (1997) - the ska punk band's eponymously named third album. 


I found out about "Wrong Way" after I came across a Jack Wagner Tweet, which was a screenshot from Sublime's Reddit page where zorth41 asked: "Can someone explain "Wrong Way" to me\Cause it sounds to me like he's singing about fucking a 14 year old"

Here are the lyrics to "Wrong Way":

Annie's twelve years old in two more she'll be a whore
Nobody ever told her it's the wrong way
Don't be afraid with the quickness you get laid
For your family'll get paid
It's the wrong way

I gave her all that I had to give
I'm gonna make it hard to live
Salty tears running down to her chin
And the ruins up her makeup I never wanna live

A cigarette pressed between her lips
But I'm staring at her tits
It's the wrong way
Strong if I can but I am only a man
So I take her to the can
It's the wrong way

The only family that she's ever had
Is the seven horny brothers and a drunk-ass dad
He needed money so he put her on the street
Everything was going fine till the day she met me

Happy are you sad, want to shoot your dad
I'll do anything I can it's the wrong way
We talked all night and tried to make it right
Believe me shit was tight
It was the wrong way

So run away if you don't want to stay
'Cause I ain't here to make you, oh no
It's up to you what you really want to do
Spend some time in America
Dubstyle

She'll give you all that she got to give
But I'm gonna make it hard to live
Big salty tears running down to her chin
And it smears of her makeup I never wanna live
So we ran away
And I'm sorry when I say that straight to this very day
It was the wrong way
She took a hike it don't matter if I like it or not
Because she only wants the wrong way

I gave her all that I had to give
She still wouldn't take it, whoa no
Her two brown eyes are leaking like salty tears
It still ruins her makeup and never want to give

As you can see, Annie is 12-years-old who will be a "whore" when she's 14. After coming upon Annie, "[a] cigarette pressed between her lips", the song's protagonist stared at Annie's young "tits" before they had sex in the "can". The protagonist admitted that it was "the wrong way" but confessed: "[...] but I am only a man."

"Wrong Way" Official Video GIF

"Wrong Way" reached number 47 on the Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay, and it spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Alternative Songs - peeking at number 3.

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