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Def Leppard

Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me

About The Song

“Pour Some Sugar on Me” is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 23 July 1988.

There are a mash-up of influences on this song, which is typical of Def Leppard, whose frontman Joe Elliott told, “Everything I’ve ever listened to seeps in.”

Joe can’t always identify the specific influences, but the first record he bought was “Sugar, Sugar,” which was a huge hit for the cartoon band The Archies in 1969. Near the end of that song, there is a line that goes “Pour a little sugar on me, baby,” which Elliott says was at least subconscious inspiration for this song.

The lyrics started out as phonetic sounds to fit the music, which they refined later into actual words. Joe says that this was done in the style of “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” by T. Rex, which contains vaguely lascivious lyrics that don’t make any sense (“a hubcap, diamond star halo”?) but sound great.

The lyrics are clearly about sex – Elliott says “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is “the metaphor for whatever sexual preference you enjoy” – but they are shrouded in enough metaphors to make the song safe for radio and MTV. Def Leppard, with Mutt Lange producing, were one of the best-selling bands of the ’80s, succeeding with a formula of polished songs perfect for pop radio but with enough rock swagger to keep guys interested – which is where lyrics about se..x and drums and rock and roll come in.

Video

Lyrics

Step insideWalk this wayYou and me babeHey hey
Love is like a bomb, baby, c’mon get it onLivin’ like a lover with a radar phoneLookin’ like a tramp, like a video vampDemolition woman, can I be your man? (your man)
Razzle ‘n’ a dazzle ‘n’ a flash a little lightTelevision lover, baby, go all nightSometime, anytime, sugar me sweetLittle miss innocent sugar me, yeah, yeah
Now c’mon, take a bottle, shake it upBreak the bubble, break it up
Pour some sugar on meOoh, in the name of lovePour some sugar on meC’mon, fire me upPour your sugar on meI can’t get enough
I’m hot, sticky sweetFrom my head to my feet, yeah
Listen, red light, yellow light, green-a-light goCrazy little woman in a one man showMirror queen, mannequine, rhythm of loveSweet dream, saccharine, loosen up (loosen up)Loosen up
You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a littleTease a little moreEasy operator come a knockin’ on my doorSometime, anytime, sugar me sweetLittle miss innocent sugar me, yeah, yeahGive a little more
Take a bottle, shake it upBreak the bubble, break it up
Pour some sugar on meOoh, in the name of lovePour some sugar on meC’mon, fire me upPour your sugar on meOh, I can’t get enough
I’m hot, sticky sweetFrom my head to my feet, yeah
You got the peaches, I got the creamSweet to taste, saccharine‘Cause I’m hot (hot), say what, sticky sweetFrom my head (head), my head, to my feet
Do you take sugar? One lump or two?
Take a bottle (take a bottle), shake it up (shake it up)Break the bubble (break it up), break it up
Pour some sugar on meOoh, in the name of lovePour some sugar on meC’mon fire me upPour your sugar on meOh, I can’t get enough
Pour some sugar on meOh, in the name of lovePour some sugar on meGet it, come get itPour your sugar on me (oh-ooh)Pour some sugar on meYeah, sugar me

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