Aretusa Loser

Album: The Best of Peter Sarstedt (1969)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Running to 3 minutes 41 seconds, this witty uptempo infectious song was the B-side of "Frozen Orange Juice." It is a bit surprising it was not chosen as the A-side, and very surprising that it didn't fall foul of the censor, because the British state could be very heavy-handed with musicians at the tail end of the Swinging '60s. If the reason why is not entirely clear to you, the clue is in the rhymes, in particular the ones ending in "uck."

    Curiously, it includes the title of a later ABBA song on a broadly similar theme.
  • This is a song with which every red-blooded non-alpha male will identify as realization dawns that he has set his sights too high, and may have to settle for taking home "some poxy hag" rather than the homecoming queen. Aretusa (or Arethusa) was a nymph in Greek mythology; she is said to have fled from the river god Alpheus when she realized he had his eye on her, which is probably the point of the song. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"

Neal Smith - "I'm Eighteen"They're Playing My Song

With the band in danger of being dropped from their label, Alice Cooper drummer Neal Smith co-wrote the song that started their trek from horror show curiosity to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.