Talk:Shake Your Moneymaker (song)

Meaning of lyrics

The contribution "The lyrics involves a man (possibly a pimp) imploring his girl (possibly a prostitute) to "shake her moneymaker", by either having sex with him or doing some work for him on the street." has been deleted as original research; but I propose to restore it.

Any person who does not know this song (or doesn't understand it) should not be denied its meaning. I don't reckon this is original research, it's stating the song's purpose. Just as much as "Rollin' and tumblin'" is all about sex and has nothing to do with acrobatics, so "Shake your moneymake" is not about piggy banks! Arrivisto (talk) 18:10, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

For almost two years, Arrivisto has been attempting to add an interpretation of the song's lyrics. At first, a {{citation needed}} tag was added and, after a year when none were forthcoming, their text was removed. Later similar attempts were reverted with the note "a reliable source is needed". This follows WP:LYRICS, which includes "any interpretation of lyrics requires a reliable secondary source for that interpretation. Do not analyze, synthesize, interpret, or evaluate lyrics yourself; instead, refer to reliable secondary sources that do so."

The fact that Arrivisto includes "possibly a pimp", "possibly a prostitute", and "by either [A or B]" indicates that it is not clear to them what the lyrics actually mean and is speculation on their part. Blues lyrics sometimes have different layers of meaning and are deliberately vague. They might borrow phrases and words from earlier blues and other songs and string them together in a way that obscures the meaning. "Skake"'s lyrical precedent "Roll Your Moneymaker" does not suggest a pimp-prostitute narrative. Rather, it follows other songs that use "shake", such as the early influential "Shake 'Em On Down".

To supply one's own interpretation, rather than reflecting the opinions of reliable sources, is classic original research. For example, James's line "I got a girl and she just won't be true" doesn't sound like a pimp. Another reading may be that the song is about a man who is frustrated by his infatuation with a "working" girl, who won't give to him what she may sell to others. However, this is just more OR and probably others have their own interpretations. But they do not belong in an encyclopedic article.

—Ojorojo (talk) 15:32, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

@Ojorojo I do support Arrivisto's interpretation albeit not all the way. The current alternative - to omit connotations to a woman's boody altogether - seems hypocrite to me. Especially since it adds (twofold) insight to historic mores, gives argument to contemporary gender debates. Twofold, because the term 'moneymaker' gives evidence how both males and females customarily agreed to reify a womans body.

To sum up: The lyrics do not necessarily talk about pimps and prostitutes, however the term 'moneymaker' is clearly a womans rear. Haegar's (talk) 09:12, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

Author Peter Silverton includes a mention of the song in his book Filthy English: The How, Why, When and What of Everyday Swearing in the chapter on "Vulvas, Vaginas and Breasts" during his discussion of terms for vaginas:

Allan and Burridge, in their book on taboo and swearing, point to lots of words which refer to the vagina 'as a store for or source of wealth'. They quote a modern Australian street prostitute's 'hairy checkbook' and the word 'money' itself for vagina in the 1811 edition of Grose's slang disctionary ... Myself, I think of Elmore James' 1959 recording, 'Shake Your Moneymaker' – not, I think, a reference to prostitution but to the same nexus of cash and female sexuality that's there in the opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice ["It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife"]

He does not mention rear and it is a stretch to say that James is specifically referring to vagina. However, Silverton's idea of "female sexuality" could be added and the reader could decide if it refers to a body part or, more generally, sexual attractiveness: Author Peter Silverton believes that the lyrics are not "a reference to prostitution but to the same nexus of cash and female sexuality that's there in the opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice". {{efn|"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife"}}

—Ojorojo (talk) 16:07, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

@Ojorojo thx for the Silverstein, interesting! So let's add "The term Moneymaker might refer to a body part or, more generally, sexual attractiveness according to Peter Silverton" and source (Filthy English: The How, Why, When and What of Everyday Swearing)? Haegar's (talk) 20:15, 5 April 2023 (UTC)

It was added on 21 February,[1] along with a few other updates. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:00, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Shake Your Moneymaker which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 00:06, 19 April 2024 (UTC)