The Beatles "Norwegian Wood" (1965)
Norwegian Wood
During the time when I was in 8th and 9th grade I became passionate about building model kits. I started out with the Aurora monster series--the classic monsters such as Godzilla, the Mummy, Dracula, and a number of others. Later I built some of the Big Daddy Roth "Rat Fink" series, eventually continuing on to airplanes, ships, and car models. I began buying magazines about monsters and model building. I was consumed by this hobby.
My best friend Dan also joined me in this interest. Previously we had both been avid stamp collectors, but the model building seemed like the more teen-like past time to which to graduate. Dan was a grade ahead of me, but since he lived nearby and we shared similar interests he took up whatever interests I had. He liked hanging around my house like my friends always seemed to do when I was growing up. I guess my house was always cooler than anybody elses and my mother always welcomed any of my friends.
Another interest Dan and I shared was a love of the pop music of the day. We'd sit on the floor of my bedroom working with our model kits listening to the likes of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. While we worked on our model-building we'd listen to my albums on a portable record player I had in my room and we talk about whatever came to mind--mostly girls.
Neither of us had ever had an actual girlfriend relationship yet, but we were curious and had great longing. Dan would tell me about things that he'd heard some of the older boys talking about or things that he had read. This was the mid-60's and the topic of sex was still mostly a mystery to us. We wanted to know more, there was so much that we didn't understand.
After I acquired the Beatles Rubber Soul album we played that record over and over. My favorite songs were "Michelle" and "I've Just Seen a Face". Dan's favorite song was "Norwegian Wood". In a classic example of misheard lyrics, Dan insisted that one of lines said "She showed me her womb". He was taken by that line. We both were aware that this had a sexual connotation, but we were misunderstanding what exactly womb meant. What Dan was convinced of was that the lady of the song showed the singer her womb.
I didn't hear that lyric in that way myself--I was hearing "room" not "womb". But Dan stayed with his hearing of the line. In later years I read or heard something about the phrase "Norwegian Wood" was really code for "knowing she would". That sounds logical if you think back on the line "she showed me her room isn't it good knowing she would". But then again "womb" was a code for young teenagers such as we were.
That was a word made fodder for imagination. The best visual for two young guys dreaming about the mysteries of women was the cover of Whipped Cream and other Delights by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. This was the album worth staring at and letting fantasies run amok. The words of "Norwegian Wood" had nothing on that album cover. And from all appearances the woman on that album cover had nothing on except a lot of whipped cream.
Ah, the fantasies of youth!
At what age did you begin thinking of the mysteries of the opposite sex? Is there a favorite lyric that you've misheard? Did you have a hobby that kept you busy when you were a child or teenager?
