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#1LinerWeds – Poison Ivy

Maggie

Day 304

I managed to go outside and water plants today. Right beside my little rose is a hearty poison ivy sprig. Such nasty little things, but this immediately popped into my head:

“You’re gonna need an ocean of Calamine lotion“

Of course that line comes from the song Poison Ivy and was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I don’t know how many times I must have sung this song in my youth, but it was very popular. The Coasters sang the version I remember, and we all had the lyrics memorized.

I was very young — too young to even be naive. Imagine my surprise when I read that Poison Ivy was a metaphor for a sexually transmitted disease, according to songwriter Jerry Leiber.

The song released in 1959 reached #7 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart and it was about an STD. I guess I am still a bit naive.

That’s my contribution for 1LinerWeds, sponsored by Linda Hill. If you want to join in, pop over to Linda’s blog post for today to catch the rules and to read other bloggers’ contribution for today.

18 thoughts on “#1LinerWeds – Poison Ivy”

  1. I would NEVER have thought the song was about that! On the other hand, I only learned within the last 10 years that a doobie (as in Doobie Bros.) was a marijuana cigarette stub. LOL

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  2. I didn’t know that either!! Lol….I was and still am naive and clueless! Sometimes its better that way!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. The metaphor is news to me, too. I never thought about it. But if I did, I would’ve thought it was about an emotionally toxic relationship.

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  6. I loved that song (still do from time to time). I heard about the meaning, but I was never sure if it was true. The real poison ivy is a nightmare for me. That little sprig by your rose would be fenced off, waiting for me to suit up and remove it forever.

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    1. Ahh, Dan. Eradicating the poison ivy. It is such a menace. I read the urushiol can remain potent on shoes for 2 years. Can you believe that? Eliminating it is problematic. You cannot burn it or take it to the landfill. I would be curious what methods you would use?

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      1. We have had very little in our yard. The last time I had it, our dog ran into it, and then ran into me. She rubbed right behind my knee. I reacted so badly, I was covered in an oozing rash. We literally bought all the 4×4 gauze pads in town, until the steroids kicked in.

        Once I found it, I put on a Tyvek jump suit, gloves and a face mast. I dug it out, deep enough to get the roots, put it in a garbage bag, put that in a garbage bag with all my outerwear and, using new gloves, put all of that in another bag. I am sorry about the environmental nightmare in our trashcan, but it had to go.

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        1. I have had similar thoughts. There is always poison, but it kills everything in close proximity and then talk about environmental problems. Yuck. Not an easy problem to resolve.

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  7. The Coasters did some great songs, didn’t they? “Charlie Brown” and “Yakety Yak” are two of my favorite songs, and if you hadn’t used that line, I would have…

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    1. I loved The Coasters. They sure had a lot of memorable hits and those you mentioned were among the best. I also loved their version of “Along Came Jones”, too. I am a sucker for a big deep voice.

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