Meaning of "Lola" by The Kinks

Blog author: Shane Lambert

The song "Lola" is from the point of view of a young man whose first sexual experience is with someone who he discovers to be a cross-dresser; the song may be depicting a rape or sexual assault. Furthermore, there is depth to the song if the young man's enduring fondness for the person that assaulted him can be viewed as the psychological impact of the traumatic experience. This is despite the song perhaps being viewed as comedic.

Both the youth of the man and his sexual inexperience are ascertainable in Lines 31 and 32 below: 

"Well I left home just a week before,

And I've never ever kissed a woman before"

Lola is introduced as a woman in the first line with the pronoun "her." That Lola is a man and not a woman is both clear and opaque, depending on which line you look at. Some clear references to Lola being a man are in lines 28 and 10-11. Line 28 states that "Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls." Meanwhile, Lines 10-11 state "Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man." Perhaps, the dead giveaway that Lola is a man and not a woman is in Lines 36 and 37: "I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man And so is Lola." However, those lines could be taken to mean that Lola is glad the young man is a man as opposed to being proud of 'her' own masculinity.

An opaque reference to Lola's manhood has to do with the pitch of Lola's voice. In Line 5 Lola is described as having a "dark-brown voice" which would suggest a deep pitch or masculine raspiness more than anything else. In Lines 7-8, Lola's physical strength seems unbecoming to a normal female: "Well I'm not the world's most physical guy, But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine." In Line 15, Lola literally picks the young man up, again suggesting strength not common to a woman.

Penis discovery and aftermath

I guess if you ever start to have sex with someone whose sex you actually have wrong, there's going to be an inevitable moment of truth. That moment seems to take place between Lines 21 and 22 in the lyrics below: "Lola lo lo lo lo Lola lo lo lo lo Lol/I pushed her away. I walked to the door." There is no description of unzipping pants, nor of sexual caressing, but the young man's aversion to Lola is clear as there is an attempt to try and escape.

Between Lines 22 and 23 there is ambiguity, but it's here that I argue that this song is about rape or sexual assault. The young man seems to try to escape from Lola, probably after discovering 'her' penis. Then the youth falls "to the floor" with no explanation as to why (ie. did he get pushed?). He then claims that he "got down" on his knees, seemingly in a position that would be conducive to performing oral sex. That he wanted to leave and was not able to and then ended up in a position to perform oral sex is what suggests rape or sexual assault to me. 

It's also here that the song has a depth not common to pop music. Explicit descriptions of events that would be traumatic are left out of the lyrics. I think we can imagine a real-life rape victim not wanting to visit his or her memories. In "Lola," the assault is between the lines, not in them and that reflects a mental block of sorts, perhaps not unlike ones that real-life victims of rape or sexual assault exhibit.

In Lines 25 and 26, the young man speaks to an inability to confront what happened next. He also seems to communicate some kind of fondness for Lola; perhaps an absurdity of the song if he is a rape victim. But the fondness could be a symptom of being trapped that's consistent with Stockholm Syndrome, a mental condition where people held against their will sympathize with their captors.

A summary of the events described in the song would include a young man with no sexual experience meeting someone who he believes to be a woman in a club. The young man goes with this woman to her home for a romantic adventure. However, at some point the young man discovers that the woman is actually a man and the young man tries to escape, to no avail. He then shows some mental effects of being confined and sexually assaulted.

Criticism of the lyrics

• Lazy rhymes in many instances (ie. Lines 7 and 8)
• Lines 31 and 32 rhyme the same word

1. I met her in a club down in North Soho
2. Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
3. C-O-L-A cola.
4. She walked up to me and she asked me to dance.
5. I asked her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"
6. L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
7. Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy,
8. But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
9. Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
10. Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand
11. Why she walked like a woman but talked like a man
12. Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
13. Well, we drank champagne and danced all night,
14. Under electric candlelight,
15. She picked me up and sat me on her knee,
16. And said, "Dear boy won't you come home with me?"
17. Well, I'm not the world's most passionate guy,
18. But when I looked in her eyes,
19. Well I almost fell for my Lola,
20. Lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
21. Lola lo lo lo lo Lola lo lo lo lo Lola
22. I pushed her away. I walked to the door.
23. I fell to the floor. I got down on my knees.
24. I looked at her, and she at me.
25. Well that's the way that I want it to stay.
26. And I always want it to be that way for my Lola.
27. Lo lo lo lo Lola.
28. Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls.
29. It's a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up world,
30. Except for Lola. Lo lo lo lo Lola.
31. Well I left home just a week before,
32. And I've never ever kissed a woman before,
33. But Lola smiled and took me by the hand,
34. Said, "Dear boy, gonna make you a man."
35. Well I'm not the world's most-masculine man,
36. But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man,
37. And so is Lola.
38. Lo lo lo lo Lola. Lo lo lo lo Lola.
39. Lola lo lo lo lo Lola. Lola lo lo lo lo Lola

Songwriters: Ray Davies
Lola lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc