When Sting sang about “Roxanne,” in 1978, she was a prostitute whom he loved and wanted to “save.” The song had a plaintive, painful tone.
Roxanne, you don’t have to put on the red light
Roxanne, you don’t have to wear that dress tonight
Today’s “Roxanne” is a status seeking Malibu party-girl, spending Daddy’s money and sniffing cocaine.
It’s also a Top 40 sensation.
The singer/songwriter is Arizona Dervas, a 24-year old white hip-hop /rapper from Maryland who got instant buzz last year when his version of “Roxanne” hit #4” on Billboard’s Hot 100.
The uptempo delivery is catchy, and the lyrics are raunchy…
…Roxanne
All she wanna do is party all night
Goddamn, Roxanne
Never gonna love me
But it’s alright
She think I’m a asshole
She think I’m a player
She keep running back though
Only ‘cause I pay up
Popular music both reflects and influences pop culture and listening to these two “Roxannes,” side-by-side, is an eye-popping example of how much our culture, and musical tastes and styles have changed sinc 1978.
Vive la difference?