Talk:Love Potion No. 9 (song)

someone should find out if the lyric was inspired by Bergdorff Goodman’s perfume named Love Portion Number Nine

Untitled
An infobox was requested for The Searchers version at WikiProject_Missing_encyclopedic_articles/List_of_notable_songs/8.

Fraggle Rock episode "We Love You, Wembley" features song called "Lover Lover Number Nine"
If the Shrek 2 reference is relevant, then I think this song is too.

Madame Ruth? ...or Madam Rue, the gypsy with a gold tattoo?
When I look up the lyrics of "Love Potion Number Nine", It says:

"I took my troubles down to Madame Ruth, you know the gypsy with a gold-capped tooth."

That's surprising, because it always sounded to me like:

"I took my troubles down to Madame Rue, you know the gypsy with a gold tattoo."

For one thing, the "th" sounds, in the Internet lyrics, would be awkward in a song, as would the phrase "gold-capped", with its consonant-combinations. "Gold-capped tooth" would take longer to say.

How sure are you that it's "Ruth"? Where did that interpretation come from?

Sure, there's probably no such thing as a gold tattoo, but it never seemed problematic for a magical gypsy to have something impossible. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.169.246.137 (talk) 15:38, 1 April 2017 (UTC)

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I've listened to the song again, the original version. Unquestionably, he's saying "Rue", rather than "Ruth". There's no "-th" sound.

But, the word after "gold" seems to start with the abrupt, sharp "k" sound, rather than with the softer-starting "t" sound. And the phrase that could be "tattoo" or "cap tooth" also lacks a "th" sound at the end. It ends with "-too" (as in "tattoo").

The apparent facts in the paragraph before this one seem to suggest that it was intended as "Ruth" and "cap tooth", but that the "th" sound just didn't come through in the sound-reproduction.

I'd suggest, therefore, that the words could be taken either way. It is "Rue", and the tattoo/cap-tooth phrase ends in "-too". That favors the Madame Rue, gold-tattoo interpretation. But the apparent "k" sound after "gold", with the absence of "th" sounds, suggests that it was intended as Madame Ruth, and gold-cap tooth, but that the "th" sound was there, but didn't get through the sound-reproduction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.169.246.137 (talk) 12:23, 4 April 2017 (UTC)


 * So what's the problem, exactly? All the article tells us is that a Gypsy was consulted. Are you just saying that the External link to the The Searchers' lyrics is wrong? It shouldn't be too difficult to find some original sheet music with lyrics? Martinevans123 (talk) 12:33, 4 April 2017 (UTC)