Murder and Passion Were Always in Fashion?

Alright boys(maybe some girls), let’s talk about Copacabana. You know, the Barry Manilow song. You know it come on. The one that sounds like a full-on disco party, I mean it’s a timeless classic. Music and passion were always in fashion here. The one where you hear those opening notes, and suddenly you’re in a nightclub vibes kinda straight out of Scarface, drink in hand, ready to dance. But this time, I actually listened to the lyrics. Like, really listened. And uh… this song is honestly quite devastating and sad.

At first, it feels like a good time. Our “protagonist” Lola, the showgirl, yellow feathers in her hair, a dress cut down to there. You know the girl. Right, so she’s dancing, she’s in her prime, probably a smokeshow, and she’s got Tony, the bartender who’s clearly in love with her. It’s all very fun, very flashy, very good time, good vibes all around.

Then it all goes to hell when this smug SOB Rico walks in. Now Rico, right, so he’s got diamonds, he’s smooth, and he immediately starts trouble. He wants Lola. Drinks are thrown, punches are flying, and suddenly… with a single gunshot as Manilow puts it… someone’s dead. Dead. In the middle of this upbeat, feel-good anthem, someone dies over a bar fight. It’s Tony.

And somehow, it gets even worse. Fast forward 30 years, and Lola’s still there, but now she’s alone. She’s wearing her old dress, drinking herself into oblivion, with her faded feathers in her hair. The Copacabana, “the hottest spot north of Havana,” is just a memory.  It’s not the “hottest spot north of Havana” anymore. Not only did she lose her Tony. She lost her everything. Now she just sits there, stuck in the past, and the song leaves her there.

Meanwhile, the music is still going like this is the greatest party of all time. Barry, what are we doing here? This is one of the saddest songs ever written when you really deep it and listen to the lyrics, and it’s subtly disguised as a dance hit.

I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that it took me this long to realize it, that I only took a deeper look at the lyrics because I was stuck in traffic forever or the fact that I’ll still be groovin’ every time it comes on. Because let’s be real… it slaps.