And guess who appears on this list no less than 4 times?
Most explicitly BDSM-themed songs you hear (or hear about) are modern, often some form of heavy metal or something else Goth-oriented. But there are a handful in the classic rock vein. I don't know them all--there might well be more in the Stones' catalog that I haven't heard--so this list is hardly complete. (I skipped over "Slave" because all it says is "I don't want to be your slave," which could very well have a vanilla meaning.) Feel free to add any that I've missed.
Notes: The link in the title is to the youtube video for the song (yes, I know there's a youtube button, but it takes up much less room and makes this post more readable to just provide links). And of course, there's a link to the lyrics where I could find them. Let me know if I fucked any of this up; I don't really have the time to check everything right now.
The Most Explicitly BDSM-themed Songs:The Rolling Stones—Tie You Up (The Pain of Love). An ode to a relationship with a professional dominatrix (pro-domme)? Sounds like it to me. The part at the end when Mick is panting “don’t hurt me” is hot as hell but my instincts tell me that he really means the opposite.
Lyrics.The Rolling Stones—I Go Wild. This song begins with the words “you whipped me… I’m hurting.” It goes on to express the subject’s (Mick unless I miss my guess) intense need for his dominant even though it sounds like she’s crossed the line to abuser (“you abused me for certain” is the second line). As a domme (well, a switch who leans more toward dominant) I’m quite familiar with how overwhelming a submissive’s need for their dominant can be.
Lyrics.The Velvet Underground—Venus in Furs. The classic rock BDSM song if ever there was one. The title is taken from the novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whose name the word “masochist” is derived. “Strike, dear Mistress, and cure his heart” aptly expresses the craving many submissives have for punishment. Or maybe he’s just a painslut.
Lyrics.Nazareth—Let Me Be Your Dog. A recent find of mine; the title caught my eye while I was shopping for mp3s. A quick sampling proved that my guess was right—this song is as submissive as “Venus in Furs” and “Tie You Up (The Pain of Love).” Most obvious lines: Besides “let me be the slave you can faithfully flog”? Only
everything. And it could undeniably be interpreted as having a pet play theme too. If you don't know what that means, I leave you to find out for yourself.
Lyrics.Jimmie Vaughan—Kinky Woman. I couldn’t find the lyrics for this song anywhere. Like the other song below, this is found on his Out There album. Sounds like poor Jimmie, being submissive, crossed paths with a real domme and found that he’d bitten off more than he could chew. After all, submission doesn’t automatically equal masochism and a love for leather… though it does for a hell of a lot of us, I must admit. And if you didn’t know, yes, this is Stevie Ray Vaughan’s brother.
Less Explicitly BDSM:The Rolling Stones—Don’t Stop. Well, there’s not much BDSM content in this one but it sounds like the subject (probably Mick again) substituted an abusive bitch for a domme. Still sounds very much like a submissive talking to me. It might just me projecting my dominant tendencies here though.
Lyrics.The Rolling Stones—How Can I Stop. This is definitely a love song but there is one line that set off my domme’s radar: “It's too easy to lay here at your feet.” For those who don’t know, it’s common for a submissive to lay at their dominant’s feet when not in use or to perform foot worship.
Lyrics.Keith Richards—Will But You Won’t.Funny how these guys keep cropping up. Oh that was a terrible pun. Forgive me. Anyway, this song doesn’t seem to be about BDSM except for: “Caress me baby, slap me in my face/Ooh, don't hurt me baby.” Make of that what you will. (Yes, there are submissives who like to be slapped.)
LyricsMick Jagger—Use Me.This is a cover if I’m not mistaken, but it sounds like pure Mick Jagger. Again, it’s not truly BDSM but it certainly expresses his submissive attitude, which I would sum up as “give it to me good and you can do just about anything you want with me (please!)”.
Lyrics.John “Cougar” Mellencamp—Hurts So Good. This song isn’t as overtly BDSM-themed as many assume. It’s mostly in the lines “Come on baby make it hurt so good/Sometimes love don't feel like it should/You make it hurt so good.” However, there sure is a lot of leather in this video.
Lyrics.ZZ Top—Got Me Under Pressure. “She likes whips and chains” he says in the second stanza. He then goes on to explain that she’s too much for him but he’s afraid that she might beat him harshly with a nightstick if he breaks up with her. Dangerous woman!
Lyrics.Jimmie Vaughan—Can’t Say No. Besides the line “I’m your slave” this is all about his submissive attitude towards his lover. Just goes to show that not all dominant lovers are necessarily dominants in BDSM terms.
Lyrics.Bonus!Have you noticed that all the songs I’ve listed here are sang from the male submisive’s perspective? Yeah, that’s because of my tastes (and I don’t know of any told from a female submissive to a femdom—ah, would that I did). So for the flip side…. maybe:
Jimi Hendrix—Crosstown Traffic. There is some debate over whether this song references BDSM. “You say you don’t mind a little pain” he says at one point and then later, “Tire tracks all across your back/I can see you had your fun.” I bet those weren’t actually tire tracks he was talking about. I read one guy’s convoluted theory about this song being about Jimi’s dissatisfaction with a clingy yet passive woman. Yeah, well, maybe. Wasn’t passive and clingy fairly normal for chicks then? Seems like he would’ve been pretty used to that.
Lyrics.