Is Dexys Midnight Runners’ ‘Come on Eileen’ about a paedophile?
Pop music is a world of interesting dichotomy. The sombre sentiment of The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ masks the fact that it is actually about Sting stalking his ex-wife, John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ was openly accepted in America because he “sugar-coated” the pro-communism, and the Trojan in any given Prince song is not a reference to Ancient Greece. But perhaps the weirdest of all is that the chanted chorus of Dexys Midnight Runners’ ‘Come on Eileen’ has lured a million pubs into bellowing out the entreaty of a wanton paedophile.
So, here’s the narrative of the relatively disjointed lyrics. An unnamed fellow hasn’t seen young Eileen for some time. When he does, she has “grown up” somewhat. At this revelation, he confesses that his thoughts “verge on dirty”. He bemoans the fate of the working-class town but tells Eileen that they will escape it because they are “far too young and clever” in an attempt to club himself in with the girl.
His desperate perversions then escalate. “Take off everything,” he pleads, “that pretty red dress,” continuing, “ah come one, Eileen, please.” This might seem like the troublesome beseech of an obsessive fellow who doesn’t know that no means no, or perhaps a point at the sexual oppression of a catholic town, but there are several hints that this nettlesome begging comes from someone older than his young acquaintance.
Firstly, we have the phrase “now you’re full grown” which certainly doesn’t seem like the sort of thing two kids who have been brought up together would say. And talk that “things ‘round here have changed” sounds like the world-weary sigh of an adult. And then comes the twisted reference to the Irish folk song, ‘Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms’ – from which the song gets parts of its melody – “If all those endearing young chums, that I gaze on so fondly.” Nobody should be sat, gazing at young folks from afar with dirty thoughts.
Mostly, however, it is the disjointed mixture of juvenile lust and a sort of ageing societal disdain that really rams the point home. In essence, there is an internal dichotomy that sounds like a pleading, eruptive chorus, sandwiched between coercing verses that search for empathy. It is far from the uniform tale of young lust in tracks like ‘Teenage Kicks’. There is much more of a duality at play here—a duality that comes from a very dark disposition.
This embodies the potential of transcendent pop melodies. ‘Come on Eileen’ is an anthem that has rattled more rafters than most, and in truth, people barely even know the lyrics to the chorus aside from calling vague syllables along to the rhythm. The riotous sound of the song makes it seem like simple fun, but underneath it all is the hint of a dark reality, masked by a miasma of exultancy.
