Beatles fans help settle a dispute

[Redneck Socialist]

Here are the lyrics to the song Norwegian Wood.

I once had a girl
Or should I say she once had me
She showed me her room
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

She asked me to stay
And she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around
And I noticed there wasn't a chair

I sat on a rug biding my time
drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said
"it's time for bed"

She told me she worked
in the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't
and crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke I was alone
This bird had flown
So I lit a fire
Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

What is going on in this tune?

My friend has a simple boy meets girl interpretation of the this song. My spin is somewhat darker.

This is my take: Boy meets girl. Boy goes home with girl hoping to get lucky. Boy gets shot down and goes to "sleep in the bath." Boy burns house down. "So I lit a fire..."

My friend says I'm nuts. Now that may be true but it is not relevant to this discussion.

So oh great sages of DU, who is right? Boy meets girl or pyro boy meets girl?

[ArkDem]

1. You are nuts.

Lighting the fire is seen by many as a pot reference.

[stopthegop]

2. your friend appears to be correct on this one..n/t

[mmm]

3. He was too shy to hit on the girl

Maybe he burned the house down; may be he did not.
There were no witnesses.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

4. John wrote about a one-night stand he had, realized Cynthia would hear

so he scrambled it. And dats da toof.

[TlalocW]

5. It was all about how...

Paul McCartney hated Jim Morrison (C'mon baby, light my fire/I lit a fire) as well as the Byrds whose song "Turn Turn Turn" was originally entitled "Burn Burn Burn."

To everything, burn burn burn
Don't need a reason, burn burn burn

TlalocW

[TriadLeftist]

10. Hate to disagree

But NW was recorded in 1965 and the Doors "The Doors" wasn't released until 1967 - how could McCarthy hate him yet?

[Whitacre D_WI]

11. I think it was a joke.

:shrug:

[TlalocW]

13. Wasn't Joseph McCarthy

Dead by then as well?

TlalocW

[Screaming Lord Byron]

14. I was a big fan of Lenin and McCarthy, myself.

[Loonman]

6. He had to say he slept in the bath, then

Early 60s, man.

[Whitacre D_WI]

7. You are correct.

You are still nuts, but your interpretation is the generally accepted one.

[elfwitch]

8. that is correct

I've read a couple of books that confirm your interpretation about arson.

[RandomKoolzip]

9. John was cheating on Cynthia and had to write in code about it lest his

wife find out. that song is code for "I had an affair with another woman."

[reprehensor]

12. Correctamundo Mr R n/t

[robertpaulsen]

15. Getting stoned in a strange girl's pad is what I heard

Never heard the pyro boy meets girl interpretation but I like it.

[chookie]

16. A far more prosaic explanation

Obviously not many here have ever lived in Britain...

It's damned cold over there. Central heating is virtually non-existant.

There are only modest sources of heating -- like small fireplaces in selected rooms. When he speaks of "lighting a fire" -- he means trying to make a bit of heat in a fireplace -- not burning down the poor girl's house.

[Redneck Socialist]

17. Thank you all. I may be nuts, but

I'm no dingbat. I'm sticking with my interpretation 'cause I like it.

[elperromagico]

18. Yes, apparently that's true. One of Lennon's nasty jokes.

Apparently her house was furnished in Norwegian wood. So, when she wouldn't put out, he lit a fire.

Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?

[PVnRT]

19. They got high and wrote a song

That explains a lot of Beatles songs.