You shouldn’t feel any guilt or have any doubts. This song is about a person who is in the closet with lyrics like “You stay at home all on your own with nothing but walls to talk to.” The narrator encourages them to get out of the closet saying “There’s something hidden in you and you keep it out of view. This song was not on the original release of Sleepwalker, but was included as a bonus track on CD reissues. On The Outside – The Kinks – During the late 70s, the Kinks changed their sound to a more commercialised sound well-suited for playing in front of large audiences. The slurs weren’t used to put anyone down, it was talking about being gay at that time and the musicians are gay. How did it age? 7/10 – It has some out of date language and slurs, but keep in mind the context. “Lavender Country” to me is an escape from these expectations, a place where you can be yourself.
The last two tracks “Straight White Patterns” and “Lavender Country” talk about heteronormative and sexist expectations in society. Not all homophobia and transphobia is right wing. Patrick Haggerty’s first song “Back in the Closet Again” calls out the left for not including LGBT people in their movement, yet claiming to be progressive. Lesbian DJ Shan Ottley played the song at the Seattle radio station she worked at to raise awareness of the gay liberation movement, but she got fired for it. “Cryin’ These Cocksucking Tears” was played on the radio once. They call it mental hygiene, but I call it psychic rape! And he won’t get no restitution till we’re dealing with the fact that all the mental institutions are backed by a pack of straight white honky quacks” They lock him up at night so he don’t escape a nd if they hear any gay talk, a sizzle of electro-shock keeps his fantasies in fascist shape. It was a time when people considered liking the same gender a mental illness and being in a same sex relationship was illegal and you could be persecuted. “Waltzing Will Trilogy” is a sad song that talks about the realities of being gay in the mid-20th century. If you want a love song from a lesbian perspective, listen to “To a Woman”, written by Eve Morris. “Gypsy John”, “Georgie Pie”, and “I Can’t Shake The Stranger Out of You” are gay love songs.
You’ll know this is an unapologetically gay album with the opening lyric: “Wakin’ up to say hip hip hooray. After that, he was an artist and activist with the Gay Liberation Front. Before Lavender Country, Patrick was in the Peace Corps, but was discharged for being gay. The band were made up of Patrick Haggerty on guitar and lead vocals, Michael Carr on keyboards, Eve Morris on fiddle, and Robert Hammerstrom on guitar (Robert is the only straight member of the band). Lavender Country – The first gay country album.