Expert: Lee Bastian - 8/29/2004

Question
Hey I don't know if this falls within the range of your knowledge
but...  In the song "Wow" Kate declares the actor will "never
make the sweeney" because "he's too busy hitting the vaseline".  
I love this song but have always wondered what "Sweeney" and
"hitting the Vaseline" have referred to.  Shed any light?

Thanks very much...

Answer
Hello Al.You ask a very interesting question. This song is about an actor who , by the sounds of things , is not well liked by his peers. I think the wow and the "you're amazing" are sarcastic.I'm not sure about the Sweeney reference but I wonder if it has anything to do with Sweeney Todd who was a barber that slit his customers' throats.Kate sings "He'll never make the Sweeney, or be that movie queen, he's too busy hitting the vaseline ".I suspect the actor in question may be homosexual and I guess you know what the vaseline must be for!This song has rather cryptic lyrics and I'll admit that what I've just told you is partly conjecture.More to the point of the actor not being liked by his peers,Kate sings "You say we're fantastic, but still we don't head the bill."(i.e. the actor in question is atop the marquee)"We're all alone on the stage tonight , we've been told we're not afraid of you". I also entertain the possibility that the song is about a group of actors who are quite jealous of the actor in question. Overall this question is a bit outside my field of expertise but having heard this great song so many times(time and time again,line and line again)I thought I would give you my educated opinion on it .I hope my answer, if not fully informative, was at least entertaining for you. Thank you very much Al for your question and please don't hesitate to ask me more questions about any of Kate's Studio songs.I really do enjoy hearing from other fans of Kate the great.