Disgusting Lyric of the Day 61: Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye

“Baby I got sick this morning, a sea was storming inside of me. Baby I think I'm capsizing, the waves are rising and rising. And when I get that feeling I want Sexual Healing.” -Marvin Gay, Sexual Healing.

Alright, there are really quite a few things wrong with this one, so let’s dig right in. Famous people tend to get whatever they want. Artists tend to romanticize everything. Eventually, famous artists will romanticize something that makes no sense whatsoever, like blue balls.

The first indicator that the narrator is speaking from the viewpoint of someone who’s lost all touch with reality is simply the fact that he’s waking a woman up for sex. As anyone who doesn’t sell millions of records for a living can tell you, this is a laughably misguided tactic, even if you’re both drunk. The second indicator is announcing your sickness as a mood-enhancer. Can you imagine the reaction you’d get from your non-celebrity-struck partner after waking her up to say “I’m feeling completely sick. I want sexual healing?” You would likely soon be in need of scrotal healing from the swift kick you were delivered by the aforementioned partner before she fell back asleep or turned on the bedside light for a very long, very unfriendly stare.

Now, Marvin does seem to have some awareness that his medical need to dump his capsizing prostate into the nearest available human toilet may not be met with enthusiasm. He makes a hilariously half-assed argument that “it’s good for us” before changing the lyric to “it’s good for me” in the very next line. His baldly self-serving angle is akin to saying “Face-punching healing is good for us. Well, it’s good for me.”

I chose the video below because it allows you to hear clearly the closing to the song, as Marvin croons “please don’t procrastinate. It’s not good to masturbate.” Not good for who, Marvin? Not good for who?