It was the summer of 1993: Neon scrunchies were in fashion, the movie theaters were packed with moviegoers eager to watch Jurassic Park and we were shaking our hips to the smash hit song "Macarena" at every party.
It was a simpler, more innocent time — well, maybe not that innocent, as Britney Spears would say.
Brought to us by Los Del Rio, "Macarena" was a generational smash. Even today it seems that every person, young and old, knows the song and its famous dance.
Watch Los Del Rio's "Macarena" Music Video:
However, it turns out the lyrics to "Macarena" are way racier than we remember.
The song is about a woman named Macarena whose boyfriend is on deployment with the army. To pass the time she ends up in the company of his two best friends.
Let's revisit the lyrics, starting with the chorus:
Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena / Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegría cosa Buena / Dale a tu cuerpo alegría, Macarena…
When translated into English, the lyrics mean:
Give your body some joy, Macarena / 'Cause your body is for giving joy and good things / Give your body some joy, Macarena…
"Joy" and "good things" don't exactly mean going to the beach or getting a massage. The line is actually a sexual innuendo we all seemed to have missed while we were busy dancing.
Other sexual innuendos went over our heads, too.
For example, the lyrics "They all want me / They can't have me / So they all come and dance beside me…" describe Macarena's intoxicating energy on the dance floor, while "Move with me / Chant with me / And if you're good, I'll take you home with me…" is a promiscuous promise for a one-night stand.
Other lyrics hint at Macarena's unfaithfulness to her boyfriend, as well as her flirtations with his friends:
But don't you worry about my boyfriend / He's a boy whose name is Victorino / I don't want him / Couldn't stand him / He was no good, so I / Now come on, what was I supposed to do? / He was out of town, and his two friends were so fine…
Thanks to the World Wide Web, which also debuted in 1993, we may never listen to the song the same way again.
Did the jam-packed sexual undertones of "Macarena" go straight over your innocent head the first time? Share your shock with PopCrush by connecting with us on Facebook or Twitter.