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WEBMISTRESS speculates:
Another sex song from Lindsey. It's very suggestive, isn't it?! "I come up fast but I go down slow"?! I don't have to speculate about what that means! It starts out harmless enough - listening to the rain, wondering "where [he] belongs." Then, he sees an attractive woman and all his thoughts are focused on the woman who has caught his eye. He knows he's rather, um, accomplished in a certain activity (see above), and he's inviting her to... participate with him. It's more of the same until the third verse, where he talks about that feeling of not belonging again and how everything is concentrated on the night's activities. It makes me think that all this sex is to fill a gap in his life, a sentiment that is echoed in Loving Cup. It ends with a short, beautiful instrumental that is quite a departure from the mood of the rest of the song. The afterglow?
SHARON speculates:
If there was ever a song and accompanying video tailor-made for speculation about Stevie and Lindsey's residual feelings for each other and how they acted upon them, this is it! This is another song about using sex as a temporary fix, masking over any real issues that may need to be dealt with. The lines "slow dancing in the moonlight" are very similar to his later song "Tango in the Night", where he says, "Then I remember when the moon was full and bright, I would take you in the darkness and do the tango in the night". His euphemism is slightly different, but he's definitely talking about the same thing. The only real difference is that in the Go Insane era, Stevie and Lindsey were most likely still acting out some of their carnal feelings for each other, so he's asking her to come and "slow dance" with him right now, whereas in "Tango" he's remembering when they used to "dance" in the moonlight.
The evening starts out normal enough, but then he sees her....the swish of a cape, the flounce of a hem, a flurry of fringe...."just the kind of thing to catch my eye". Lindsey has always known what he likes, and only Stevie is the real deal. He is wondering where he belongs, because their relationship was anything but normal, so I think he is using this song within the whole "Go Insane" theme to further show us the things that are driving him crazy. However, he seems to quickly cast that doubt aside once the chance for physical contact occurs. Instead of worrying about the doubts, he actively pursues her, telling her how good it will be, how he "comes up fast and goes down slow", so "come on, baby, don't you want to go.......slow dancing". The tempo of the song is throbbing and pulsating, and is a perfect expression of his animalistic desire. The soft, melodic acoustic guitar at the end always puts me in mind of those wonderful Buckingham Nicks songs, so I wonder if it represents a kind of harkening back to that simpler time. It is very different from the rest of the song, which is full of wild energy and many layers of sound. I think it is symbolic of that pre-FM time to him, the time he has always considered to be perfect.....once he convinces her to "slow dance" with him, now they are as they used to be. The clock has turned back, even if only for a while. If anyone was ever "stuck in a moment" as U2 says, it was Lindsey in the 80's.
I always thought this was about Stevie until I recently saw the video, and that cinched it! It is a concept video with nary a guitar in sight, and Lindsey dressed in period Lord-of-the-manor costume. He is in a castle (hmmm... who else sings about caslte walls and chamber doors and such?) and there are demons tormenting him (Twisted, My Little Demon, anyone?). BUT there is this beautiful, elusive, ghost girl in dripping chiffon and ballet slippers dancing all around.........WHOA!! Recall those photos of Stevie from the Belladonna time period. She was all decked-out in her chiffon and ballet slippers. She was dubbed the "Rock and Roll ballerina". It would seem Lindsey really dug that look. The model looks very similar to Stevie, dark blonde hair and big eyes, and Lindsey finally catches her at the end and lays a sizzleing smooch on her. I find his use of a ghost very intriguing. How much have the two of them talked about ghosts and haunting? Angel, Silver Springs, Ghosts, and Sweet Girl, all do, but they are Stevie songs, it's true, but why did he use a ghost in his solo video? It's almost as if he is acknowledging, with the use of this concept in the video, (even if subconsciously) that "Yes, I am haunted by you, Stevie" even as early as the GI era. Of course he did acknowledge it officially, in 2001, on his BTM when he said, "The spectre of Stevie disabled my long-term relationships." He called her a ghost, so I have to think that the ghost girl in the video is symbolic of Stevie.
SHAWN MICHELLE speculates:
Actually, I'm speculating on the video, since it speaks much louder than the song!
I only saw this video once, when it first came out, but I have never forgotten it. Of course the ghost girl is supposed to be Stevie! For a second I thought it was. In her speculation, Sharon wonders why Lindsey chose a "ghost" theme. I agree with her "spectre of Stevie" rationale, but then I remembered the video: the ghost girl is haunting him (in a pleasant way) and engages him in a game of "hide and seek". Of course, she has the advantage-- whenever he gets "too warm", she simply disappears. The game takes them outside the castle briefly, onto the misty grounds of the estate. Then it hit me--one of Stevie's favorite lyrics from "Angel": "Track a ghost through the fog,/Oh, you try hard, but you'll never catch me!" Tracking a ghost through the fog--something fruitless and nearly impossible. But in the video, Lindsey tracks this ghost through the fog--and catches her! So "Slow Dancing"--at least the video--was a major shout-out to Stevie!