Pompatous of love
In Steve Miller's "The Joker," what is "the pompatus of love"?
"Pompatus" mystified millions when Steve Miller used it in his 1973 hit "The Joker": "Some people call me the space cowboy. / Yeah! Some call me the gangster of love. / Some people call me Maurice, / Cause I speak of the Pompatus of love."
"Space cowboy" and "gangster of love" referred to earlier Miller songs. Maurice was from Miller's 1972 tune "Enter Maurice," which appeared on the album Recall the Beginning ... A Journey From Eden. "Enter Maurice" had this lyric: "My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology in your ear and speak to you of the pompitous of love."
Even in later years Miller sings in the song Conversation from Wide River (1993) “I wanna speak to you / Of the pompitous of love / Epismetology / Is what I'm thinking of “
Great, now there were two mystery words. What's more, it appeared even Miller himself was uncertain how pompatus was spelled. It appeared as "pompatus" in at least two books of sheet music but as "pompitous" in the lyrics included with "Recall the Beginning." Miller has said little about the P-word over the years. In at least one interview, fans say, he claimed "it doesn't mean anything--it's just jive talk."
Some sharp-eared music fan noticed the "Enter Maurice" lyric above bore a marked resemblance to some lines in a rhythm and blues tune called "The Letter" by the Medallions with singer Vernon Green. The song had been a hit in R & B circles in 1954. It had the lines, "Oh my darling, let me whisper sweet words of [something like epismetology] and discuss the [something like pompatus] of love." Steve Miller must have loved R & B. Another line from "The Joker" goes "I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree. / Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time." A similar line may be found in the Clovers' 1953 hit "Lovey Dovey": "I really love your peaches wanna shake your tree / Lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time."
Here is the answer to the question from the writer of the song. Vernon Green's story:
"You have to remember, I was a very lonely guy at the time. I was only 14 years old, I had just run away from home, and I walked with crutches," He scraped by singing songs on the streets of Watts.
One song was "The Letter," Green's attempt to conjure up his dream woman. The mystery words, were "puppetutes" and "pizmotality." (Green wasn't much for writing things down, so the spellings are approximate.)
"Pizmotality described words of such secrecy that they could only be spoken to the one you loved," . And puppetutes? "A term I coined to mean a secret paper-doll fantasy figure [thus puppet], who would be my everything and bear my children."
Lyrics -THE LETTER
(Vernon Green)THE MEDALLIONS (DOOTONE 347, 1954)
Darling, darling, oh how I love you, really do
But you just, just won't be true
Darling, I'm writing this letter
Knowing that you ain't never read it
But each time I write you darling
I pen what lips can't say
Because I love you, although you're so far away
My words caremily* that love alone can't tell
I always hope and wish you well
Oh my darling, please hear my plea, please
Darling, what is there worse on this earth
Then to be unable to stop lovin' you
Knowing well that I should
To me a black day, to me a black night
To kiss and love, and then have to fight
All the time...
Let me whisper sweet words of pismotality*
And discuss the pompatus* of love
And put 'em together, and what've you have
Matrimony, oh my darling, please hear my plea
Oh darling, darling, oh how I love you, really do
But you just, just won't be true
(* words made up by Vernon Green)
Links
Post by Mark LibermanVernon Green op wikipedia
The Letter can be found on CD: Ace CDCHD 536 The Medallions, Featuring Vernon Green