Last Sauna in St. Paul

approx-i-tune:

Last Chance Texico
Rickie Lee Jones

Red lights on the car top
   they aren't turned on.
The cops aren't in it;
   you know where they've gone,
And they'll be there...
   ...until dawn
Get it on...
   ...at the last sauna
   in St. Paul

Don't use the word 'brothel,'
   Don't use the word 'whores.'
We choose to say 'sauna,'
   here at Lee LeNores'.

It's the last sauna;
   there ain't any more.
Last sauna -
   Who's that at the back door,
Of the last sauna?
It's a bust; it's the Man with the Star
Shuttin' down
   the last sauna
   in St. Paul

Oh, they shut down Rebecca,
& they shut down Nina,
They're shuttin' down Lee, too,
   it's true.

There was this ... vice-cop-come-john.
He lusted - demanded a sample.
& the girls there complied --
The sex they provided was ample.

But somehow he got jaded.
Soon after, they raided.
Cause you know that its true,
If you can't please The Man, you're through.

It's the last sauna,
   in my neighborhood.
Last sauna,
   and they're sayin' that's good.
The last sauna.
& the girls are back on the streets - where they belong
Say 'so long'
   to the last sauna
   in St. Paul
Say 'so long'
   to the last sauna
   in St. Paul

Glossary

Sauna

In Minnesota, 'sauna' became a euphemism for 'house of prostitution'. Before that there were 'rap parlors' and 'massage parlors'.

Nina

Nina Clifford, St. Paul's most notorious madam. She operated a brothel 100 years ago. See http://www.hamline.edu/~sklafler/pals.html, http://festivalofthelakes.channel4000.com/news/stories/news-970428-182203.html, http://www.seattletimes.com/news/health-science/html98/altpros_090198.html

Rebecca

Rebecca Rand, another St. Paul madam from the 1970s. Politically active and unrepentant. See http://bayswan.org/Rebecca1.html

Update -- (August 1999) After standing empty for a couple years the building is being converted into a cookie shop. Honest.

My filks are licensed under the Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, share-alike License. If you use my stuff I would appreciate hearing about it.

Don't blame me; I voted for Cthulhu.

Hit number:
Last rev: May 08, 2005 at 11:59 PM (a Sunday)