Sunday, January 04, 2009

Everybody cut footloose

I don't know what that really means. But it's a few days into 2009, and I think it's time for everybody to cut footloose (again, whatever that means)!

10 comments:

  1. Joel, you are such a youngster! I bet you think this is "old"? If you want to "cut footloose" you should have been in Woodstock! Everything was "loose" including our "feets"!

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  2. Joel,

    Just as in biblical interpretation, context is everything. So, the meaning of "cutting footloose" can be determined by the lyrics that come next.

    "Kick off your Sunday shoes"

    That should clear it up for you. :) What with this being Sunday, look at your feet! Whatever shoes you are wearing today, kick them off. I did that and I feel so....so...the same. Huh, I could have bet I would have felt different somehow. Maybe there is more to this "footloose" stuff than meets the eye.

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  3. Anon,

    See, I know what "footloose" means. But what's with "cut" footloose???!!!

    Gary,

    I think the problem may be that you were simply "being" footloose and not "cutting" footloose. You followed the initial instructions ("kick off your Sunday shoes"), but did you follow through on the rest??

    Did you pull someone offa their knees?
    If your name is Jack, did you get back? (before we crack)
    Did you lose your blues?
    If your name is Marie, did you shake it, shake it for me?

    No Jack and no Marie here, that I know of, but I think the ultimatum comes at the end anyway:

    "You got to turn it around
    And put your feet on the ground
    Now take a hold of your soul
    I'm turning it loose..."

    That's a lot of stuff to follow! Maybe cutting footloose isn't such a good thing after all!!!

    ;)

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    Replies
    1. Gary,

      Cut loose means to free yourself from the chains, figuratively speaking.

      Kenny Loggins uses both phrases in his song Footloose.
      'Now I gotta cut loose, footloose'.

      In some of his lines he needs the words to fit the song but there isn't enough room to fit both phrases, so he either drops one loose or extends a loose making it into footloose to fit the music and make the song sound more snazzy.

      In an episode of Friends, the nerdy jewish one says 'cut footloose' in such oddball fashion, not totally understanding it's two terms combined. Fans of the show obviously ran with it and now people are imitating him saying 'cut footloose' rather than either of the two phrases.

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  4. Joel,

    It seems aweful legalistic to me. The whole "do this" and you "will be" stuff leaves me kind of cold. "Cutting footloose" does have the apperance of life, but I suspect it would kill me if I was to try to do it.

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  5. Joel,

    Will you pay my hospital bill?

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  6. Gary and Aussie John,

    I think I've made a terrible mistake posting this! I never realized how legalistic this song was, and it never even crossed my mind how dangerous this all was, and how I might be opening myself up to lawsuits!

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  7. This was so cool when I listened to it after coming to grace!! I love it still!! All the years of being in bondage stores up a lot of things that need to be released. Such as LIFE. This movie is an excellent picture of that.

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  8. Matthew,

    Yeah, I remember that you and someone I didn't know responded to this video when I posted it in '07. I think I posted kind of a synopsis of the movie along with the video. It's true what you said, the movie is an excellent picture of all the years of bondage needing a release.

    In this case, I thought it was pretty ironic, though, that the students had been in such bondage, not being allowed to dance, but yet they all knew how to dance at the end. ;)

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  9. There's the very popular saying, 'Footloose and fancy free', also the name of a popular Rod Stewart album.

    Footloose: having no ties, free to move about
    Fancy free: not emotionally involved with or committed to anyone you 'fancy'.

    Cut loose: begin to act without restraint.

    Kenny Loggins uses both phrases in his song Footloose.
    'Now I gotta cut loose, footloose'.

    In some of his lines he needs the words to fit the song but there's not enough beats so he drops the word 'loose':

    Everybody cut...
    Everybody cut...

    To end the song there's 3 beats in the music but cut loose, footloose is 4 syllables so he sings 'Everybody cut footloose' to fit the music and sound more snazzy.

    In an episode of Friends, the nerdy jewish one says not understanding how it works and referencing the movie Footloose, uses the phrase 'cut footloose' meaning to dance. It sounds so oddball the writers made him use it as a catch-cry quite a few times in that episode.

    Fans of the show ran with it making the term popular and now some people say 'cut footloose' rather than either 'cut loose' or 'footloose'.

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