"Androgynous" is a song by the Replacements featured on their 1984 album ''

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (song), the title song from the album Let It Be may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 film), ...

''. The song, which has been described as "decades ahead of its time" describes in positive terms a romantic relationship between two gender non-conforming individuals, and expresses hope that in the future such people and their personal relationships will be more accepted. Towards the end of the song,

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him r ...

can be heard singing the words "Jefferson's Cock". Occasionally, the Replacements would play gigs in Minneapolis under this name, with the band members wearing dresses. Music video Crash Test Dummies'

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Androgynous" features the band performing at a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

attended by many gender queer individuals. Joan Jett's music video features Jett singing the song as a story from a children's book in a library in front of a group of young children, with the details and the characters of Dick and Jane from the song portrayed in the video. The video features fellow musician

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

as Dick, the author of the book, and with Jett portraying Jane. U.S. Bombs singer

Duane Peters Duane Thomas Peters (born June 12, 1961) is a punk rock singer/songwriter and professional skateboarder. Active since 1975, he is probably best known as the singer in the California punk rock band U.S. Bombs, which formed in 1993. Biography P ...

also has a cameo as young Jane's father.

Personnel

Personnel taken from ''Let It Be'' liner notes *

– vocals, piano, sandblock percussion,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Covers

The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anchored by Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice, the other band members have fluctuated over the years. Its most prominent line-up consist ...

and released as the third and final single from their 1991 debut album '' The Ghosts That Haunt Me''.

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

also covered the song on both her albums ''

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

'' and '' Sinner''.

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

also covered the song. Their version appeared as the B-side on their first single, "Rebel Hiss". In 2015, the song was covered by

again, along with Laura Jane Grace of

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

, for Cyrus's Backyard Sessions video series to support the Happy Hippie Foundation, an organization founded by Cyrus to support homeless

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

youth. The song was also covered by Ezra Furman on her 2016 EP '' Songs by Others''. UK indie band

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

use the first part of the song as an intro to their song "I'm A Girl" on occasion.

Charts

Crash Test Dummies version

References

1984 songs 1991 singles The Replacements (band) songs Crash Test Dummies songs LGBTQ-related songs Songs written by Paul Westerberg Joan Jett songs Androgyny Transgender-related songs {{1980s-rock-song-stub