Duran Duran: Rio Meaning

Song Released: 1982

Rio Lyrics

Wow!
Moving on the floor now babe you're a bird of paradise.
Cherry ice cream smile I suppose it's very nice
With a step to your left and a flick to the right
You catch that mirror way out west
You know you're something special and you look...

1. anonymous

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   Mar 8th 2021 !⃝

   I agree that the song is automatically connected to America because it refers to the Rio Grande.
   
   But I think there's more to the song than just the connection to America. These are very suggestive lyrics, filled with double entendres; comparing a woman's body to the landscape. This metaphor is made even more directly the first time the words "Her name is Rio" appear.
   
   The implication is that the action of the Rio Grande through the "sand" creates canyon gaps that are suggestive of a vulva. "Cherry ice cream smile" refers ostensibly to a woman's lips, but a woman has two sets of lips, doesn't she?
   
   The hint of a woman's breasts and their sexual connection to the vulva is made in this line:
   "From mountains in the north down to the Rio Grande"
   
   In the following line, the woman dances provocatively so that a glimpse is caught in the mirror
   "With a step to your left and a flick to the right, you catch that mirror way out west"
   
   This line is very directly about a woman who is exposing herself
   "And when she shines, she really shows you all she can"
   
   And the voyeur is enjoying it
   "Like a birthday or a pretty view"
   
   Here the lyrics refer to the various places where the voyeur has gotten a "pretty view"
   "I've seen you on the beach and I've seen you on TV"
   
   And finally, the voyeur has an encounter with "Rio" but they get in trouble for being exposed in a public place
   "At the end of the drive, the lawmen arrive"
   
   But the voyeur doesn't want to stop
   "You make me feel alive, alive, alive,
   I'll take my chance, 'cause luck is on my side"
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. anonymous

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   Nov 5th 2020 !⃝

   Cherry Ice Cream smile is more of an appreciation of a young woman’s beautiful smile that is accented even more by the Cherry red lipstick she wears. The kind of smile that draws a smile from your own childhood memories. It’s a reflection of a young women’s smile that reminds him (the singer) of a childhood crush he recalls as a young boy over a young girl and his infatuation over her beautiful smile while eating cherry “vanilla” ice cream. The comment of “I suppose it’s very nice” is him suppressing this childhood infatuation and trying to disclaim interest that has already been displayed.
3. anonymous

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   Jun 10th 2011 !⃝

   Rio is a metaphor for america. Its about America and how the band wanted to succeed there. Which they did with the album RIO!!! =)

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