Pompatus

The word pompatus, also spelled pompitous, /ˈpɒmpᵻtəs/, /ˈpɒmpətəs/, is a nonce word used in the lyrics of Steve Miller's 1973 rock song "The Joker".[1]

Lyrics

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.

Each line references a track on a previous Miller album: "Space Cowboy" on Brave New World (1969); "Gangster of Love" on Sailor (1968); and "Enter Maurice" on Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden (1972), which includes the lines:[1]

My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice
so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology
in your ear and speak to you of the pompatus of love.

Although Miller claims he invented the words "epismetology" (metathesis of epistemology) and "pompatus", all of his song-writing demonstrates strong doowop influences, and a 1954 song by Vernon Green called "The Letter" performed by the Medallions had the lines:[1]

Oh my darling, let me whisper
sweet words of pizmotality
and discuss the puppetutes of love.

Green maintains the lyrics are a description of his dream woman.[1] "Pizmotality described words of such secrecy that they could only be spoken to the one you loved", Green explained. He coined the term puppetutes "to mean a secret paper-doll fantasy figure who would be my everything and bear my children".[1]

Latin

In the Latin language, pompatus is an actual word meaning "done with pomp or splendor". It is the masculine perfect participle of the Latin root word pompo. However, it is stressed on the second syllable, whereas the nonce word is stressed on the first.

Pompatus in pop culture

Because of its peculiarity and seemingly nonsensical usage, the word pompatus has secured a niche in 20th century pop culture. Wolfman Jack frequently referenced the phrase and there is a sound clip of him using the line within the song "Clap for the Wolfman" by The Guess Who. The Pompatus of Love, a 1996 film starring Jon Cryer, featured four men discussing a number of assorted topics, including attempts to determine the meaning of the phrase.[2] Jon Cryer was also a writer of the film, and describes finding out the meaning of the phrase during a phone call with Vernon Green in his autobiography "so that happened" in chapter 22, page 217. The line has been mentioned in various television show gags, including The Simpsons and South Park.

Humor columnist Dave Barry frequently refers to the song line as a source of comedic value, particularly in his 1997 book Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs. 'Pompatus' is used by Michael Ondaatje in his 2001 book Anil's Ghost. Stephen King uses the word in his 2006 novel Lisey's Story. Tim Dorsey uses the word in his 2010 novel, Gator a-Go-Go. It was the subject of the October 9, 2011 Over the Hedge comic strip.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Adams, Cecil. 'In Steve Miller's "The Joker," what is "the pompatus of love"?', The Straight Dope, 1996.
  2. ↑ The Pompatus of Love at the Internet Movie Database

External links

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