Blinded by the Light

(Manfred Mann, 1977)

Tonight in the car this song came on and Tyler was like "Did he just say 'wrapped up like a douche'?" I said I thought it was "wrapped up like a deuce," although I admitted I had no idea what that meant any more than I know what "wrapped up like a douche" could mean, unless it was something covered in plastic, which is how douches are packaged. I braced myself in case Tyler asked how I would know such a thing, but he wisely kept any thoughts about that to himself.

As the discussion went on, I said, "Have no fear, I'll look it up on the internet." Which I have now done. The correct phrase is "Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night." I'm guessing it's referring to a deuce coupe, a type of souped up hotrod, also the subject of a Beach Boys song, appropriately titled, "Little Deuce Coupe."

Ok, so as I'm writing this post, I flip back to the Wikipedia site where I got the Manfred Mann reference (also little known fact: Bruce Springsteen first wrote and recorded this song on his debut album, but it flopped) and read a little further and this is what it said:
The chorus of the song features the commonly misunderstood lyric, "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night." ("Deuce" refers to a '32 Ford Deuce Coupe.) Many listeners hear the word "douche" in place of "deuce." Manfred Mann's Earth Band changed this line slightly to "revved up like a deuce" (often misquoted as "wrapped up like a douche") and repeated it much more frequently in their version than Springsteen did in the original; they also omitted parts of the verses and rearranged the order of the remaining lyrics.
Springsteen, in his 2005 VH1 Storytellers appearance, lightheartedly made the assertion that the sole reason that Manfred Mann's version of the song went to number one is that the altered lyric is actually "revved up like a deuce". Bruce said, "The original lyric is 'cut loose like a deuce" referring to a two seat hot-rod, a little deuce coupe. Manfred Mann changed the lyric to 'revved up like a douche', which is a feminine hygienic procedure....so, they're different" It should be noted, however, that Manfred Mann's website lists the lyric as "deuce" rather than "douche". It was once rumored that Chris Thompson's New Zealand accent may be responsible for swapping deuce for douche; however, this cannot be correct as "deuce" said with a New Zealand accent is pronounced something similar to "juice".

I think it's a sign of real intelligence (or some idiot savant condition) that I was able to come up with that little explanation BEFORE I read the Wikipedia stuff. Anyway, the rest of the song is complete jibberish, if you ask me, but it has a nice beat, now I know all the words to the chorus and I could dance to it. I'd give it an 85 on American Bandstand's "Rate A Record."