So, when the song says, "play that funky music til you die..."

[nameraka]

Is this meant to indicate that the funky music is toxic and should be avoided, or is it intended to imply that proper deference to said funky music requires a lifelong commitment?

Asking for a friend. Thanks.

[cyberbully]

I have a joke but it's not worth thumb typing because it's kinda long

[GuyBeardmane]

I'm leaning to the latter.  Alternatively, it was a command for the titular white boy to keep playing the funky music for the rest of his life.

[Sofa King Kule]

1 hour ago, nameraka said:

Is this meant to indicate that the funky music is toxic and should be avoided, or is it intended to imply that proper deference to said funky music requires a lifelong commitment?

Asking for a friend. Thanks.

Play that skunky music, wide boy!

[SwimModSponges]

I like singing that song in public because you can totally say "play that fuckin' music" and have total plausible deniability.

"No, i said 'funky'. You must be hearing things."

[//>wagz./]

//> play the funky music wide boi ./

[Vamped]

It's dark whiteboy magic

[nameraka]

2 hours ago, GuyBeardmane said:

  Alternatively, it was a command for the titular white boy to keep playing the funky music for the rest of his life.

So, the funky music is intended to provide some kind of gesture of racial reconciliation with the white boy serving as proxy for his entire ethnic group?

[GuyBeardmane]

17 minutes ago, nameraka said:

So, the funky music is intended to provide some kind of gesture of racial reconciliation with the white boy serving as proxy for his entire ethnic group?

I prefer to think of it as a sacrifice to an ancient god.

[Vamped]

27 minutes ago, nameraka said:

So, the funky music is intended to provide some kind of gesture of racial reconciliation with the white boy serving as proxy for his entire ethnic group?

Definitely not. They were probably just surprised that white boys could make acceptable music at the time

[NaBabby]

When I was in middle school both me and this black kid thought a black guy sung that, and were arguing whether or not it said "play that funky music white boy," he thought it was "play that funky music, wah bwah" like just making sound effects, because he didn't believe a black person could get away with singing that in racist America back then "or he would be murdered."

Edited July 22, 2021 by NaBoats

[GuyBeardmane]

48 minutes ago, Vamped said:

Definitely not. They were probably just surprised that white boys could make acceptable music at the time

So I found some reaction videos of people discovering that Andy Gibb was a white guy and I think this is an incredibly accurate answer.

[Vamped]

This thread just tells me how little interactions y'all have with older black people at parties/live music venues. 

[Seight]

White boy's ability to Play That Funky Music is both a blessing and a curse.

[Chapinator_X]

To play for as long as humanly possible before starvation or exhaustion kicks in. 

[tsar4]

2 hours ago, //>wagz./ said:

//> play the funky music wide boi ./

"Wide Boy" was boogie rock about a Bouncer.  "Six feet from shoulder-to-shoulder and five feet from the ground".

[NaBabby]

50 minutes ago, GuyBeardmane said:

So I found some reaction videos of people discovering that Andy Gibb was a white guy and I think this is an incredibly accurate answer.

Lmao ok, I feel better now because I don't know what age I was when I learned that was a white guy singing, but it was...not very young.

[GuyBeardmane]

47 minutes ago, Vamped said:

This thread just tells me how little interactions y'all have with older black people at parties/live music venues. 

You're not wrong.  I don't think there's any black people in Kentucky, tbh.

[tsar4]

5 hours ago, nameraka said:

Is this meant to indicate that the funky music is toxic and should be avoided, or is it intended to imply that proper deference to said funky music requires a lifelong commitment?

Asking for a friend. Thanks.

I always took the lyrical content as being encouragement to the player.