The single vulgar moment of "Sunflower"

My older son’s favorite movie is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but it took him a while to discover one great thing about it, which I cottoned on to the first time we saw it. As we were watching the movie back in December, I made an immediate mental note to look up the song that Miles grooves to in his room when we first meet him, which instantly struck me as a keeper.

The song ended up being “Sunflower” by Post Malone featuring Swae Lee. I acquired it, and I included it in the annual mix I make every February in time for the March 1^st birthday of the one guy I know who still makes mixes. (He also sends me one for my birthday.) I’d say the mix is for him, but to be honest, I only somewhat try to include songs that I think will be wins for him. It’s really more for me, as I am the one who is sure to listen to it multiple times (he’ll give it a polite initial listen, but after that who knows). So this annual mix has come to represent a snapshot of which songs I’m liking at that juncture, and “Sunflower” was given a place of prominence on this last one.

We watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse a second time earlier this month, with my son’s brother and mother joining us this time, and I’m guessing the second viewing gave “Sunflower” a chance to sink in with my son, as he’s also grown considerably in his musical appreciations in the eight months since our first viewing. Now the song is in regular rotation among those he looks up on YouTube, and so I’ve become familiar with its video.

The video is a really wonderful incorporation of footage from the movie with lyrics from the song, which are typed out on the screen creatively, in available negative spaces and elsewhere.

But not ALL of the lyrics.

The only hesitation I have ever had about fully embracing “Sunflower” is its one truly anomalous lyric. This is mostly what sounds like a sweet love song, but there’s one point where Malone (or is it Lee?) sings the following:

“She wanna ride me like a cooz.”

Huh?

Why is this song talking about a “cooz”?

And what is a “cooz,” you may ask?

Well, allow me to quote Reservoir Dogs, regarding Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”:

“It’s about this cooz who’s a regular fuck machine. Dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick.”

Why is this vulgar lyric plopping itself in the middle of a sweet song that sweet Miles really likes?

Seeking confirmation that, indeed, the song is talking about a regular fuck machine, I looked up the “Sunflower” lyrics online.

In fact, it is not “cooz.” It is “cruise.” “She wanna ride me like a cruise.”

That’s a bit better, but really, not that much.

It’s still a lyric about a woman riding a man, which can only be interpreted sexually. Whether she’s a “cooz” or not, she still wants to ride the singer like a cowboy atop a bucking stallion. She’s in it for the sexual gratification.

Which is, you know, not really what “Sunflower” is about.

I don’t know if Post Malone was commissioned to make this song for Spider-Man or not, but if so, it certainly seems like an odd choice. And the makers of the video have recognized that tonal failure by leaving those particular lyrics off screen.

Good song though. Even better movie.