What does Dude (Looks Like a Lady) mean?

Aerosmith: Dude (Looks Like a Lady) Meaning

Album cover for Dude (Looks Like a Lady) album cover

Song Released: 1987


Dude (Looks Like a Lady) Lyrics

Cruised into a bar on the shore
Her picture graced the grime on the door
She a long lost love at first bite
Baby maybe you're wrong but you know it's alright
That's right

Backstage we're having the time
of our lives until somebody...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Feb 28th 2006 !⃝

    Actually, this song is about Vince Neil of Motley Crue. Steven Tyler saw Vince at a bar and said "hey! that dude looks like a lady!" and the rest of the band started laughing and then Steven Tyler had the idea to write a song about it. A few years later steven told Vince that the song was about him on a tv show about Vince Neil getting surgery, and made over for the new motley crue tour. Vince said that the song is about him after meeting someone who was very good friends with Aerosmith and helped Tyler write the song.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Dec 12th 2019 !⃝

    I think Steven Tyler wanted to have sex with Vince Neil. Tyler abandoned his daughter Liv and let Todd Rundgren raise her until she made the decision to call him Dad and change her name to Tyler. I despise both Steven and Liv for doing this.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    Surfer_Coyote
    click a star to vote
    Oct 11th 2007 !⃝

    The song is inspired by the gender-bending glam days of Motley Crue. Steven Tyler talks about seeing Vince Neil at a bar and thought he was a woman. It is mentioned in one of the band's bios.

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 26th 2021 !⃝

    It is about Motley Crue singer Vince Neil. Steven Tyler thought "Dude looks like a lady". Many 80's bands of the time were wearing women's clothing and necklaces and styling their hair like females. When MTV came around image meant everything so bands started to play with image a lot. It mainly came from bands out of Los Angeles ("Hair bands"). Until Metallica and Guns N Roses came around and brought more power to their music and wore jeans and t-shirt's.

  5. anonymous
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    Aug 24th 2015 !⃝

    He said some chick was hot but it turned out to be a guy so he had to save his ego. So Made the song.

  6. anonymous
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    Apr 14th 2013 !⃝

    Bill Gallagher wrote it

  7. anonymous
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    Jul 8th 2012 !⃝

    i lv their music. went to a concert in cincinati aug 2010. he openly admits his gay expeirences. read his book

  8. anonymous
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    Aug 2nd 2011 !⃝

    I have heard it was meant to jest at Motley Crue's lead singer, Vince Neil. Back then he looked much more feminine than he does now.

  9. anonymous
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    May 4th 2011 !⃝

    Yeah, it is about Vince and all of the Crue. He wrote it cause they looked like girls (obviously) and they always used the word "dude." I guess no one told Aerosmith that they kinda looked like chicks at the time they wrote it.

  10. anonymous
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    Apr 17th 2011 !⃝

    I heard it was a song about Poison, check out the video, Decline Of The Western Civilization, The Metal Years.

  11. anonymous
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    Mar 26th 2010 !⃝

    I like to interpret this song in a fun way. I've heard it came about because of Motley Crue but to me the song is telling a story of how the singer is very attracted to what he thinks is a woman. When they've been messing around and he starts to undress her or however it goes down, she 'whipped out a gun and tried to blow me away' is referring to not only the fact that the 'woman' had male genitals, but the part 'tried to blow me away' is expressing the singers great surprise and shock at the sight. I think he actually changes sex events during the song, when he gets to the part where he says 'let me take a peek, dear' i think he's referring to the fact that from now on he wants to see it or be sure it's a woman before he makes any mistakes again.

    I love this song, it doesn't mean Tyler is gay, it's just a fun story about what would most likely be a very awkward situation and he sees humor in it. It's very original and creative and remains my favorite rock song ever.

  12. anonymous
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    Feb 20th 2010 !⃝

    the meaning of the phrase, "had the body of a venus" refers to the roman god of love and beauty. and VENUS does refer to a woman, so i think this song has a mixed meaning. Motley Crue, and actual woman, and steven is not gay, read the rest of his lyrics for songs he wrote. as far from gay as possible.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 18th 2009 !⃝

    Ummmm my guess is Steven Tyler wanting to have sex with a man therefore being gay.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. anonymous
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    Mar 16th 2009 !⃝

    around the time the song was made people were starting to cross-dress. Well thats what my mom said (shes 49 i think she knows what shes talkin bout

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  15. fastfordfocus
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    Dec 10th 2008 !⃝

    This is one of my favorite songs of all time. The music always gets me going. The lyrics are funny when taken at face value, but beneath that there is signifigance.
    This song is about societies need to place boundaries, and clearly define gender relations. This causes pain and confusion for people of both sexes. Obviously, there was a strong attraction between the singer and "dude". I think it's most interesting that the song never expresses any change of heart or disappointment after the singer discovers that this lady is actually a dude. To me, this preaches the gospel of androgenous sexual identity and sexual relations. We should all be more balanced in our sexual exploits and identity. You go, Steven Tyler.

  16. blue
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    Feb 7th 2006 !⃝

    Well I heard this song was about:
    A)A man who looks like a woman, but the singer is still attracted to him. Ex:
    "She had the body of a Venus, lord imagine my surprise"-Refers to finding out the woman is actually a man.
    B)Steven Tyler XD
    I think both of those make sense.


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