What are "five o ones"?

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Expert
<a href="/ja/translator/asasasw" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1183057">asasasw <div class="author_icon" title="Page author" ></div></a>
登録日: 30.07.2013
Pending moderation

Rain On Alexanderplatz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J86KY8PXY8

Lyrics:

Crazy little girl in love with the D.J⠀
Cause he has some tapes and some five o ones

What are five o ones?

Any idea?

Moderator Pursuer of Serenity-רודף שלווה
<a href="/ja/translator/moshe-kaye" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1457601">Moshe Kaye <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
登録日: 25.05.2020
asasasw napisał:

Rain On Alexanderplatz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J86KY8PXY8

Lyrics:

Crazy little girl in love with the D.J⠀
Cause he has some tapes and some five o ones

What are five o ones?

Any idea?

Based on the time frame for the song... I guess that it is a reference to Levis 501 jeans which were then very popular.

~Moshe

Senior Member
<a href="/ja/translator/leszek" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1379969">leszek </a>
登録日: 25.04.2018

I am not a native speaker but have some access to the Google Machine ;)
So I quess it could mean a number of participants of a game which is more popular than Levis and doesn't require any pants...
But then, they call it 'five-on-one'
Look pls: http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/five-on-one.

Guru
<a href="/ja/translator/bluebird" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1483017">BlueBird </a>
登録日: 27.12.2020

Hi there,

Hawaii 'Five-O' (later five-0) was the original name of an American TV series (see here) running till 2010. As the lyrics talks about the DJ and "some tapes" on that sentence, it may refer to some music or video-tapes, etc. from that series.

Moderator / hippie-abraça-árvore
<a href="/ja/translator/maluca" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1206376">maluca <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
登録日: 30.04.2014

The song is from 1987, so it must be the Levi's 501.

Guru
<a href="/ja/translator/bluebird" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1483017">BlueBird </a>
登録日: 27.12.2020

Actually the original tv series ran from 1968 to 1980 in US and continued in reruns.  So might match the time frame.

The term Five-O became a slang term for the Police in US (here)

Another possibility is Five-O album (1985). Popular and very close to 1987.

Retired Editor
<a href="/ja/translator/ogingero" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1352420">OgingerO </a>
登録日: 08.09.2017

I was totally thinking of the police code (when I only saw the title and before I saw the rest of the lyrics). I agree with Moshe, Levis fit best here IMHO.

Guru
<a href="/ja/translator/bluebird" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1483017">BlueBird </a>
登録日: 27.12.2020
Thank you. Here’s my two cents.
 
First, I can't say for sure what is the real intention of the lyrics. The original question in this topic asked for “any ideas”, and this is exactly what I gave, ‘ideas’. Naturally I checked the full lyrics before commenting in the first place for context. And I gave my context, references and reasoning.
 
The lyrics may talk about Levi’s 501 jeans or else. Didn’t find any analysis of the song/lyrics on the internet. Maybe only the people involved in the song can know for sure. For now, I believe guesses are the best we have.
ノービス
<a href="/ja/translator/sarcasmcupcakes" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1487586">sarcasmcupcakes </a>
登録日: 31.01.2021

Alexanderplatz was in East Berlin. "Western" items were probably restricted or hellishly expensive.

A friend of mine visited the then-Soviet Union as a teen. Several times, young locals wanted to swap clothing - they only got state-made clothing at state-run stores. American brands were exotic.

So I'm thinking they're referring to jeans.

Retired Editor
<a href="/ja/translator/ogingero" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1352420">OgingerO </a>
登録日: 08.09.2017

if the lyrics hadn't said "some" 501s (plural) I think it would be a bit more confusing. Like it was VHS recordings or something... I don't think it could refer to anything else because of the plural at the end of 501 and "some".

I'm not completely discounting other explanations... but I think the chances of it being anything else IMHO are slim.

Even today, Levis are a big draw for non-Americans. They are so much cheaper here than they are overseas, that it's a big deal to buy them. I can tell you the only time I have been to stores for Levis (and specifically 501s) have been when foreign friends have visited and wanted to buy them to bring them home. (Or when I visit them and ask if I can bring anything - I'm told Levis and Chucks (Converse). So I can totally imagine how much stronger this sentiment would have been decades ago. I think we can only guess to the original meaning, to be sure maybe someone can find out where the band is now and ask?!