Meaning of “The Stroke” by Billy Squier

Billy Squire may be a singer you’ve never heard of, but as of this writing, he has been a professional musician going on six decades, dating back to the late 1960s. However, his solo discography did not commence until 1980. 

In his personal case, this is indicative of the fact that it took over 10 years of hustling for Squier to blow up, and this selfsame “The Stroke”, which was released in 1981, proved to be his breakthrough hit. Or getting straight to the intended point, let’s say that, being 31 years old at the time, he had a lot more experience in the game than your average musician who experiences their first hit.

The reason that’s important to point out is because, underneath the metaphors, this piece is in fact critical of the music industry. The way the term “stroke me” is utilized in the chorus may give the impression, even if only briefly, that Billy is referring to a sex act. But it’s pretty clear, once you get past the first verse, that this song isn’t about that type of stroking.

“(Stroke me, stroke me)
You got your number down
(Stroke me, stroke me)
Say you’re a winner but man, you’re just a sinner now”

Technically, in terms of being utilized as a verb, the word “stroke” has more than one definition, especially as far as colloquialisms are concerned. For example, as a slang term, stroking someone can mean the same as finessing, gaming or perhaps we can even say, within the context of this song, conning them. 

As presented in the lyrics, the one who is stroking the vocalist would be the likes of a music industry executive. And as implied, what Squier is more specifically alluding to is such individuals compelling artists to sign contracts and hustle their asses off, though ultimately to the benefit of said executive(s), as opposed to the artist, who is milked and promptly forgotten.

And we can’t say for certain that “The Stroke” was the first song of its type, i.e. an industry artist lambasting the business in a not-so-concealed manner. But interesting to note is that songs pointing to the idea that industry execs have the habit of ‘stroking’ artists has become sort of a semi-recurring theme since.

Release Date of “The Stroke”

“The Stroke” is a 1981 song, released as the lead single from Squier’s sophomore studio album “Don’t Say No”.

Writers & Producers

Squier is credited as the sole writer of this track. The singer is also credited as the song’s co-producer, along with German record producer, Reinhold Mack.

Album

“Don’t Say No” officially dropped on April 13 of 1981. A product of Capitol Records, the album was accompanied by a total of 4 singles. “In the Dark”, which came out during August of 1981, is the title of this album’s second single. Its third and fourth singles, “My Kinda Lover” and “Too Daze Gone”, were issued later in 1981.