Pulp’s “Pink Glove” Lyrics Meaning

Pulp is a pop band from England which has been since the late 1970s and had their signature decade back during the 1990s. The crew is technically extant as of this writing but suffered through a couple of long-term breakups, in which they weren’t active during most of the aughts and 2010s. 

As such Pulp’s most-recent studio album, “We Love Life”, dates all the way back to 2001. And as for “Pink Glove”, which Island Records made available on 18 April 1994, it is from their fourth studio LP, “His ‘n’ Hers”, which stands as the band’s first to appear on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 9.

“Pink Glove” was not issued as a single, but it has been pointed out as a fan favorite. Accordingly it is also featured on Pulp’s 2006 live album “The Peel Sessions”.

Credits for “Pink Glove”

The members of Pulp when this track was dropped consisted of frontman Jarvis Cocker, drummer Nick Banks and keyboardist Candida Doyle, who are still down with the group to date. The other two who participated on “His ‘n’ Hers”, guitarist Russell Senior and bassist Steve Mackey (1966-2023), have since gone their separate ways. 

And it is those five individuals who are credited with writing “Pink Glove”, with the track’s producer being Ed Buller.

The Lyrics

By the looks of things, the pink glove mentioned in the title is not a literal one. Instead, that serves as a metaphor or observation of the color and tightness of the addressee’s clothing. And this piece does a good job of relaying a complete short story or comprehensive sentiment even though, as with the title, what’s being relayed is done so indirectly.

Furthermore, being that they are indirect, of course there would also be different theoretical ways of interpreting what’s being put forth. But what appears to be going down, most simply analyzed, is this.

The addressee is either the vocalist’s ex, current or potential girlfriend – or even all of the above, if you will. That is to say that certain lyrics give the impression that they are currently together, while others imply that they’ve already broken up. But in any event, Jarvis is obviously interested in being with her into the future.

However, this woman seems to have gone to entertain another guy sexually. And that is what the singer is ultimately referring to via the title, i.e. Cocker somehow being aware that this man prefers that his sweetheart wear something “pink and… tight” when they are together. 

And it may be that her hooking up with this dude was supposed to be a one-time thing. But the singer has also been able to ascertain that now that the guy has gotten a taste of goods, he wants to regularly bonk her or something of the sort.

“And now you’ve done it once, now he wants you
To wear your pink glove all the time
Oh-oh-oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh-oh-oh”

The reason it is arguable that the vocalist and addressee are still together is because, reading in-between the lines, Jarvis does come off as a cuck, i.e. a man whose self-esteem is so low that he appears powerless against his lady sleeping with someone else. 

But that’s not to say that he’s tolerating her actions per se. In fact at one point, the singer even gives his honeybun an ultimatum that if she ‘touches him again’, then he’s going to go his separate way. But all lyrics considered, it’s doubtful that he actually has the wherewithal to immediately make good on such a conviction and is rather hoping that she just stops seeing the guy. And in the midst of such, the vocalist also implies that he’s her original boyfriend as well as the better suitor, telling the addressee that she “got it right [the] first time”.

The Long and Short of “Pink Glove”

So conclusively, these lyrics are reflective of a man who’s in his feelings due to his girlfriend letting another, seemingly not-as-serious guy bonk her apparently. And as such situations tend to go, if she continues to do so he will suffer even more, with the vocalist already being by and large convinced that she will.