RePository of Fact and Fiction

13 September 1964, Baltimore by Curt Gunther 

Come to the underground She'll know her way around TV-pretty, elegant Art deco, decadent Hot lips and no shame All fun and no game She is a friend of Dorothy oh [1] She is a friend of A friend of Dorothy's, she shows it A friend of Dorothy's, I know it A friend of Dorothy's, who is she? Whoever she is Queen of the discotheques Sheik of Arabesque [2] French jeans and nasty boots Red hair and yellow route[3] Frederick's of Hollywood [4] Forty second bloody good She is a friend of Dorothy oh She is a friend indeed A friend of Dorothy's, I know it A friend of Dorothy's, she shows it A friend of Dorothy's, who is she? Whoever she is Trust in God and she will provide [5] She keep you satisfied Oooh oooh Goodbye So long baby You keep dance She is a friend of Dorothy ah yes She is a friend...

A 'friend of Dorothy' was a slang term for a gay person, most frequently a gay man, possibly originating from Judy Garland's role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. This song is therefore almost certainly about a gay man or a lesbian.

The Sheik of Araby is 1921 song, it was covered by the Beatles for their Decca audition as well as onstage in Liverpool and Hamburg.

Some people have transcribed the lyric as 'yellow rood'. However, that is fairly nonsensical, and in my opinion it sounds more like he is saying 'yellow route' possibly is a reference to the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz. This is purely guesswork though and I could be wrong.

Frederick's of Hollywood was a popular underwear and lingerie brand at the time.

I also theorised that maybe he's talking about David Bowie.

This was his hairstyle in 1974:

And this was in 1976: