Abraham Lincoln once said, “It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”

Indeed. Wise, wise words from the Venerable Beard. Words to ponder. And an excellent justification for all kinds of mischief and debauchery!

So the next time someone gives you the business about that 8th cup of coffee or your somewhat overly enthusiastic love of troll dolls, you just tell them to pick up what old Honest Abe was layin’ down. Then lift that mug of beautiful black java and take a deep, satisfying swig. Give a little wink to your tufted buddies, and follow up with another Lincoln bon mot: “Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Jack!”

What exactly am I talking about, you might ask. Understandable. Perhaps we should get to the song.

Having recently achieved huge success in their native UK with their third album, Adam & The Ants found themselves in a gray area in early 1982. Nobody seemed clear whether they were still a viable entity or if Adam was now on his own. Recordings took place and an album was readied, titled Friend Or Foe. Ultimately, it became known as Adam Ant’s first solo endeavor and the lead single was a galloping, uptempo number called “Goody Two Shoes.”

One could be forgiven for thinking the chorus of the song is a smiling pick up line to a straight-laced lass (“Don’t drink, don’t smoke. What do you do?”). In fact, it referred to Adam, himself. For someone with such an outré stage persona, Mr. Ant actually forswore alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. As a result, the insatiable UK music press hounded him about what other vices he might be concealing. He wrote “Goody Two Shoes” in response.

Someone other than our 16th president once said that living well is the best revenge. When “Goody Two Shoes” was released in the summer of 1982 it topped the UK charts and climbed to #12 in the US, Adam Ant’s highest charting hit stateside.

So let your freak flag fly! Or don’t. That’s your biz. To quote the late, great Vince Fontaine: “Just be yourselves and have a ball. That’s what it’s all about, after all.”