Quote Originally Posted by PeaceNHarmony View Post
Well. 'Rock-a-lott' is slang, and probably refers to [[GASP!!) sex. 'What You See' is a play on words from the American comedian Flip Wilson. Flip had a drag character, Geraldine, who's punchline was 'What you see is what you get', meaning she was not a phony. Aretha's version revised the last word to 'sweat' and tells the listener that s/he should be happy with their own lives and not covet possessions because we never really know what other people's lives are like.
"Rock-a-Lott" is spelled that way as a tongue-in-cheek reference to former Arista exec Roy Lott.