This content song looks at 1920's culture through the slang of the decade. Perhaps because it was a decade of cultural change, a great deal of slang emerged in the 1920's, some of it still used today. By examining slang we can learn about the culture of the time.
       This is a story set one evening in the 1920's. In three verses, a gentleman speaking thick slang relates the story of what happened to him that night. It is difficult to decipher the slang, but each of his statements is followed by a more comprehensible summary of the man's comments from the perspective of a character with whom he interacted. By the end of the song it becomes clear that the man is being questioned by the police for a crime which he did not commit.  

Be sure to see the footnotes, below, for a "translation."

I Saw this fat cat [1] walking with this Ham and Egger [2] Flapper [3].
They just came out of a Audie flick [4] and were just so rah rah [5].
I had a little giggle water [6] up at the jinny [7]
T thought I'd breeze in [8] just as they got in the tin lizzy [9].
So I put on my keen eye [10] and played it up a little ritzy [11],
Gave a smooch [12] to the sheba [13] and a high hat [14] to the Pip-squeak [15].
I may have been a little gaga [16], but the big cheese [17] was bunk [18]
Said he'd send his goons [19] after me so I just turned to run.

When me and my lady came out of the movie, talking about how good it had been.
This obnoxious rude fellow came over so bluntly, heavily smelling of gin.
He gave my woman a kiss, and to me gave a frown, I shouted the fellow right out of town

So the lug [20] and the bim [21] drove off lickety split [22],
I was feeling kinda gaga from the bathtub gin [23].
Thought I'd do in a burger and went to the stop,
When a real keen jane [24] was my car hop.
I said "after work why not meet me at the juice joint [25],
W we can do a little hoofing [26] and just enjoy?"
She called me all wet [27], I said "you stuffy little wowser" [28].
I threw her a rock [29], went down the main drag [30] man I was gone.

Well this weird guy came and he gave me the eye,
asked me to join him for the night but I declined.
He called me cold and then he just took off,
left me a bad tip and drove down the block.

I needed some Bug wash [31] so I stopped at the store,
I started home but I was stopped once more.
Seemed a caper [32] was happening right down the road,
3 guys with big choppers [33] came out of the hole.
I ducked my head down tried not to make a sound, but one of the goons grabbed me and dragged me down town.
I tell ya' this is all raspberries [34],
I'm innocent ya' see the guys you're looking for just ain't me.

Detective O' Connor's official report,
"He said he got hair oil down at the store.
He saw the men with the guns and hid by his car, but was taken to the hide-out but not sure how far.
He said this is nonsense, and so we let him go,
caught the other three suspects and now you all know.
I told the young man to "Keep out of prison, stop speaking that rubbish and start speaking English."

 

Footnotes:
[1] fat cat: a rich person
[2] Ham and Egger: ordinary, regular
[3] flapper: independent woman in 1920's
[4] Audie flick: sound picture, as in "audio"; the first "talkie" was The Jazz
Singer with Al Jolson (1927)
[5] rah rah: excited, enthusiastic
[6] giggle water: alcohol, in the 1920's the consumption of alcohol was illegal
but Prohibition was widely violated
[7] jinny: a "gin joint" or speakeasy; a place where alcohol was sold illegally
during Prohibition; because they were illegal one had to speak softly about
them or "speak easy"
[8] breeze in: pay an unexpected visit
[9] Tin Lizzy: Model-T Ford, the first mass produced car in the US
[10] keen eye: looking good
[11] ritzy: sophisticated, high-class
[12] smooch: kiss
[13] sheba: girlfriend
[14] high hat: put down, snub...

Additional footnotes and teach tips are available on Musical Media for Education's
Volume 2 and Teaching Guide.