On Jul 5, 11:46=A0am, MaryLyon:Do you think Comden and Green were
intentionally referencing the
> Waller song with this line? Funny how it sounds so dirty in Waller's
> song, but so innocent (because, I guess, Ruth doesn't "get it") in
> "Swing..."
One of my favorite pastimes is to muse on what writers might have been
thinking while writing a song (sometimes this aids interpretation). I
only met one of those writers.
C & G lived through the 30's, and could look back and laugh at all the
New York slang they'd hear. Vernacular appears in many forms - in
overheard conversations, in song lyrics, in some popular literature.
I imagine they thought about Ruth Sherwood, a would-be writer who's
new to New York. She's never heard or read the argot she's now forced
to shout to strangers. The joke, it seems to me, has to do with how
unnatural these terms sound coming out of her mouth. It is NOT about
Ruth not understanding ***ual connotations (although this is why we
find the Andrews Sisters' "Hold Tight" so risible).
So, I don't think "Swing" references "Hold Tight" as "Hold Tight" is
only one of a thousand examples of the slang of the period.
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