I like old showtunes because they’re joyful and uncomplicated. At least on the surface. After listening to them a few times, I pick up on the double entendre – yet another reason I like them. The 1940s and 1950s were a supposedly innocent time, but judging by theirs songs, that’s an illusion.
Here are some examples:
- Have you heard that Mimsy Starr / Got pinched in the Astor bar (Well, Did You Evah from High Society)
- If she says your behavior is heinous / Kick her right in the Coriolanus (Brush up your Shakespeare from Kiss me Kate). The acting by the gangster in the brown suit (James Whitmore) is hilarious by the way
- The all-American man / Is a hunk o’man / And maybe he can’t make love / Like a Latin can… (Strictly USA from Take Me Out To The Ball Game, a supposedly patriotic song)
Some songs go beyond sexual innuendo to something darker. In Yes Indeedy, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra brag about driving a girl to suicide and kissing an 11 year old.
Nehaveigur 