wuxtry Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 An amusing thing I noticed recently. "On the Good Ship Lollipop" goes back to 1934, and that's pretty old. (Sung by Shirley Temple in a movie.) But look at the lyrics and note in particular: "See the sugar bowl do the tootsie roll With the big bad devil's food cake." That's worded as if the "toosie roll" were a dance. Which it was, in the 90's. But was there a dance of that name in the 30's? Or were the movie people pulling a little joke there, putting in a bit of dirt: "Do the toosie roll with" meaning "have sex with". I can see them getting away with it. There was no need for Shirley to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think it refers to physically rolling chocolate into a tootsie roll shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesboy Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think it's just an innocent, harmless song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted June 30, 2008 Report Share Posted June 30, 2008 I grew up watching Shirley Temple movies ... I don't believe there would be a double entendre of any type buried in the lyrics of a Shirley Temple song! The lyrics are referring to the items dancing, though I don't believe there was an official dance by that name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Innocent as all get out. But, let's discuss... "Hey diddle, diddle the cat and the fiddle" and... "the dish ran away with the spoon". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTyme Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 Li'l dog laughed to see such a sport Li'l old lady in a shoe said, "Abort!" Spider answered Miss Muffet's retort Mary should've built the lamb a fort . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udo Posted July 1, 2008 Report Share Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) I think it's nonsense that rhymes, personally. Edited July 1, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetrychick Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Rhymes aren't really nonsense. Most were actually cautionary tales and political jokes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udo Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 You think rhymes are jokes. I think it's all a hoax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetrychick Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 (edited) Well look at Jack and Jill: Jack and Jill went up the hill -This refers to when Louis XVI went to Canterbury hill to be crowned a king, Jill being his priest (priests were jokingly call women because of their dress) To fetch a pail of water -This is actually to fetch the pael (hat of the bishop- to get his o.k. to become king) of Walter (the bishop at the time) Jack fell down and broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after -Well Louis was not sucessful, the bishop would not make him king, and his priest went down with him. -Be mindful that this happened during the crusades (or some other war) when the rightful king was not present. Edited July 3, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTyme Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Well look at Jack and Jill: Jack and Jill went up the hill -This refers to when Louis XVI went to Canterbury hill to be crowned a king, Jill being his priest (priests were jokingly call women because of their dress) To fetch a pail of water -This is actually to fetch the pael (hat of the bishop- to get his o.k. to become king) of Walter (the bishop at the time) Jack fell down and broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after -Well Louis was not sucessful, the bishop would not make him king, and his priest went down with him. -Be mindful that this happened during the crusades (or some other war) when the rightful king was not present. Nice trivia. I never realized how enigmatic Mother Goose was. Oh, welcome to SongFacts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuxtry Posted July 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Many old children's songs and rhymes are far from innocent. (See my other thread about "Pop goes the weasel.") Shirley was very "good" in the sense of fair and upright and noble and so on, both on–screen and off. But her goodness came from good upbringing, and not from any garden–of–Eden "innocence." When you work (and eat and sleep) on a Hollywood soundstage, you learn a lot. She showed astonishing maturity for her age, had a genius–level IQ, and on her own time she played mostly with boys, and almost acted like one. I wouldn't assume that the line was a double–entendre, but I think it's possible. Most of Shirley's films were targeted for everyone, not just for children, and contained a lot of stuff that only adults could fully understand. You have to place this in the context of Hollywood's standards and philosophies in the 1930's, which were very different from its present ones. That song was a pure fantasy, and its details really had no relevance to the rest of the film, so any such gag–line would belong to the song alone and be associated with the songwriters, not with the characters or the actors. Such a thing would in no way reflect upon Shirley's image. Today it might be different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetrychick Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 !Muchas Gracias! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuxtry Posted July 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 "Bright Eyes" is available on Fox Home Video. I watched the scene of Shirley Temple singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" to the aviators on the plane (11 of them), and it certainly looks as if those who wrote it (Richard Whiting and Sidney Clare) and staged the scene (Sammy Lee) intended the innuendo, albeit Shirley herself was undoubtedly just following instructions. She stands at the front and sings the intro to all of them. Then she walks slowly up the aisle of the plane, singing to each pilot one at a time as she passes. She stops in front of one of them and points her finger in his face as she says "See the Sugar Bowl." Then, all in one motion, she turns slightly sideways, moves a little closer to him, stands up tall with hands on hips, looks at him sideways, raises her eyebrows, and flashes him a mischievous grin. She holds that pose for only a split–second, on the first syllable of "Tootsie" as she sings "Do the Tootsie Roll." Then, on "With the Big Bad Devil's Food Cake," she shoots her hands up and recoils in fear, as if he were advancing upon her (which he isn't). I tell you, guys, this was professional showgirl stuff. Nothing less. Then she holds her belly and shakes it with her hands as she says "you'll awake with a tummy–ache," which could also have another meaning. She jumps into the arms of one of the men just as she says "into bed you hop." They pass her around, holding her up above their heads, as she repeats the whole song. Finally one of them hands her an object about a foot and a half in length, made to look like a giant Tootsie Roll. And, of course, the word "lollipop" is suggestive, as is the line "How would you like to be my crew?" in the intro. Adding it all up, I think the best way to look at it is that there were two things there, one a movie and the other a song, which had little to do with each other. The movie was for everybody, but the song was for (and understood by) adults only. I guess there's nothing wrong with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetrychick Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 That's just creepy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now