I was listening to the radio and they played “Breakfast in America”, which has the lines “Could we have kippers for breakfast, mummy dear, mummy dear/They’ve got to have them in Texas, cuz everyone’s a millionaire”.
Now we can do a poll if necessary but I’m pretty sure the average Texan wouldn’t even know what a kipper is. (For those playing at home, it’s smoked herring.) And I doubt there are a dozen people in the entire state who had it for breakfast.
So what was the point Hodgson were going for with this line? Was it supposed to indicate that the singer was completely ignorant of American customs? if so, it seems a pretty obscure way to make the point - the listener would need to be familiar with both English and American breakfast habits in order to get the line.
From my limited experience with Super Tramp, I would say that lyrics were not their strong point. None of them made a whole lot of sense to me. On second thought, did they have a strong point?
Basically, yes. It portrays the singer as a wide-eyed naif who actually believes that Texas is populated entirely by oil millionaires and has no idea what people in America actually eat. And that I don’t think it’s obscure at all, I think it’s a very funny line. (Who doesn’t know that the kipper is a stereotypically British food item, along with tea and crumpets?)
I think Hodgson wrote the lyrics from the perspective of a English kid who wants hit the big time and go to America. He’s asking his mum what the chances of getting kippers will be when he gets to Texas.
First of all, you have to look at the context of the times in which the lyric was written.
So, we’re looking at circa 1979-80 or thereabouts. What was the biggest TV show on the air then?
Dallas.
And which state does the action take place in?
Texas.
And is everyone on the show a millionaire?
Yep, most of them.
Therefore, the naive assumption that everyone in Texas is a millionaire, caused from watching a hit American TV show that was somewhat ubiquitous at the time.
Well, what he was saying is that if a person was going to find kippers anywhere at all in the US, it would likely be in Texas, because there, everyone is a millionaire, and only millionaires would stock such a food item.
Of course, the Texan Millionaire is a stereotype, although it may be possible that Texas has more millionaires per capita – or that’s the way the media always makes it look.
*Take a look at my girlfriend
Cos She’s the only one I’ve got
Not much of a girlfriend
Never seem to get a lot
Take a jumbo 'cross the water
Like to see America
See the girls in California
I’m hoping it’s going to come true
But there’s not a lot I can do*
The other stereotype is the idea that every girl in California is gorgeous. They aren’t, but at least that’s the way the media makes it look.
Basically the point of the whole song is that there are American stereotypes that aren’t necessarily true, and the singer would probably be disappointed to find that this is the case. While he may be disappointed with his current life in the UK, the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence, but seldom is it a reality, especially when the only examples one has might be stereotypes.
Not really, and I’m under the impression that the connection between kippers and high-living is meant to be comical. But I can see a couple of reasons why the character in the song might make that association.
These days, kippers aren’t a typical, everyday breakfast option for anyone very much – they’re more of a once-in-a-while treat, for those occasions when you’ve got the time and motivation to make a bit of a production out of breakfast.
The real height of popularity for kippers was the mid-19th to early 20th century, so there’s a perhaps a bit of a mental link between kippers and images from film and television of well-dressed Victorian/Edwardian gentlefolk breakfasting at their leisure, attended by servants.
So I can see how a naïve character could think “kippers for breakfast” = “a bit posh” therefore “millionaires eat kippers for breakfast”.