I was listening to the old song, “The Lady Is A Tramp,” which contains the line:
Other than the fact damp and tramp rhyme, I don’t recall California ever referred to as being cold or damp.
Any meaning to it? Thanks.
Probably means San Francisco.
Did you know New England is oppressively hot and muggy? S’true.
There’s more of California than Los Angeles and San Diego. Northern California certainly does get cold and damp.
Even L.A. gets ‘June Gloom’.
As a matter of fact, parts of California can be pretty darned cold and damp certain times of the year. Hell, San Francisco is damp more often than not. Of course, that’s the less than ideal truth behind its glamorous, golden state, land of sunshine image so maybe that goes with the theme of the song. The “tramp” of the song having been given that title by the high society women who look down upon her because she doesn’t conform. They all brag about their glorious trips there and she’s not impressed because it’s cold and damp, and we all know that swipes at another female’s sexuality is the common, go to insult.
Indeed. San Francisco’s Candlestick Park (the former home of the Giants and 49ers) was known as being the coldest park in major league baseball, particularly during night games. From Wikipedia:
Well, as Mark Twain never said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
Several times in years past I’ve noticed that on Christmas day the temperature was lower in Los Angeles than New York City–or close to it.
The “damp” part, however, is generally left to Northern California. When Southern CA gets its coldest it’s because of dry desert winds.
The entire song is about a woman who doesn’t go along with what everybody else in high society does or thinks—she eats dinner before 8, she is on time when she goes to the theater, she doesn’t like the climate in California.
That’s why the high society women call her a “tramp.”
Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before.
He’s probably thinking about parts of California that people actually care about.
Seems it never rains in Southern California.
Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California, but girl, don’t they warn ya,
It pours, man, it pours.
In 2013, my summer birthday vacation involved a drive up the PCH. I bear witness that Twain’s hyperbole has a basis in reality…
She slurps up spaghetti without a fork.
I was miserable cold and damp at Disneyland. We had a computer conference in LA and stayed at the Biltmore. The conference organized a trip to Disneyland at a reduced cost for sharing the shuttles. Stupid me didn’t bring a sweater or jacket on that trip to SUNNY California. Good times in drizzling rain and temps in the 50’s. Me in a short sleeve shirt.
So much for Sunny, warm California. 
We didn’t hit the beach either or surf.
I lived in the Sunset in San Francisco till I was 8 and then a few years more as an adult. Cold and foggy days abound, even in the summer. You dress for summer and get a quarter mile away from home and realize your mistake. Layers.
Coastal California is typically Mediterranean climate. Hot dry summers, cool, wet winters.
In the L.A. area and Central California all the way through to Sacramento, all the year’s rainfall is between late October and March. It’s rare to see any rain from April through the end of October.
So if a visitor was in SoCal in December, they would likely see it as chilly and damp. We call it ‘the rainy season’.
It’s rarely hot on the coast. You have to go a bit inland, especially in Northern CA. There is a mountain range about 10 - 15 miles from the coast and the temps can easily vary by 30 degrees in the summer between the coast and on the other side of the hill.
In fact, if you want warm days on the coast, you go there in Oct or May. Much of the summer is fogged in. I was in Carmel a few years ago on an Oct day when it got to 85 degrees and all the locals were freaking out. No one has A/C there.
This describes the Central Valley not so much the coastal regions.
And all the people dressed like monkeys.