# Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves - When Were You Travelling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [August 11, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584 "2024-08-11T23:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/41 "2024-08-13T14:33:16Z")
I’ll go with the 1880 - 1900 timeline as well, with the narrator being born around the mid 1880s and the narrator’s daughter around the early 1900s. FWIW, I also picture the father / grandfather as an older man, likely being in his 40s when the narrator was born, so maybe a Civil War veteran, assuming that a Gypsy would have been allowed to serve. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/42 "2024-08-13T16:09:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I feel a new thread coming on. be careful, next think we know we’ll have threads on when Cher’s Half Breed took place, or Billy Don’t Be A Hero, Wolf Creek Pass, Long Cool Woman, Miss Otis Regrets, Copacabana, Operator, Wildfire or Fast Car. Not that I’d mind, actually, I have opinions on all those. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/43 "2024-08-13T16:14:43Z")
Me, I have two opinion on when 25 or 6 to 4 takes place. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/44 "2024-08-13T16:25:51Z")
3:34 or 3:35 am! Now, WHERE does it take place… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/45 "2024-08-13T16:32:17Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Now, WHERE does it take place… Chicago, of course. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/46 "2024-08-13T16:37:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Chicago, of course. Then why do they sing so many songs set in NYC? Hmmm? Just asking. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/47 "2024-08-13T17:27:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Toxgoddess](#): > > > > Now, WHERE does it take place… > > Chicago, of course. 😉 In a room with an analog clock ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/48 "2024-08-13T18:12:05Z")
Well, I found a few antique sign auctions for “Dr. Good’s American Stomach Bitters”, but none of the mentions gives a date for the signs. > **[Dr. Good's American Stomach Bitters Sign • Antique Advertising](https://antiqueadvertising.com/free-antique-price-guide/antique-signs/dr-goods-american-stomach-bitters-sign/)** > > Large, early, embossed cardboard die-cut sign for Dr. Good's American Stomach Bitters patent medicine product, featuring stunning color graphics. Sold at: Wm Morford Antiques Looking to Buy or Sell? Contact: Antique Advertising LLC ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/49 "2024-08-13T18:23:41Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > but none of the mentions gives a date for the signs. I’d feel comfortable guessing that the image dates from the 1910’s or earlier, based on the hairstyle. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/50 "2024-08-13T18:47:57Z")
That’s awesome! It would make sense if that’s the actual reference in the song. Although I would be a little disappointed, the moonshine angle was a bit racier, but this certainly fits. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/51 "2024-08-13T19:03:15Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Well, I found a few antique sign auctions for “Dr. Good’s American Stomach Bitters”, [This “Family Botanic Guide” from 1924 (PDF)](https://www.swsbm.com/Ephemera/Family_Botanic_Guide-2.pdf) refers to a Dr. Good a couple of times. No way of knowing if it’s the same doctor, of course. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/52 "2024-08-13T19:42:17Z")
I know F-all about antique anything. But I’d not be at all surprised to find the same folks who make fake old crap to hang on the walls in restaurants such as Cracker Barrel also make fake “Dr. Good’s” signs where the name of the imaginary product was chosen based on the Cher song, not vice versa. It’s not _that_ hard to duplicate the style of vintage artwork with totally fresh work done this week on a computer. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/53 "2024-08-13T20:24:53Z")
It’s coincidental, because just the other day I had to resort to a tablespoon of Underberg after 24 hours of miserable stomach upset. Three doses of Pepto-Bismol and two doses of Simethicone had done nothing to ease my discomfort. I couldn’t lay down for more than five minutes without acid (or possibly bile?) bubbling up into my throat. I was exhausted, and my back was killing me. I had taken what I thought was the last few drops in the house from a bottle of Underberg I had downstairs, which gave a little relief for an hour or so. Then I was whinging to the homies after dinner and spotted another box on a shelf in the dining room. One tablespoon and the relief was immediate. It really is stunning how these things can work. Sometimes it’s just exactly what you need. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/54 "2024-08-13T20:39:54Z")
I would assume the label isn’t real, or if it is there’s something else in the bottle when Papa sold it. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/55 "2024-08-13T20:44:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I would assume the label isn’t real, In those days they could be perfectly honest about [what they contained.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/morphine-and-weed-syrup/) ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/56 "2024-08-14T00:17:05Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Civil War veteran, assuming that a Gypsy would have been allowed to serve You’re assuming they were actually Rom. More likely they were simply itinerant people. Maybe he lost his house in the civil war ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/57 "2024-08-14T00:48:10Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Maybe he lost his house in the civil war Maybe his name is Virgil Cain. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/58 "2024-08-14T01:10:38Z")
Or worse yet, The Man with No Name. Lotta folks get killed when he’s around. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/59 "2024-08-14T03:09:43Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Me, I have two opinion on when 25 or 6 to 4 takes place. Does anybody really know? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584/60 "2024-08-14T03:17:13Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > You’re assuming they were actually Rom. Gypsies were what the townspeople called them, not the singer. Also tramps and thieves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gypsies-tramps-and-thieves-when-were-you-travelling/1005584.md?page=4)