# Lyric meaning **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 19, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580 "2026-03-19T16:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/1 "2026-03-19T16:54:10Z")
“The people throwing pennies in my soup, Expecting me to be ashamed of you…” Is the throwing of pennies into someone’s soup a thing, or do you think it just sounded good to the writer? This is the song: [https://youtu.be/Cl7ljxy\_j38](https://youtu.be/Cl7ljxy_j38) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/2 "2026-03-19T23:38:19Z")
I vote for Roy “I can hear the grass grow” Wood just having fun putting words together. That said, my Appalachian grandparents would put coins in their good-luck-new-years black eyed peas. I doubt Dr. Heimlich would approve. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/3 "2026-03-20T00:02:17Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > That said, my Appalachian grandparents would put coins in their good-luck-new-years black eyed peas. Eww. Black eyed peas are delicious. Don’t ruin them by tossing filthy coins in there. Just in case people are wondering, since it wasn’t mentioned in the OP, the lyrics are from the song “It Wasn’t My Idea To Dance” by the Move, from their fourth and final album _Message from the Country_ released in 1971. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/4 "2026-03-20T00:14:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Just in case people are wondering, since it wasn’t mentioned in the OP, the lyrics are from the song “It Wasn’t My Idea To Dance” by the Move, from their fourth and final album _Message from the Country_ released in 1971. The fact that it was by The Move, and written by Roy Wood (the band, and Wood, were from the English city of Birmingham), suggests to me that it likely has nothing to do with the black-eyed peas tradition (which, AIUI, came from Blacks in the southern U.S.). I’m going to guess that there’s no particular reference/meaning to the lyrics, it just sounded good/fun to them. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/5 "2026-03-20T00:31:41Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m going to guess that there’s no particular reference/meaning to the lyrics, it just sounded good/fun to them. Agreed. The lyrics are full of metaphors, and I don’t think much of anything is literal in the song. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/6 "2026-03-20T00:40:52Z")
Is there a reason you didn’t actually tell us what song you were asking about in the OP? (Yeah, I know you linked to it, but a lot of us don’t want to have to open a video to know what an OP is talking about.) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/7 "2026-03-20T00:46:32Z")
That would be a brain fart on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/8 "2026-03-20T01:03:50Z")
My grandmother did something similar with cabbage. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/9 "2026-03-20T02:31:33Z")
She would put cabbage in black-eyed peas? Enough cabbage to matter and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/10 "2026-03-20T02:36:58Z")
No. She would put a coin (I want to say it was a silver dollar, but she died in 1993, so I may be misremembering) into the cabbage she was boiling. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/11 "2026-03-20T04:12:01Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > She would put a coin (I want to say it was a silver dollar, but she died in 1993, so I may be misremembering) into the cabbage she was boiling. Apparently an Appalachian thing, esp. among those of Scottish and Irish descent. And, it was indeed supposed to be a silver coin of some sort, often a dime. > [@](#): > > A large portion of my mom’s ancestors are from Scotland and Ireland, a common denominator among a good many residents of Eastern Kentucky. Growing up, I never experienced a New Year’s Day meal that lacked a dish of cooked cabbage with a dime hidden inside—a common custom among Scots-Irish settlers in the Appalachian region. The story goes, whomever is served the portion of cabbage with the dime will have good financial fortune throughout the year ahead. > **[Cooked Cabbage and Fixins: An Eastern Kentucky New Year’s Tradition](https://foothillsfare.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/cooked-cabbage-fixins-new-year-tradition/)** > > Foothills Fare’s first post delves into the Eastern Kentucky New Year tradition of preparing cooked cabbage, and provides recipes for cooked cabbage, salmon cakes, and macaroni and tomatoes. > [@](#): > > Cabbage is thought to symbolize money because of its green color, so people eat it as a way to attract wealth. Additionally, when cabbage leaves are cooked or boiled, they can fold up like a wad of cash; further cementing the cruciferous veggie as an icon of prosperity. Some also say that long strands of shredded cabbage are symbolic of a long life. Hardcore luck chasers might include a silver coin or a dime in their batch of cooked cabbage. This Appalachian practice has Scotch-Irish roots and serves the belief that whoever is served the portion of cabbage with the coin in it will have good luck all year long. > **[Why So Many People Eat Cabbage On New Year's Day - The Takeout](https://www.thetakeout.com/2042337/why-eat-cabbage-new-years-day/)** > > New Year's Day doesn't bring cabbage to mind for everyone, but it's a culinary tradition to eat this green veggie for some. Here's why people do it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/12 "2026-03-20T04:23:55Z")
Well, this was the Louisville, Kentucky area, so that tracks. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lyric-meaning/1028580/13 "2026-03-20T12:02:50Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Eww. Black eyed peas are delicious. Don’t ruin them by tossing filthy coins in there. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Superdude](#): > > > > She would put a coin (I want to say it was a silver dollar, but she died in 1993, so I may be misremembering) into the cabbage she was boiling. > > Apparently an Appalachian thing, esp. among those of Scottish and Irish descent. And, it was indeed supposed to be a silver coin of some sort, often a dime. My Scottish Grandma put a dime in her Christmas figgy pudding. She’d wrap it in foil so it was maybe slightly less unsanitary. Whoever got the dime in their slice was supposed to have good luck throughout the coming year.