# Older songs with outdated references **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959 "2015-10-28T13:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/121 "2015-11-01T20:21:37Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > That explains it to you? Perhaps you have never mashed potatoes with an old-fashioned [potato masher](http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/isolated-antique-potato-masher-13259483.jpg). In the dance, your feet make the same kind of rotary grinding motion that you use when mashing potatoes. The sixties were before the days of food processors. Kids these days… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/122 "2015-11-01T20:35:15Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But it was so groovy when we all talked like that. 😉 > > Speaking of groovy word usage from the Sixties… Here’s another “groovy” reference from Sammy Davis Jr’s “The Candy Man”: _Who can take a rainbow (who can take a rainbow) Wrap it in a sigh (wrap it in a sigh) Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie…_ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/123 "2015-11-01T20:58:23Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Dan Fogelberg, “Same Old Auld Lang Syne” > > \*Went to have ourselves a drink or two > > But couldn’t find an open bar > > We bought a six-pack at the liquor store > > And we drank it in her car\* > > Try doing that these days… What part do you find hard to believe, that bars might close early on Christmas Eve, or that you can buy beer 6 at a time in a liquor store? Both seem totally reasonable to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/124 "2015-11-02T15:54:28Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Charlie on the MTA. > > Charley handed in his dime > At the Kendall Square Station > And he changed for Jamaica Plain > When he got there the conductor told him, > “One more nickel.” > Charley could not get off that train. > > On for a dime, off for a nickel? > > Charley’s wife goes down > To the Scollay Square station > Every day at quarter past two > And through the open window > She hands Charley a sandwich > As the train comes rumblin’ through. > > Scollay Square and its station paved under over fifty years ago. Actually, rereading this post, the title of the song is also outdated. The MTA has long been superceded by the MBTA. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/125 "2015-11-02T17:47:18Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > What part do you find hard to believe, that bars might close early on Christmas Eve, or that you can buy beer 6 at a time in a liquor store? > Both seem totally reasonable to me. I think he’s referring to the line _“and we drank it in her car”_. These days cops are far more likely to crack down on people consuming alcohol in a vehicle. There is little or no tolerance for DUI and for open containers in a car. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/126 "2015-11-02T17:54:39Z")
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” yet. I can’t believe I didn’t mention it myself. People still want to drive fast, but when Sammy wrote the song, the nationwide speed limit was 55 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/127 "2015-11-02T20:01:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I think he’s referring to the line _“and we drank it in her car”_. These days cops are far more likely to crack down on people consuming alcohol in a vehicle. There is little or no tolerance for DUI and for open containers in a car. That’s it. I don’t think Fogelberg could do that today. Well, he’s dead, so of course not, but you know. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/128 "2015-11-02T20:33:01Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > When he got there the conductor told him, > “One more nickel.” > Charley could not get off that train. > > On for a dime, off for a nickel? It is a song protesting a fare increase. When he got on it was a dime, and they raised it to 15 cents while he was riding. Some MBTA trains made you pay when you got off when I was living in Boston - Green line. What I never understood was why Charlie’s wife didn’t give him that nickel with his lunch… ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/129 "2015-11-03T00:41:22Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” both needed that apocalyptic feeling of the 1960s to make any sense at all. They’ve felt out of place ever since; it amazes me that they still get occasional airplay. And if that wasn’t enough, you have _You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’_ which dates “Eve of Destruction” even more. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/130 "2015-11-03T01:23:39Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > That’s it. I don’t think Fogelberg could do that today. > > Well, he’s dead, so of course not, but you know. That begs the question why you didn’t quote that line. The problem is my crystal ball is in the shop for routine maintenance this week. I can’t read your mind. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/131 "2015-11-03T01:40:04Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > That begs the question why you didn’t quote that line. > The problem is my crystal ball is in the shop for routine maintenance this week. I can’t read your mind. He quoted it. (Embiggening mine) > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Dan Fogelberg, “Same Old Auld Lang Syne” > > _Went to have ourselves a drink or two > But couldn’t find an open bar > We bought a six-pack at the liquor store > And we drank it in her car_ > > Try doing that these days… I picked it up right away. I didn’t need a crystal ball. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/132 "2015-11-03T10:03:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I wonder if kids know what Beyonce means when she sings “got me hoping you’ll page me right now” I know this one! It means that a page boy will run/walk through the lobby/lounge, shouting/announcing “Beyonce” “Beyonce” “Beyonce” My grandfather was a page for a while. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/133 "2015-11-03T10:50:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Cole Porter used now-dated references a lot. In his “You’re the Top,” he mentioned: > Bendel Bonnet > Vincent Youmans > Garbo’s salary > Arrow collar > Coolidge dollar > The great Durante > The dam at Boulder (now Hoover Dam) > Zuider Zee (now Lake IJsselmeer) > Roxy Usher He also mentioned “Mrs Sweeney”, a famous beauty of the day in London society. Later she married the Duke of Argyll and featured in a divorce case in the early 1960s featuring the kind of salacious evidence the tabloids pounced on, including a photo of her favouring a man whose head wasn’t in the picture. This was a time when it was open season on stories of sexual shenanigans in high places, and there was much speculation as to who it was (in the end, I believe Douglas Fairbanks Jr owned up to it). Eventually, someone wrote an opera about her decline as a reclusive old lady living in the Savoy Hotel. Then there’s a large part of the original lyrics on Puttin’ On The Ritz, which would be utterly non-PC today, as deliberately patronising to black people. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/134 "2015-11-03T22:21:27Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > It is a song protesting a fare increase. When he got on it was a dime, and they raised it to 15 cents while he was riding. Some MBTA trains made you pay when you got off when I was living in Boston - Green line. > > What I never understood was why Charlie’s wife didn’t give him that nickel with his lunch… I know the story behind the song. I was referring to the fares as being outdated, not the payment method. On the Red Line, Quincy, Quincy Adams and Braintree stations also made you pay upon exiting at least until the nineties. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/135 "2015-11-03T22:35:32Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The theme of “Russians” by Sting seems entirely outdated these days. Well, give it a decade or two, and it’ll be fashionably relevant again. :mad: Or maybe we’ll retitle it “Chinese”. But then why would the song be [quoting Prokofiev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Kij%C3%A9_%28Prokofiev%29)? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/136 "2015-11-03T22:49:11Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > Asia - Heat of the Moment > > “And now you find yourself in '82, those disco hotspots hold no charm for you,” I heard a live rendition of the song from an 1983 concert where John Wetton changed that lyric to “And now you find yourself in **'83** , those disco hotspots hold no charm for **me** ”… but I suspect that had to have gotten tiring, trying to find relevant rhymes for every year you might have to do a performance. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/137 "2015-11-03T23:04:40Z")
> [@Fleetwood](#): > > Charlie on the MTA. > > Scollay Square and its station paved under over fifty years ago. So, did Charlie ever get off the train?? > [@Voyager](#): > > What I never understood was why Charlie’s wife didn’t give him that nickel with his lunch… I thought that the first time I heard it, too. Yet, what I really don’t get how such an illogical song can be so good. 🙂 His fate is still unlearned… ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/138 "2015-11-03T23:39:43Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > But it was so groovy when we all talked like that. 😉 > > Speaking of groovy word usage from the Sixties, has anyone already mentioned “they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar” from “Piano Man”? Other than in that song, I’m sure I haven’t heard ‘bread’ being used as a synonym for ‘money’ since sometime in the 1970s. Well, since the 30’s used ‘dough’ as slang for money, the 60s and 70s used ‘bread’, today it’s probably ‘Stone-ground, spelt-and-sunflower (with rye highlights), low-GI, free-range, hand-teased-by-artisan-virgins, based-on-a-14th-century-Persian-recipe-found-in-a-tomb, baguette/blini/bap’. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/139 "2015-11-03T23:40:04Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > Asia - Heat of the Moment > > “And now you find yourself in '82, those disco hotspots hold no charm for you,” > > And didn’t End of the Innocence by ? make a reference (to Reagan) of: > > “This tired old man that we elected king” Considering what time of year’s coming up, the Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping” has a reference to 1981. I’m guessing that nobody thought people would still be listening to it almost 35 years later. “…most of '81 passed along those lines…” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959/140 "2021-04-10T04:26:58Z")
I had the idea today to start a thread along these lines after thinking of this example, but since there’s an existing one I figured I’d zombify it. Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?”, which since it was recorded in 1999 now counts as an “older song”, features this verse; _Then later on, on the drive home_ _I called her mom from a payphone_ _I said I was the cops and your husband’s in jail_ _The state looks down on sodomy…_ _What the hell is call ID?_ Calling someone on a payphone is a _very_ old-fashioned concept in this day and age, caller ID is ubiquitous to the point that most people won’t answer calls from blocked numbers, and “sodomy” has been legal in all US states since 2003 so there’s no reason the singer’s ex’s mom’s husband would have been arrested for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/older-songs-with-outdated-references/735959.md?page=6)