Popeye (The Hitchhiker). WTF????? [duplicate]

Growing up in the 60’s we had THIS 45 in the house. But I never “got it”. WTF? Why was Popeye hitchhiking? And why is there a “Popeye” dance done about him hitching a ride?

Aout 90% of you are younger than me (and I’m only 50, gawd damn it!:mad: ) and may not even know what the hell a “45” is (it’s not the one my old man came back from Korea with :wink: ) but even when I was a kid I thought this song was kind of weird.