Are the title and lyrics to Crocodile Rock just meant to be fun and silly, or is there a specific “History of Rock n’ Roll” reference? Was there, when rock was young, a thing called the Crocodile Rock to which one would hop and bop?
Best I could come up with on my own is a possible homage to Bill Haley and the Comets (See you later alligator, after while crocodile), but if we’re paying respects to Bill Haley why disparage the other kids who were rockin’ 'round the clock? Perhaps rival factions of a Haley cult coming to blows?
Also, isn’t this the kind of song that makes a songwriter go :smack: “for this I’m paying a lyricist!?”
N.B. Although this is something I’ve always wondered about, this Thread is mostly an excuse to enter the nifty cool Thread Title I came up with!
I always assumed Taupin was creating a fictional song/dance craze that fit in with the whole '50’s/early '60’s rock vibe. American Bandstand and what have you.
I think the whole “while the other kids were Rockin’ Round the Clock” bit was to both set the song in time (i.e., it was the '50’s) and to show how the Crocodile Rock was his gang’s “thing.”
Your line about “for this I am paying a lyricist?!” - sounds like you don’t like the lyrics. I think they work - I find Taupin very hit or miss, but I think this song, like it’s cousin “Bennie and the Jets” (also about a fictional musical creation) do a nice job of evoking an era - '50’s for Croc and Glam for Bennie…