This brings to mind a nice bit in an otherwise fairly forgettable novel by J. B. Priestley, Let The People Sing, set in the late 1930s. Part of its events, involve the tribulations of a highly learned central-European professor: a refugee in the UK, from the expanding Third Reich – a thoroughly benign guy, but of an extremely serious and solemn disposition. He is befriended by an English comedian, from very much the down-market end of that profession. While very grateful for the assistance, he can’t help musing in the course of the unlikely friendship; on the oddity of the English – a great people who have achieved so much – having such a passion (notwithstanding the abundance of themes for highly worthy versification) for foolishly infantile songs about food. He’s often forced to the conclusion: “A very strange people”.
I don’t smoke, I don’t shoot smack
But I got a spicy monkey ridin’ on my back.
Don’t eat beignets, too much sugar and dough,
But I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo
Back in the mid 70’s one of my younger siblings had a record that all the songs were about food. “Popcorn” was on there, as was “Big Rock Candy Mountain”.
But the song we really got a kick out of was a tune called “My Cake”. With lyrics like "First I wiggle, then I wake, then I rise, to make my cake".
The song went on with this dweeb bragging how great his cake was. It was a hoot. Wish I could find a copy to post.