I recently bought a CD that features the song “Georgy Girl” by the Seekers. The song came out in the mid 1960s and it has a nice beat to it, I think. There is just something that has perplexed me for the longest time now.
What is a georgy girl? Yes I know Lynn Redgrave played one in a movie or something. But what does the word mean–“georgy”? Where is it derived from? And most importantly, who is this “George” person? Is he still alive?
Just wondering…
The movie, Georgy girl was about
“A homely but vivacious young woman dodges the amorous attentions of her father’s middle-aged employer while striving to capture some of the glamourous life of her swinging London roommate.”
Source: http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0060453
Lyn Redgrave played the character “Georgy.”
The lyrics to Georgy girl as sung by The Seekers,
“Hey there, Georgy girl
Swingin’ down the street so fancy-free
Nobody you meet could ever see
The loneliness there inside you
Hey there, Georgy girl
Why do all the boys just pass you by?
Could it be you just don’t try
Or is it the clothes you wear?”
go with the movie.
Never seen the movie or heard the song, but: a Geordie is someone from Newcastle (a city in north east England) I know, because I live near there and have the accent:)
they are called Geordies because during the 1800s (i think) a new kind of oil lamp was introduces to the coal mining industry, called the davey saftey lamp, but they were…crap, and the people from Newcastle opted to keep the old Geordie lamp.
They stereotypically drink alot and walk around in the freezing cold with no coats on…and say ‘howay,’ and ‘fishie on a dishie’ alot 
I had always assumed, quite simply, that the name of the girl in the movie was Georgy. Simple as that. There is no sub category of girls known as Georgy girls.
Jim boy :), you gotta think of it as “Hey there Georgy, girl.” Georgy was her name, probably short for Georgette. “Georgy girl” is not a discrete phrase, but a proper name followed by a label.
Gary T. is precisely right.
“Georgy” was the name of Lynn Redgrave’s character. I believe her correct full name is given in the film, though I don’t recall if it was Georgette, or Georgia, or whatever.
Yep, it’s kind of like Danny Boy.
Haj
By way of comparison- when you hear a 60s British song or movie refer to a “Teddy Boy,” that wasn’t the name of an individual. “Teddy Boy” was a generic name for an urban tough guy/street fighter in Northern England in the 60s.
But, as others have noted, “Georgy Girl” was an individual, not a symbol of a type.
In the last line of the movie, James Mason’s character calls her “Georgina”.
Since this is about a movie and a song, let’s move it to Cafe Society.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Wiki gives her full name as Georgina Parkin.
That’s what happens when you name your kids after royalty – you end up with a bunch of girls named after some variant of “George”.
No one asked but I hope this helps anyway. Stainsby Girls by Chris Rea is a song about girls from Stainsby, Middlesborough, England which not coincidentally is where Chris Rea grew up.
TCMF-2L
I think it can be derived from girls with the name Georgette or Georgina or any of those kinds of names.
Meanwhile Hersham Boys by British punk band Sham 69 refers to boys from Hersham, Surrey which is South of London and not coincidentally where the band formed.
TCMF-2L
Interesting how times have changed.
Now we’d all recognize this as sexual harassment by an old goat – with the added implied threat that her father will be fired if she doesn’t submit. Clearly a legal matter today.
I admit, the thought process of why people like the poster Conveidt would stumble upon this thread (I guess via a Google search or the like), sign up, and revive it after over 11 years? I’d call that dedication! (Also, was there a Café Society forum in 2003? I don’t recall).
TCM shows the film ‘Georgy Girl’ every so often, but since it doesn’t seem to be a movie I’d be particularly interested in, I pass. However, I do recall way back in the late 1960s my mom liked the song and would play an LP with it every so often…thus as a little kid the song was burned into my young developing memory, where it resides in a fashion at this late date.
Just to be clear: You’re talking about Newcastle, England on *this *planet in *this *dimension? :dubious: :eek: 
Georgina, and IIRC, her father called her “Georgie Girl” several times in the film.