“I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain."
- Jane Wagner
First, a note on the passing of Frank Beard, ZZ Top's original and only drummer. Ironically, Frank was the only one of the trio without a beard. He laid down a filthy groove for fifty-plus years, always with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He's on his way to drummer heaven in some cheap sunglasses. Rest in Peace, Frank.
At my 50th high school class reunion a few weeks ago, I was talking with an old friend that I hadn't seen since junior high. He was telling me a story of some shenanigans he was involved in back then and he said he had “kyped” something from someone. I did one of those fast back-and-forth cartoon head shakes. “What did you just say? Did you say kyped?” It was a word I had not heard since Nixon was president and one I had completely forgotten about.
If you're not familiar with it, it's a regional mid-20th Century slang term meaning to swipe or steal something. It was commonly used back when I was a youth, but it went away somewhere. Hearing it said now in conversation was like being whisked back in a time machine to 1972. Truly, a blast from the past.
It got me thinking about slang terms used in songs. I know, I know, there's a multitude that comes from rap and hip-hop, but guess what, I don't care about those. How about other genres?
Here are a couple that are interesting and probably not well known:
Brass in Pocket: Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders moved to London in her early 20s. There she picked up the British slang term for having some money on you or just in general, “brass in pocket.” As for the song, Hynde was mortified when she heard her vocals on the track and she didn't want it released. She told the producer it would come out “over my dead body." Luckily the producer prevailed. Massive hit.
Sookey, Sookey: It's a black culture reference from the 70s that means excitement or approval about something. Written by Don Covay and Steve Cropper, it was covered by Steppenwolf for their debut album in 1968.
I include the Shins below too. There's no slang in their song but it's a good excuse to play it. I learned about The Shins from Zack Braff's 2004 movie, Garden State. It's worth a watch. It's back when Natalie Portman was charming. Her character asks Braff's character if he knows The Shins. He doesn't. She says, “Oh, you gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life, I swear”…New Slang.